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In this issue of Dragonfire:
- Welcome to Dragonfire!
- Exciting News: LeBow College of Business Ranked Third in Country
- Quick! Vote for Bradley and Help Business Go Green!
- Visit Our Graduate Center and Learn About Drexel
- Six Top-Tier Graduate Programs to Start March 2010
- September Convocation and New Student Orientation: A Bicoastal Success!
- Executive MPH Program Off to a Strong Start
- Back to Class: Higher Education Program Students Start the New Term
- "Stupendous!" EdD Students on Both Coasts Linked from Day One
- News from the EdD Bureau: The Cohort Orients Itself to the Journey Ahead
- Starting Off Linked: iSchool Students Receive Graduate Peer Mentors
- Drexel's Inaugural HRD Class in Sacramento!
- Preventing Patient Care Errors: There's an App for That
- The iSchool at Drexel Welcomes New Assistant Professor Sean Goggins
Welcome to Dragonfire!
This
edition marks the start of a new academic year at Drexel — and
the opening of our third season enrolling graduate students at one of
the top 50 private, nonprofit universities in the nation. In these newsletters,
we'll let you know what's going on at our Center
for Graduate Studies in Sacramento, California, with our students
and faculty, and in the nine degree programs that are offered here in
Sacramento. We'll also bring news from Philly, which Drexel has called
home for the past 118 years.
If you are not receiving the Dragonfire automatically and would like to, email us and you'll be added to the list of subscribers.
Exciting News: LeBow College of Business Ranked Third in Country
Drexel
University's LeBow College of
Business was recognized by Entrepreneur magazine and The
Princeton Review as having one of the top three entrepreneurship
programs for graduate students in the country. LeBow College also placed
sixth for undergraduate programs. More than 2,300 schools were surveyed.
"LeBow College of Business has been sharply focused on the development of the 'entrepreneurial mindset' of our student body," said LeBow College of Business Dean George P. Tsetsekos. "Whether starting up their own successful ventures or creating new areas of opportunities for existing companies, LeBow College graduates are known for being enterprising."
Drexel was evaluated based on key criteria in the areas of academics and requirements, students and faculty, and outside-the-classroom experiences. Amy Cosper, VP/editor-in-chief at Entrepreneur, said, "Each school that made the list demonstrates excellence in one or more areas—whether in regards to course offerings, the success of students post-graduation, sponsored mentorship programs, or other important factors."
The seventh annual survey reveals the nation's top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate programs for entrepreneurship. Drexel's ranking can be seen on Entrepreneur's website. Results of the survey suggest that Drexel's LeBow College, at its Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship in Technology, demonstrates a commitment to practical, hands-on, experiential learning to provide the skills that translate into real-world businesses.
Quick! Vote for Bradley and Help Business Go Green!
Bradley
Ericson, a marketing and entrepreneurship major at Drexel University's
LeBow College of Business, is one of five finalists in Entrepreneur magazine's
2009 College Entrepreneur of the Year competition. Ericson is co-founder
and CEO of 3SecondReceipts
LLC, a company developing a platform to create manageable, itemized
digital receipts to replace traditional thermal paper receipts.
Ericson actually came up with the idea for 3SecondReceipts LLC while dining at Drexel University's Ross Commons. "I was ordering a slice of pizza with my Drexel meal plan. Being a freshman I had an unlimited meal plan, but was still provided with a printed paper receipt that was supposed to tell me how many meals I had left. This receipt was instantly thrown away," Ericson said, "and I realized there had to be a better way to reduce this paper wastage." From there, Ericson and his brother, 3SecondReceipts co-founder Timothy Ericson (who is also CEO of CityRyde LLC), spent months researching a better solution to paper receipts and subsequently created their business plan.
You can vote for Bradley on Entrepreneur's website. Voting ends on October 12, 2009.
If you would like to learn more about the University's sustainability efforts, visit the Drexel Green website.
Visit Our Graduate Center and Learn About Drexel
We'd
like to show you our very high-tech, state-of-the-art
Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento and tell you about Drexel
and the eight master's programs and one doctorate we're offering. Come
talk with current students, faculty and staff, and explore the Center,
while enjoying refreshments and complimentary parking. We host Information
Sessions every two weeks. Here are our upcoming dates:
- Saturday, October 17, 10 am – 12 noon
- Thursday, October 29, 6 pm – 8 pm
- Thursday, November 12, 6pm – 8pm
We ask that you register online so we can ensure that we have enough food and materials — but you can always contact us by email at sacramento@drexel.edu with any questions, or call us at 916-325-4600.
