Thursday, June 15, 2006

Quote of the Day
"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."
- Henry David Thoreau

Topics of the Day
01. Student Team Wins Third Place in Disney's Imagineering Competition

Topics of the Day
02. Drexel Team to Participate in 2006 Concrete Canoe Competition
03. Summer Resource Fair Scheduled for June 26-29
04. Paperless Tuition Billing Starting Fall 2006 - Set Up Authorized Users Today
05. Library Logon Procedure to Change on Monday
06. Movie and River Tours Scheduled for Schuylkill Banks
07. World Cafe Live Presents Sam Roberts Band Tonight
08. Drexel News Media Watch

 
Student Team Wins Third Place in Disney's Imagineering Competition

Students Matthew Fonda, a civil and architectural engineering major, and Kristy Pron, a digital media major, who were among the six finalists in the Walt Disney Imagi-Nations Competition, won third place in the Disney Imagineering competition on June 7, 2006. Their proposed new Disney attraction "East Australian Current Express - Top Sides Tour" featured a ride that would transport families across the park to Epcot's world showcase.

Fonda and Pron were chosen from more than 30 entries nationwide, and were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Disney Imagineering. They also interviewed for an internship with the company. Glen Muschio, associate professor of digital media, served as their advisor.

Pron is on the dean's list, listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and is an Athletes Helping Athletes Mentor and a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Fonda was the recipient of the Drexel University Jazz Orchestra Scholarship. He is a composer with the band Polymer, which recorded on the first release of Drexel's student-run record label MAD Dragon Records.

Approved under the authority of Philip Terranova, Vice President for University Relations

 
Drexel Team to Participate in 2006 Concrete Canoe Competition

Twenty-three teams from universities across the country, including Drexel, will travel to Oklahoma to take part in the 19th Annual National Concrete Canoe Competiton from June 15-17, 2006. The 23 teams were the winners and qualifying second-place finishers of regional competition held throughout the country.

The canoes, as the name suggests, will be made of concrete. Normally concrete would be expected to sink, but the canoes were engineered to float, and over 200 competitors will be on-hand to race their concrete creations. Drexel's competition is from all across the country, including Berkeley, Texas A&M, and Michigan Technological universities.

The competition is being held to provide students with a practical application of the engineering principles they learn in the classroom, along with important team and project management skills they will need in their careers. The event challenges the students’ knowledge, creativity and stamina, while showcasing the versatility and durability of concrete as a building material

This year, the competition is hosted by Oklahoma State University and will take place in Boomer Lake in Stillwater, Okla. Last year, the Drexel team (above) placed 8th in the competition.

For more information, visit http://www.asce.org/inside/nccc2006/ or http://nccc.okstate.edu/

Approved under the authority of Philip Terranova, Vice President for University Relations

The Student Resource Center invites students to attend the Summer Resource Fair on the University City Main Campus to meet with representatives from the Office of Student Accounts, Bursar; Student Resource Center/Financial Aid; and University Registrar. Attending the Resource Fair is the best way for students to get answers to their questions, all in one location.

The Resource Fair will be held in the Great Court of the Main Building (32nd and Chestnut Streets) on Monday, June 26-Tuesday, June 27 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Wednesday, June 28-Thursday, June 29 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more information on the Student Resource Fair, visit http://www.drexel.edu/src/resourcefair/. This Web site is also helpful for students who cannot make it to campus.

Approved under the authority of Philip Terranova, Vice President for University Relations

 
Paperless Tuition Billing Starting Fall 2006 - Set up Authorized Users Today

Effective fall 2006, the Office of Student Accounts/Bursar will no longer print or mail paper billing statements. Instead, when a new billing statement is available, students will receive an email notification, which will link them to their Drexel One account to view the latest eBill. Paperless billing is a secure and convenient billing method that will allow students to receive billing statements in a timely manner and access up to 12 months of billing history.

Students will have the ability to grant permission to other payers, such as parents and employers, to be authorized users, which will give them access to the eBill 24 hours a day, and will allow them to make online credit card payments on the student's behalf. Additionally, students who may have more than one family member paying their bill can authorize multiple users.

To ensure a smooth transition, students are strongly encouraged to set up the authorized users no later than Friday, June 30, 2006. Instructions for setting up authorized users can be found at http://www.drexel.edu/bursar/Paperless_Billing.asp.

As with paper billing, it will remain the responsibility of the student to check for the latest eBill, and pay it on or before the due date. Students whose parents or guardians do not have access to email are responsible for printing a PDF copy of their bill and mailing it to their parents or guardians.

