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Campaign Close Impast Story

The Campaign for Drexel

The Future Is a Place We Make Concludes With Record-Breaking Alumni and Donor Engagement

DreKli
Thomas R. Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy

At the closing of the academic year in June, Drexel University completed its most ambitious fundraising and engagement campaign by raising more than $806 million from more than 42,000 alumni and 4,000 friends of the University.

The Future Is a Place We Make advanced University priorities related to student success (including scholarships, fellowships and co-op), faculty research, endowed professorships and chairs, academic support, civic engagement and learning spaces on campus. The $750 million Campaign publicly launched in 2017 after a “quiet phase” that began after the previous successful fundraising campaign and surpassed its original goal of raising $750 million more than six months ahead of its June 2022 completion date.

“This is an extraordinary moment for Drexel,” said Drexel President John Fry. “Our alumni, colleagues, foundations, corporate partners and friends came together to support the incredible trajectory of the University and increase our impact on Philadelphia, the nation and beyond. They demonstrated their steadfast confidence and trust in Drexel’s capacity to serve and make a better world, and I am truly inspired and humbled by their generosity. The success of this Campaign positions Drexel well for securing support for the implementation of its new strategic plan, Drexel 2030 – Designing the Future.”

This is an extraordinary moment for Drexel. Our alumni, colleagues, foundations, corporate partners and friends came together to support the incredible trajectory of the University and increase our impact on Philadelphia, the nation and beyond – demonstrating their steadfast confidence and trust in Drexel’s capacity to serve and make a better world.

Planned as a “people-focused” initiative to support the University community, The Future Is a Place We Make created opportunities and improved the academic, student services and physical environments in which members of the Drexel community can work, learn and grow, including Gregory and Caroline Bentley Hall, Thomas R. Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy, Korman Center, Korman Family Quad and Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life. The Campaign also provided financial support and opportunities for faculty, professional staff and students. In the College of Engineering, for example, three endowed professorships were created: Cameron Abrams, PhD, became the Bartlett-Barry Endowed Professor; David Han, PhD, was recruited to Drexel as the inaugural Bruce Eisenstein Endowed Chair; and Caroline Schauer, PhD, became the Margaret C. Burns Chair in Engineering. And for students, a wide range and number of scholarships were established, such as the TransDigm Group-supported Doug Peacock Scholarship for female undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds studying at the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business and the College of Engineering.

Jewish Center
Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life

The Campaign also marked a new era of alumni engagement and opportunities, exceeding its original target of reaching 35,000 alumni through philanthropic support, volunteer service and activity participation. 

“As active participants in — as well as advocates and promoters for — our Campaign, dedicated and generous alumni have been critical to our success,” said Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement David Unruh. “More broadly, we generated enthusiasm, encouraged participation, and engagement, and built an even more strategic, data-driven and comprehensive advancement program that positions Drexel for further growth and evolution."

CAMPAIGN BY THE NUMBERS

Highlights

$806.6M raised
42,000+ alumni engaged
46,000+ donors
1,300: donor-supported co-op stipends made available (50 percent increase)
300+: number of endowed scholarship and fellowship funds and programs created for students
55% donors who are Drexel alumni
1,250+ current members of the A.J. Drexel Society, who give $1K and more during an academic year 
293 new members of Drexel’s Legacy Societywho have included the University in their estate plans
19: number of endowed professorships, chairs and athletic coach positions created 
2: number of Drexel schools and colleges named for donors during the Campaign (Dana and David Dornsife School of Public Health and Thomas R. Kline School of Law)

Priorities Advanced

$214 million: Student success, including scholarships, fellowships and co-op
$170 million: Research
$142 million: Academic support
$70 million: Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
$61 million: Unrestricted and other
$48 million: Civic engagement
$38 million: Endowed professorships and chairs for faculty
$37 million: Learning spaces

Milestones

$57.5 million: most cumulative giving made during the Campaign (Dana ’83 and David Dornsife, both also HD ’14)
$50 million: largest single gift made during the Campaign (Thomas R. Kline’s naming gift to the University’s law school in 2014)
$15 million+: gifts supporting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives including The Ubuntu Center on Racism, Global Movements and Population Health Equity, the Center for Black Culture, Women in Tech Scholarships at the College of Computing & Informatics and BRIDGE student funds at the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business and Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design
$1 million: record-breaking amount of collective funding raised during a single Drexel day of giving (24 Hours of Impact), in May 2021 (repeated in 2022)

