President's Newsletter
Vol. 5, No. 6, November 19, 2001
page 1
ABET and MSA Accreditation Visits
Based on oral exit reports, Drexel's concurrent reviews by the Middle
States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) Commission on Higher
Education and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
were very positive.
The accreditation teams visited Drexel November 11-14, meeting with a number of constituency groups on campus, including students, faculty, administrators and Board of Trustee members. The teams also were presented with self-study reports prepared by University administrators and faculty prior to their campus visits.
Associate Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Affairs Dr. Barbara Hornum, who serves as liaison to the MSA evaluation team, said the MSA exit report only discussed the evaluation in very general terms, but cited evidence of very positive growth in almost every area, especially the library. The evaluation team thought Drexel's self-study was exceedingly well done and everyone agreed the analysis was very upbeat.
The MSA accreditation team will issue a draft written report in approximately three weeks that will provide specific details of the evaluation and offer suggestions and recommendations for improvement. MSA-accredited schools are evaluated every 10 years.
College of Engineering Associate Dean and ABET liaison Dr. Richard Weggel said the ABET exit report also was very positive. ABET identified items that will help Drexel improve the quality of our engineering programs. Everyone in the College of Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems and School of Environmental Science, Engineering and Health Policy is pleased with the outcome.
The ABET draft report will be issued in January, and like the MSA report, will provide more detailed information about the evaluation. ABET-accredited institutions are evaluated every six years.
Drexel is only the second university to undergo concurrent evaluation by MSA and ABET. The State University of New York at Binghamton was the first in 2000. Both evaluation bodies are studying the benefits and drawbacks of concurrent evaluation and will make recommendations on continuing such a process.
Construction Begins on Business Complex
Construction on the Philip Johnson-designed Leonard Pearlstein Business
Learning Center just west of Matheson Hall has begun. I would like to
thank Trustee Melba Pearlstein for her gracious generosity in supporting
the center, which is named in honor of her late husband. I would also
like to thank Trustee George Krall and his wife Lois for their generous
gift for the George and Lois Krall Executive Education Center, which will
be housed in the Leonard Pearlstein Business Learning Center.
Drexel's Standard & Poor's Rating Upgraded
Standard & Poor's upgraded its rating on the Pennsylvania Higher Educational
Facilities Authority's outstanding debt issued from Drexel to single "A,"
with stable outlook from single "A-," with positive outlook.
According to Standard & Poor's, the upgrade reflects our impressive enrollment gains, increasing applicants for admission, above-average student quality and Drexel's national reputation and niche as a leading co-operative education institution.
World's Fifth AbioCor Procedure Performed at MCP Hahnemann University
Hospital
Dr. Louis E. Samuels, associate professor at MCP Hahnemann University
and surgical director of the cardiac transplant team, performed the world's
fifth implantation of the AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart in November
at MCP Hahnemann University Hospital.
The operation went well and the patient
has begun his recovery. ABIOMED, Inc., the maker of the replacement heart,
and the surgical team will make additional medical updates available on
the MCPHU Web site at www.hahnemannhospital.com
or www.msphu.edu/medschool.
Hahnemann University Hospital is one of five national sites participating
in the ABIOMED artificial heart transplant trial studies. The first two
procedures were performed at Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Ky., the third
took place at Texas Heart Institute and St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital
in Houston, Texas, and the fourth occurred at UCLA Medical Center.
If successful, 100,000 patients a year in America can receive the AbioCor Heart.