For more information regarding the new eBill process, contact bursar@drexel.edu.

Approved under the authority of Thomas J. Elzey, Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

 
Library Logon Procedure to Change on Monday

Starting Monday, June 19, 2006, when you access your library account and library electronic resources from off campus, you will be asked for your Drexel email user name (for example, abc12) and password, according to Dr. Jane Bryan, director of libraries. This means that logging onto the library will be just like logging onto DrexelOne Portal. You will no longer need to use the University ID number.

If you do not know your DrexelOne Portal or email user ID, or if you did not set up a password wizard originally, call the IRT Accounts help desk at 215-895-2698. If you do not know your DrexelOne Portal or email password, and you did set up the password reset wizard, go to http://accounts.drexel.edu to reset your password.

This change is to ensure the privacy of individual library accounts and to discontinue the use of University ID numbers. The Library has purchased software that will provide a more secure system for connecting members of the Drexel community with their library accounts and with library electronic resources.

For more information, call the Hagerty Library at 215-895-2755, Health Sciences Library at 215-762-7184, or email library@drexel.edu.

Approved under the authority of Dr. Stephen W. Director, Provost

 
Movie and River Tours Scheduled for Schuylkill Banks

The Schuylkill River Development Corporation will present a free screening of the film Dogtown and ZBoyz tonight, June 15, 2006 at 8:30 p.m. on the Schuylkill River Banks under the Walnut Street Bridge (2499 Walnut Street, at the bottom of the Walnut Street stair tower on the East Side of the river). Attendees are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the movie under the stars. The screening, which is open to the public and will start at dusk, is held in conjunction with Franklin’s Paine and Philadelphia Area Surfing Association.

SCA Americas invites the Drexel community to take advantage of an exclusive buy-one boat, get one free offer for the River Loop, a one-hour narrated tour of the Schuylkill River featuring Bartram’s Garden, Fairmount Water Works and Schuylkill River Trail.

Two types of tours are available. The Secrets of the Schuylkill tour explores history, art, architecture and industry from across the centuries. Tours, which depart from the Walnut Street Dock , are held on Thursdays at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 4 p.m. The Hidden River and Historic Garden tour, which will allow participants to stroll through the gardens and visit the historic Bartram’s Garden before or after the tour, will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2006 at 2 p.m.  The tour will depart from Bartram’s Garden (54th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard) at 2 p.m.
 
Tickets are $20 for adults, $19 for seniors and students and $14 for children 12 and under. To purchase tickets, call 1-888-RIVE-PHIL and mention this Drexel Digest promotion. 

For more information on the movie or tours, visit http://www.schuylkillbankstours.org.

Approved under the authority of Philip Terranova, Vice President for University Relations

 
World Cafe Live Presents Sam Roberts Band Tonight

World Cafe Live (31st and Walnut Streets) will present the Sam Roberts Band with The Damnwells and Slow Runner tonight, June 15, 2006 at 9 p.m. in the Upstairs Live Venue.

Tickets are $12 (plus $3 processing fee). For more information, call the World Cafe Live Box Office at 215-222-1400 or visit http://www.worldcafelive.com.

Approved under the authority of Philip Terranova, Vice President for University Relations

 
Drexel News Media Watch

The Gloucester County Times published an article on June 14, 2006 about Andrew Smith's (Class of 2006) nomination of his high school history teacher, John McBride, for the Drexel "Behind Every Graduate" Award. Mr. McBride will be honored at commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 17, 2006.
StoryLink - Gloucester County Times

The Pensacola News Journal published an article on June 14, 2006 about three Drexel students Regina Cagle, Myles Goodman and Russell Goodman who stopped to volunteer at Rebuild Northwest Florida as part of an 80-day cross-country bike trip to aid Hurricane Katrina victims.
StoryLink - Pensacola News Journal

Dr. Robert Zaller, professor in the department of history and politics, was featured on KYW1060-AM on June 14, 2006 in a story about the Barnes Foundation.

Dr. Carolyn Riester O'Connor, chief of rheumatology and associate professor of medicine at the Drexel University College of Medicine, was featured in a story on June 1, 2006 on the Discovery Health Channel about a patient who experienced perplexing joint pains.

John Langdon, professor of advanced typography in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, was noted as the inspiration of Robert Langdon in the Dan Brown novels Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code in the June 5, 2006 edition of In-Touch magazine.

Approved under the authority of Philip Terranova, Vice President for University Relations

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