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October 15, 2010
Next Information Sessions: October 20, November 3, and November 13
Upcoming Events:
October 21: What It Means To Lead Speakers Series: Dr. Mark Horton
November 4: Drexel alumni/student special reception at the New Crocker Art Museum
November 12-15: California Library Association Annual Conference
November 18: What It Means To Lead Speakers Series: Congressman Joe Sestak
December 1: What It Means To Lead Speakers Series: Comcast EVP David L. Cohen
Save the Dates:
January 22-23: Free GMAT Prep Session (Reservation Required)
March 9: Experience Drexel!
March 23: Convocation and New Student Orientation
March 28: Classes Begin
June 27: First-ever Sacramento Graduate Center Graduation Ceremony!
In this issue of Dragonfire:
- Drexel Sacramento Welcomes 110 New Students, Bringing Total Enrollment Over 360
- Three Grad Programs to Be Taught in Friday/Saturday Format Next March
- Students Start Year Off Right, with Two Very Different Service Projects
- Another Milestone Reached: Student Website Launched
- California Public Health Director to Be Next Conversation Guest
- No Shushing Them! MS-LIS Students Dine with the Deans
- Intensive Program Kick-Off Wows Newest MBA Students
- Sierra Health Foundation CEO Inspires Students, Faculty at Convocation
- Drexel Wins Prestigious National Award for Technology-Enhanced Education
Want to know what's been going on over the past year at the Graduate Center or outside of class with the Drexel degree you're interested in? Visit the Dragonfire archives.
Drexel Sacramento Welcomes 110 New Students, Bringing Total Enrollment Over 360
In January 2009, when we opened our doors, there were just 53 grad students coming to class. Today, there are 362! Most of the 110 newest students crowded into the Grad Center's two largest classrooms the evening of September 15 to participate in the Center's fourth Convocation and New Student Orientation. After meeting their new classmates over dinner, they were welcomed to their studies by the Chair of Drexel's Board of Trustees (himself a Drexel alum) Richard Greenawalt, Drexel's new President John Fry, Provost Mark Greenberg, several deans, and the head of Drexel's Graduate Student Association in Philadelphia. The assembled students, faculty, and staff were then honored to have Chet P. Hewitt, president and CEO of the Sierra Health Foundation, speak about the critical importance of higher education to our communities (see article, below). All of our students are now hard at work, pursuing one of the nationally ranked programs we offer in Sacramento. If you are interested in preparing yourself for the next big step up in your career, come to an Information Session and enroll in our doctorate or one of the five master's programs we will again offer next March.
Three Grad Programs to Be Taught in Friday/Saturday Format Next March
Until now, all but two of our graduate programs in Sacramento have been taught in the evenings, after work. Next March, three programs will meet weekends (Friday afternoon/Saturday) just three times per quarter: the EdD in Educational Leadership and Management (which has always met this way), the MS Human Resource Development, and the MS Higher Education. Why these? First, the EdD offers "concentrations" in the HRD and Higher Education fields, so this will allow our students and faculty to work more closely together. Second, we believe that this will give the professionals in those fields a better chance to fit a graduate education into their work lives. And third, this will allow students at much greater distance to attend — we've even arranged a special deal with Embassy Suites for reduced room rates for our students who come from a distance. To find out more about this "executive format" and whether it will work for you, contact Nancy Thompson by email or phone at 916-326-4602.
Students Start Year Off Right, with Two Very Different Service Projects
It didn't take Drexel University's students in Sacramento long to get started performing community service this academic year. And their first two projects show how diverse the student-originated, student-led projects can be: a school supplies fundraiser for Grant Union High, a Sacramento inner-city high school, and a day spent helping the poor receive healthcare at a free clinic in Woodland (pictured). They added to a long list of service projects our students have performed since Drexel opened its doors here in January 2009. Dr. Mark Greenberg, Provost of Drexel University, complimented the students on performing public service "in the highest and best traditions of our University…we are delighted to hear that the mission and values of Drexel are being perpetuated in California by students we are proud to call Dragons."
Another Milestone Reached: Student Website Launched
If you think about it, we've only had 250 students with us until just recently, and they are all working professionals with work and family lives made all the more complicated by a terrible economy. On top of studying in a nationally top-ranked graduate degree program, they are also involved in lots of public service projects. But somehow, they have found the time to create their own graduate student website! It was launched the first week of October and now offers an easy way for students to connect, and for those thinking about becoming Dragons, an easy way to get a feel for our students' view of Drexelworld. The website also connects you to the student e-newsletter, Twitter, and Facebook page. So bookmark it and visit our students from time to time! Contact Nancy Thompson by email or by phone at 916-326-4602.
