Constantine Papadakis, an innovator in higher education with extensive experience in both academe and the corporate world, has been president of Drexel University since 1995.

Over the past seven years, Dr. Papadakis has used the historic strengths of Drexel (cooperative education, Drexel’s focus on technology and the rich resources of the University’s Philadelphia location) to triple freshman applications, double full-time undergraduate enrollment from 4,500 in 1996 to over 9,000 today, to triple research funding and Drexel’s endowment from $90 million to over $300 million. Today, Drexel University educates 16,500 students, employs 5,300, and has an annual budget of over $500 million.

In 1998, Drexel took over the operation of the bankrupt Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, which was temporarily renamed MCP Hahnemann University, and partnered with Tenet Healthcare Corporation, which acquired the University’s seven hospitals. Today, the School of Public Health (one of only two in Pennsylvania), the College of Nursing and Health Professions, and the College of Medicine (the largest private medical school in the country) are academic units of Drexel University.

Dr. Papadakis worked for Bechtel, Inc., between 1974 and 1985, rising to chief engineer. He managed a group of engineering specialists who did pioneering work in flood-control systems, hydroelectric power and cooking systems for nuclear reactors. He was recruited by STS Consultants, one of the top 150 engineering design firms in the nation, as vice president in charge of the Water Resources Division of the company, which had 17 offices. His accomplishments there included privatization of small hydroelectric power plants in the early 1980s. Tetra Tech, a Honeywell subsidiary in Pasadena, attracted him next. As vice president of the company, he led FEMA and Superfund environmental projects.

Dr. Papadakis was lured back to academia when he realized that strong management could revolutionize an institution, and in 1984 he agreed to head up the civil engineering department at Colorado State University, then the second largest in the nation and known for water resources research and an entrepreneurial faculty. Two years later, he became the dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering. There, he built top-quality graduate programs, more than quadrupled research contracts and grants and established relationships with leaders of local industry. During his tenure he increased the size of the faculty from 94 to 170 and commissioned architect Michael Graves to design a research center, completed in 1995.

Dr. Papadakis received his diploma in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece. He holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a doctorate from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Constantine, or Taki, as his friends call him, is a Professional Engineer registered in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Greece.

A member of numerous professional and honorary societies, he is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society for Engineering Education, and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. He is author or co-author of more than 65 articles and technical publications.

Dr. Papadakis presently serves as a member of the boards of directors of the National Commission for Cooperative Education, the University City Science Center, the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee, the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce, the Team Pennsylvania Ambassadors Council, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Hellenic College/Holy Cross Board of Trustees, Junior Achievement Inc., and the Judicial Council of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He serves on the boards of directors of CorCell Inc., Commerce Bank/Pennsylvania Inc., Mace Security International Inc., and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Board of Governors. He was recently appointed, by the government of Singapore to its International Academic Advisory Panel. Philadelphia Magazine listed Dr. Papadakis as one of the 100 most powerful people in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Tribune listed him as one of the 10 most influential people in the African American community.

He has been honored with the U.S. Department of Treasury Medal of Merit, the Community Leadership Award of the Alliance of Italian American Associations, the Silver Beaver Award of the Boy Scouts of America for distinguished service to youth, the Service Learning Award of Junior Achievement, Inc., the Golden Medal of St. Isidore of the Island of Chios, the Congressional Medal of Ellis Island for his success as an immigrant, the Medal of the City of Athens and the key to the City of Pireas for his achievements as a Greek American, the Heart of Philadelphia Award from the American Heart Association, the Order of St. Andrew of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Yitzhak Rabin Public Service Award of the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce, the Community Leader Award of the Arthritis Foundation, the George Washington Medal of the Engineers Club of Philadelphia, the Hellenic Heritage Achievement Award of the American Hellenic Institute, the Golden Apple Award of the Boy Scouts of America, the Aristotle Award of AHEPA and the National Medal of Honor of the Hellenic American National Council.