Founders Day Convocation will be held on Friday, October 17, 2008, at 11 a.m. at the Main Building Auditorium (32nd and Chestnut Streets). Convocation officially celebrates the beginning of the academic year.

Dr. Daniel C. Esty, professor of Environmental Law and Policy, with appointments at both the Yale Law School and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, will be the keynote speaker. His address, "Revolutions in Environmental Attitudes," will speak to the theme for this day that revolves around environmental issues and sustainability, and how we as a University and as members of its community respond to the challenges that confront us.

The entire Drexel community is invited to participate. Students are particularly encouraged to participate. In consideration of limited space, remote viewing areas will be set up where the event will be broadcast live. Students of Drexel’s various colleges and schools are asked to go to the following locations, where refreshments will be served.

Main Building Auditorium

Pennoni Honors College

Patton Auditorium, Matheson Hall (32nd and Market Streets)

Bennett S. Lebow College of Business

College of Arts and Sciences

Earle Mack School of Law

College of Nursing and Health Professions

School of Public Health

Mitchell Auditorium, Bossone Research Enterprise Center (Market Street between 31st and 32nd Streets)

College of Engineering

Drexel University College of Medicine

School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems

Stein Auditorium, Nesbitt Hall (33rd and Market Streets)

College of Information Science and Technology

Richard C. Goodwin College of Professional Studies

Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

School of Education

These venues will also serve as overflow locations depending on attendance in the Main Building Auditorium. There will be an additional viewing location in Seminar Room A1 on the Queen Lane Medical Campus.

In addition to Convocation, Dr. Esty will participate in a Drexel Interview program and address faculty, staff and students at an invitation-only event. In keeping with the day's theme, the Drexel Community Park will be dedicated at 5:30 p.m. The Park, formerly an industrial site, was redeveloped into open green space to serve as a recreational park for the University and Powelton Village communities.

Dr. Papadakis will present President's Awards to this year’s recipients during an evening of food and fun on Wednesday, October 15, at 5:30 p.m. under a tent at Korman Quad (33rd Street between Chestnut and Market Streets).Bus transportation will be provided from the Center City Hahnemann and Queen Lane Medical campuses.

The President's Award is the most prestigious honor presented to Drexel employees. These awards acknowledge the important work of the talented and innovative staff who help achieve the mission and goals of Drexel University and the Drexel University College of Medicine.

Mary Caraccioli, host of CN8's "Money Matters Today," will be the MC and Drexel trustee Renee Amoore, founder and president of The Amoore Group, and author of "The Elevator of Achievement," will be the keynote speaker.

The Drexel Engineering Cities Initiative (DECI) will host a two-day conference for emergency services practitioners and planners, not-for-profit emergency service agencies and scholars studying issues of risk and preparedness, today and tomorrow, October 10 and 11, 2008, at Paul Peck Alumni Center (32nd and Market Streets).

This conference, the first event of its kind in the Delaware Valley, will focus on vulnerable populations, who often require creative measures for planning, resources and citizen outreach in order to meet their needs in the face of disaster and emergency situations. Local and regional officials working with the region's university research community propose to combine their efforts toward making Philadelphia as prepared as possible in the face of disaster.

DECI welcomes all members of the Drexel community to attend this two-day conference.

Registration fees will be waived for Drexel faculty and students.

In obervance of National Depression Awareness Day, counselors from the Student Counseling Center on the Center City Hahnemann Campus will provide information about depression today, Friday, October 10, 2008, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of Geary Library, New College Building (245 N.15th Street).

Handouts to assist in recognizing symptoms of depression will be distributed to interested students, as well as information about the Student Counseling Center and its resources.

The Office of Student Life will screen the film Mamma Mia!, today, October 10, 2008, at 7 p.m. in Geary B Auditorium, New College Building (245 N. 15th Street).

This screening is free for all students and their guests. Mamma Mia!  tells the story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father, using hit songs by the popular '70s group ABBA.  It's the big screen version of the hit Broadway musical, and it stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth.

The Drexel Writing Center offers one-on-one tutoring for student writers.Tutors help students develop, assess and revise writing projects. Students may meet with a tutor in person, or schedule a time to meet with a tutor in a synchronous online tutoring session.

