Heard Around Campus — June 2015

With Commencement wrapped up and summer classes freshly started, it’s a good time to look back on June and check in on the project updates and items you may not have caught the first time around.

#Drexel15

After kicking off with the College of Medicine and Kline School of Law ceremonies last month, Drexel’s 128th Commencement wrapped up this month with the University City ceremonies and one out west at the Sacramento campus.

Get a flavor for the day with the University’s official Storify of the event.

Construction Projects Update

• W.W. Hagerty Library Second Floor Reading Room: Renovation on the second floor of the library to convert staff space to a quiet student study area is complete.

• 3101 Market Street Renovations: 3101 Market Street is being renovated for the relocation of engineering laboratories and expansion of the College of Engineering’s research capacities. Construction is currently in progress on the Innovation Studio, comprising the machine shop (relocated from Hess Laboratories), the freshman laboratories and multi-disciplinary maker space. Completion is expected in September. Meanwhile, designs have been completed for offices for the AJ Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment, a social sciences lab and a geographic information systems lab. The final component of this project will be relocating electrical and computer engineering laboratories from the third floor of Bossone Research Enterprise Center.

• Bossone Research Enterprise Center Renovations: Construction is in progress for the first floor expansion of the Core Research Facilities for materials characterization, and for new laboratories for electrochemistry and thin-layer materials fabrication. The new labs are expected to be fit for use early this fall.

• Renovations to Paul Peck Problem Solving and Research Building (PPSRB) and the Center for Automation Technology (CAT)/LeBow Engineering Center: Six new classrooms and instructional laboratories being built on the second floor of PPSRB are expected to be open in September 2015. The new classrooms will free up space in CAT/LeBow for the construction of wet research laboratories for the departments of chemistry and physics, as well as the environmental engineering component of the Institute for Energy and the Environment. As part of these reconfigurations, 100 graduate students will be moved from the third floor of PPSRB to office space in University Crossings during the upcoming Fall Term.

• The Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11th Street Family Health Services Center: The new, two-story 17,000 square foot addition, which doubles the size of the clinic and is made possible by generous support from Stephen and Sandra Sheller, is open and operational as of June 29. Renovations to the existing building are expected to be mostly complete in late October.

• Vidas Athletic Complex Turf Field Replacement: The replacement of Vidas Turf Field (serving the men’s and women’s soccer and lacrosse teams) is underway and will be completed for the fall.

• Daskalakis Athletic Center (DAC): Construction has begun on Phase 4 of the ongoing renovation of the DAC, including new north-end seating and improved concessions. Completion is expected in October.

• 3 Parkway (College of Nursing and Health Professions): The college has moved into the third phase of the 3 Parkway Building, and the fourth and final phase is expected to be complete in November. The faculty and administrative personnel for Doctoral Nursing and Nutrition Sciences will occupy the building in the final phase of the third floor renovations.

• Raymond G. Perelman Center for Jewish Life: Abatement and demolition of the existing building at 118 N. 34th Street are complete. Stanley Saitowitz of Natoma Architects is the principal designer for the project, of which the design is in the final phases. The project should be mostly complete in September 2016.

• Korman Center/Korman Quad Enhancements: Gluckman Mayner was selected as the architect for an addition to the existing Korman Center building that will add much-needed student common space while updating the building’s appearance to align more closely with the quality of the newer buildings on the Quad. Renovations to the Quad, to be named the "Korman Quadrangle," will integrate it with the existing Perelman Plaza to revitalize this core thoroughfare. The project, funded by a generous gift from the Korman family with a University match, is expected to be complete in fall 2017.

• University City High School Site (Drexel-Wexford Science & Technology Joint Venture): Remediation of hazardous materials and demolition of the buildings are in progress. Two of the three buildings are down and demolition of the remaining University City High School structure is expected to be complete in fall.

• The Summit at University City (American Campus Communities): American Campus Communities’ 580,000 square foot student housing, dining and retail complex on the southwest corner of 34th Street and Lancaster Avenue is under construction and on schedule to open in August.  Interior fit-out of the tower student suites and apartments in addition to the 21,000 square foot street-level dining facility, The Urban Eatery, is fully underway.

• The Study Hotel at University City (Hospitality 3): Abatement and demolition work have been completed, and site work is now in progress at 33rd and Chestnut Streets for Hospitality 3’s 212-room boutique hotel. A groundbreaking ceremony was held May 8. The hotel is expected to open in fall 2016.

Drexel Announces New Welcome Week

To help kickstart Drexel students’ transition from high school to college, the University is instituting a new “Welcome Week.”

Beginning with Move-In Day Sept. 12, the week will include immersive activities highlighting the academic, social and cultural life of Drexel, as well as the city around them.

“As students begin their Drexel experience, this change will support their successful transition to Drexel by extending a warm and engaging welcome,” said Randy Deike, PhD, senior vice president of Enrollment Management & Student Success.

This stands in contrast to the former practice of using short orientation sessions for new students throughout the summer. That practice did not allow for the entire incoming class to experience a Drexel welcome together.

Additionally, Convocation has been moved up to be a part of Welcome Week, now taking place Sept. 17.