Bentley Hall

Building an intellectual oasis for living and learning

Endowed

Dornsife Endowed Professorship applies statistics to advance environmental health

Campaign Conclusion

The Future Is a Place We Make Concludes With Record-Breaking Alumni and Donor Engagement

Schauer

Endowed chair advances diversity, equity and inclusion

Center for Law

Understanding the nexus of law and technology

Counseling_Center

Support for achieving academic and personal success

BAILEY Don Linda

Supporting co-op opportunities that strengthen communities

TransDigm

Inspired by alumnus, TransDigm supports women in business and engineering

emergency funding

In an extraordinary time, helping Drexel students stay the course

Fox Collection Gift

New artist-in-residence program and support for costume collection

Girija Kaimal

Investigating the healing power of art

Howley

Creating Pathways Toward a Debt-Free Graduation

Jeff and Sue Walker

Transforming ideas into discovery in engineering and public health

Engineer

Supporting engineering PhDs in a “personal” program

Kathleen Disney

Advancing Underrepresented Students and Civic Partnerships

Kristin Newell

In her first year, already researching what’s next (in retail)

Lindy Family Charitable Foundation

Gift advances Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation

Lisa and John McNichol

Accelerating “cradle to career” opportunities for children

Marios Market

A lifeline for students in need

Raj Suri photo

Neuro-business solutions use data with a difference

Fox Collection Gift

Helping Students Launch Creative Careers

Rob Ross photo

A new path to make the world better

Sara Ali

From community college to medical school, fueled by scholarships

Schleyer Foundation

Alumni family supports future leaders in medicine

Sheller

Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession

Fox Collection Gift

Establishing a Hub for Collaborative Study

St. Christopher’s Hospital

Donors and a new fund support COVID-19 care at Drexel for vulnerable patients and families

St. Christopher's Carnival

11th Annual Back to School Carnival supports kids and families

Center for Black Culture

New Center for Black Culture advances diversity and inclusion at Drexel

COVID-19

Accelerating COVID-19 solutions

David Han

Endowed professorship advances artificial intelligence

Dana and David Dornsife

Transformative gift establishes Center on Racism and Health

Genevieve

Collaborations that spark new industries and change lives

iBreast

From lab to village, a revolution in breast cancer detection

Patty Giordano

Alumni leader has deep Drexel roots

Jeffrey Stockbridge, ’05

Art is a tool for social awareness and change

ribbon cutting

Leveraging a strategic opportunity leads to increased community engagement

Amish Desai, LeBow College of Business

An entrepreneurial approach to doing well and doing good

Benjamin Kay

Basketball creates opportunities, social change for underserved youth

Students

Catalyst for Innovation and Immersive Experiences

Morris

Endowed professorship advances research on first responder safety

Entrepreneurs launch games with a social purpose

Entrepreneurs launch games with a social purpose

Hunger Free

Combating food insecurity through financial coaching and peer support

Danielle Fernandez, MPH ’15

She combats disease with data

Daniel Navin ’17

Engineers of life-saving protection for innocent bystanders

Keith and Carly

Co-ops at the cutting edge of technology and design

Jim Bean

Trustee’s challenge gift amplifies athletics and donor impact

Jeechieu Ta

Scholarship funds activate student success

Evan Ehlers

In a time of crisis, co-op shaped venture makes a difference

Paving the way for lifesaving plasma research

Paving the way for lifesaving plasma research

Five Five

Crafting stories that matter

Collapsible bike helmet

Saving bikers’ lives, with style

Wilson A. Foust

Two sons preserve a father's legacy with a scholarship

Rachel E. López, Director, Community Lawyering Clinic

Legal scholar mentors law students

Samuella Takyi-Buachie, LeBow ’17

Aiming to make a huge impact on global health

Nicole Kalitsi

Philanthropic support enables career-defining nonprofit co-op

Project SEARCH unleashes the potential of young adults with autism

Project SEARCH unleashes the potential of young adults with autism

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