Students are always welcome to drop by the Writing Center in room 32, MacAlister Hall (33rd and Chestnut Streets), and can log in to the Writing Center's online scheduling system to make appointments for all of the Writing Center tutoring services.

The Dance Program will host "The Art of Dance Photography," on October 16, 2008, at 7 p.m. at Mandell Theater (33rd and Chestnut Streets).

Philadelphia dance photographers JJ Tiziou, Bill Herbert, Bob Emmott, Gabriel Bienczycki and Deborah Boardman will discuss their work capturing movement in dance. JJ Tiziou has been taking photos at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival since 2003; Herbert has taken dance photos for numerous companies including FloMotion, Illadelph Legends of Hip Hop, BalletX and the Koresh Dance Studio. Emmott has collaborated with  Ruddy Dance on it's work "Breathless," where his images were an integral part of the production design. Bienczycki recently worked with Seattle Dance Project on their Project Orpheus and Project One. Boardman has photographed performing artists for 24 years, including dancers in The Pennsylvania Ballet and the Metropolitan Dance Academy.

This event is free and open to the public.

The Dance Program is part of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design.

The African Studies Program will present a screening of The Freshest Kids, A History of the B-Boy on Thursday, October 16, 2008, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in room 113, Stratton Hall (32nd and Chestnut Streets). 

The Freshest Kids, A History of the B-Boy  is about the origins of hip-hop dance and the evolution of breakdancing over the last 25 years.

Light refreshments will be served.

Alpha Chi Rho will present a Drexel version of the hit TV show American Gladiators, today, October 10, 2008, at 4 p.m. at Buckley Recreational Field (33rd and Arch Streets).

Students are invited to try to survive the bombardment, fight the Gladiators on the joust and navigate the obstacle course.

Complimentary refreshments will be provided.

Have questions regarding student life, campus dining, University housing, public safety, recreation or facilities? Join James R. Tucker, senior vice president for Student Life and Administrative Services and key members of his division for a complimentary student lunch and open forum to share thoughts and have questions answered on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, at noon in the Atrium, located on the third floor, Bossone Research Enterprise Center (32nd and Market Streets).

Tucker oversees the largest non-academic administrative division at the University. The luncheon will also feature special presentations about campus construction with Robert Francis, vice president for University Facilities and the new campus dining master plan with Rita LaRue Gollotti, senior associate vice president for Drexel Business Services.

The event is free, but seating is limited.  The deadline for RSVPs is today. 

The Dragon Crew Team will kick-off the fall season at the 23rd annual Philadelphia Navy Day Regatta on Saturday, October 11, 2008, at Boathouse Row on Kelly Drive.

Dragon rowers will compete against a wide range of teams at the Navy Day Regatta. 

Drexel is entered in the following races

• 11:48 a.m.     Men's Freshmen/Novice College Eight
• Noon              Women's Freshman College Eight
• 4:05 p.m.       Men's Junior Varsity College Eight
• 4:15 p.m.       Women's Junior Varsity College Eight
• 5 p.m.             Men's College Eight
• 5:05 p.m.       Men's Dad Vail Eight
• 5:15 p.m.       Women's College Eight

The Women's Studies Program invites all faculty and staff  interested in women's issues on campus, as well as those whose work touches on issues related to gender, sex or sexuality, to its fall term meeting on Thursday, October 16, 2008, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the CoAS Dean's Conference Room on the fourth floor, MacAlister Hall (33rd and Chestnut Streets.

Light refreshments will be served.

After the business meeting ends at 4 p.m., Dr. David Fryer, assistant  professor in the Women's Studies Program, will give a talk about his work "Thinking Queerly: Post-Normativity, Phenomenology, and the Human Sciences." Dr. Fryer is a philosopher whose work speaks broadly to issues including gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity and religion. 

Dr. George Tsetsekos, dean of LeBow College of Business, was interviewed about the impact of the financial crisis on the City of Philadelphia on WTXF-TV (FOX-29) Oct. 9, 2008.

Argie Allen, director of clinical training programs in the College of Nursing and Health Professions' couple and family therapy program, spoke about how parents can address the financial crisis with their children as a guest of the nationally syndicated “Morning Show with Mike & Juliet” (FOX) Oct. 9, 2008.