California Public Health Director to Be Next Conversation Guest
For more than 30 years he has been involved in clinical practice and public health, including leadership positions in San Diego, Orange County, and director of public health for the state of Nebraska. Today he leads those who are facing some of the biggest challenges to the quality of life for our region's very diverse populations. On October 21, Mark B. Horton, MD, MSPH, State Public Health Officer and Director, California Department of Public Health, will be our first guest of the 2010–11 academic year in our monthly speakers series What It Means To Lead: Coast to Coast Conversations with Civic and Business Leaders. These programs offer our students (and anyone who has been accepted to Drexel) a unique opportunity to have an intimate discussion with a true leader — usually from this region, but often from the East Coast as well. Every Conversation starts with pizza and sodas for our students. So if you are interested in attending, contact Nancy Thompson by email or by phone at 916-325-4602.
No Shushing Them! MS-LIS Students Dine with the Deans
It was decided early on in the evening that "what happens at Ten22 stays at Ten22," but it's not breaking any pledge to report that 16 students pursuing their MS Library and Information Science degrees recently had a rollicking dinner with Sacramento Dean Tobey Oxholm, iSchool program leader Dr. Toni Carbo (past dean of the University of Pittsburgh iSchool before moving west), and faculty member Dr. Jennifer Sweeney. And yes, a few times, the waitstaff did have to remind us to "shhhh!"
MS-LIS students are all invited to attend the California Library Association's annual conference in Sacramento, and Drexel is helping with the CLA dues and registration fees. If you want to learn about our MS-LIS program, come to an Information Session or contact iSchool program leader Dr. Toni Carbo by email or by phone at 916-325-4605.
Intensive Program Kick-Off Wows Newest MBA Students
Imagine this. You are just admitted to a top-ranked MBA program. You know no one. Your first "class" is actually a four-day competition — you and four other classmates whom you have just met, competing against all your other classmates in a simulated market, and then judged by real industry leaders!
That's the way Drexel's LEAD MBA program starts. Thirty professionals from 11 industries and backgrounds competed together in our innovative four-day business simulation. Over three days, the students made decisions and competed against other simulated "companies," with individual as well as team assignments that allowed participants to reflect upon and demonstrate lessons learned. Each member of the team had to learn all the others' talents to make better decisions, and then rely upon them to get the job done. The fourth day had each team/company present to its "board of directors," consisting of real business leaders brought in to evaluate the students' performances and share their expertise and insights. How was it? "Wow!" said one. "The best experience ever," said another. The lessons acquired and friendships launched in these four intense days builds the cohort and provides a strong foundation on which to grow over the next two years of academic rigor, real-world application, and personal and professional reward.
Whether you are a seasoned business professional or just starting out in the business world, the Drexel Sacramento LEAD MBA program is designed for professionals of any stripe to develop relevant knowledge and hone critical business skills through a rigorous and enjoyable two-year program. We will launch it again next March. If you want to be part of our MBA program, come to an Information Session and learn what it takes to succeed or contact MBA program senior director Dave Stewart by email or by phone at 916-325-4612.
Sierra Health Foundation CEO Inspires Students, Faculty at Convocation
Nonprofits always have had passionate advocates leading them, but today, those leaders must also be tough-minded businesspeople. Chet Hewitt is both. His career demonstrates commitment to family, to community, and to excellence. He has wrestled with the issues that are most important to families on the economic edge: jobs, housing, children at risk, food, and nutrition. He has led local projects and national initiatives. He applies business analysis to public issues, and recognizes the value that technology adds to service. In a speech that was drawn from his many years of service and deep understanding of health disparities, he spoke to every student in every discipline about essential ingredients for creating a true community. Education is the key. Higher education is the pathway. Optimism and commitment are what's demanded of us all. It would be difficult to imagine a message more powerful, more challenging, or more inspiring than the one he gave almost personally to each of us. "360 captured" the same way that our graduate classes can be recorded, Mr. Hewitt's speech is available on our website.
Drexel Wins Prestigious National Award for Technology-Enhanced Education
The challenge to higher education today is to teach the way that best "fits" the student. In Philadelphia, it is mostly the traditional classroom with some online components. Here in Sacramento, it is "blended" with about 60% of the content of our graduate programs being delivered face-to-face and the other 40% online. And we also have an extensive listing of programs (degree and certificate) that you can access online if you cannot get to Philly or Sacramento (Drexel Online – perhaps you have seen some of the Drexel Online billboards?). They are all Drexel programs, taught by Drexel professors, approved by Drexel's Faculty Senate, and we have over 6,000 students studying around the world, some even in submarines!
The bottom line for Drexel, whether the classes be delivered in person or online, is quality. It is for that reason that Drexel is enormously proud to have just been awarded the 2010 Sloan Consortium Award for Excellence in Institution-Wide Online Education. The Sloan Consortium is the most prominent scholarly association in the field of online learning, and the source most often quoted in the media. To receive the award, "The institution's online programs must be of demonstrably high quality. The ideal recipient would be an institution offering multiple regional or national online learning programs in diverse disciplines, including degree, certificate, and continuing education programs." If you want the flexibility that online offers and the discipline it requires, online education may be for you, so check out Drexel Online. But if you are interested in networking, working in class, and having a mixture of online and in-person education, then come to an Information Session here at our Grad Center and see what a first-tier graduate school looks like!
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