Six Top-Tier Graduate Programs to Start March 2010
Are
you ready for your climb to the top? Drexel has designed our programs
to meet the complicated demands on today's working professionals. Offered
in a blended format that allows students to learn both in class and online,
Drexel’s nine graduate programs are taught after work during the
week or in a Friday/Saturday format. They are also fully recorded, so
that working professionals do not have to leave work or worry about missing
a class due to business or personal obligations. We are currently recruiting
candidates for these six programs that will start in March 2010:
MBA — Recognized by BusinessWeek as one of the top part-time MBA programs in the nation, just last month ranked third in the country by Entrepreneur/The Princeton Review among entrepreneurial MBA programs, and offered by the business school that Forbes magazine recently ranked third only to UC Berkeley and Wharton in Northern California.
MS Higher Education — Unique to this region in teaching business and management best practices to higher education leaders, and offered by the School of Education that USNews & World Report ranks fifth in California behind Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and USC.
MS Human Resource Development — One of the few programs in the nation that emphasizes a true human resources development curriculum with experiential and online features.
MS Information Systems — Ranked third in the country and offered by Drexel’s iSchool, among the “most innovative” IT schools in the country according to Computerworld.
MS Library and Information Science — Ranked ninth in the nation by U.S.News & World Report, with a health librarianship specialty ranked in the top five.
EdD Education Leadership and Management — Unique in linking education leaders and students in two state capitals (Sacramento and Harrisburg).
We are also enrolling students in the three other master's programs that will start again in September 2010: Executive Master's in Public Health, Master's in Nursing Leadership in Health Systems Management, and Master's in Nursing Education and Faculty Role.
September Convocation and New Student Orientation: A Bicoastal Success!
We
had so many new students join us for Convocation and Orientation on September
18 that they filled our Graduate Center's three largest classrooms! They
were all linked together via our state-of-the-art, high-definition video-conferencing
system. All three classrooms were simultaneously linked to Philadelphia,
where the chairman of Drexel's Board of Trustees, President, Provost,
deans and other dignitaries were assembled. In Sacramento, we had our
own deans and dignitaries, including California Secretary of Education
Glen W. Thomas, pictured here with Sacramento Dean Tobey Oxholm and Mario
the Magnificent. Himself a former State CIO for California, Secretary
Thomas was "wowed" by Drexel's technology, walking from room
to room as he addressed our students, while "beaming" seamlessly
into the other two classrooms here and the "mirror" classroom
in Philadelphia — something he had never done before! The picture
on the main screens followed whoever was speaking, in whichever room,
and on whatever coast! It was truly a memorable way to kick off our first
full academic year in California! View
a report on our Convocation,
along with pictures and the text of the comments made by Secretary Thomas,
Board Chairman Richard Greenawalt, and interim University President Chuck
Pennoni.
Executive MPH Program Off to a Strong Start
Students
in the first cohort of the Sacramento Executive
MPH program met during the weekend of August 28–29 at the Center
for Graduate Studies. The class of 14 has wide–ranging interests
including children's health from injury to asthma to immunization, provision
of health services in both the public and private sectors, and nutrition
and chronic disease. What the students have in common is their excitement
about education — their own in the MPH track, and their future
impact on the health knowledge and status of people in their community.
The weekend moved quickly — on Friday, the students were welcomed to the program by Associate Dean Mary Hovinga and Professor Ray Lum, who went over the academic plan, classes, and schedule and gave interactive demonstrations of the Blackboard learning platform and library resources. Students got experience in posting on discussion boards and accessing materials from electronic media. After dinner on Friday, students and faculty were guests of Drexel at the Sacramento River Cats baseball game. Highlights of the evening inlcluded a jet flyover (courtesy of the Air Force — despite Dean Oxholm's claims that it was the Drexel Flying Club), a welcome message posted on the scoreboard, a group photo with the River Cat mascot (a species unknown to the East Coast faculty), and several near-misses from foul balls.
On Saturday, the curriculum got down to business with Block I — the overview and history of public health. Professors Hovinga and Lum were joined by Dr. Arthur Frank, the chair of the Environmental and Occupational Health Department at Drexel's School of Public Health. Students participated in lectures and discussions about concepts of health and disease, environmental policy and regulation, organizational models and behavior, and ways to collect and interpret population health data.
The Executive MPH program is a blended degree track — students do a substantial amount of online research and discussion between the in-person sessions held one weekend per month at the Center for Graduate Studies. Our MPH students will continue with semester-long classes in biostatistics and behavioral assessment working with Drexel faculty in an interactive learning environment.
Back to Class: Higher Education Program Students Start the New Term
The
second class of the Master
of Science in Higher Education had its first class on Tuesday, September
22. An enthusiastic cohort of 15, we have students who are coming from
all over Northern California. Our first cohort recently went back to
class, so now with two successful cohorts underway we are already looking
forward. We are also thrilled to have five faculty and staff in residence
at the Center, the most of any school. As the field of education continues
to grow, we are looking to make our mark on the Sacramento area as the
leading institution for educating seasoned higher education managers
and professionals, those looking for a career change, and recent college
graduates. In the upcoming months we are participating in numerous events
as an opportunity to spread the word about the MS in Higher Education
and about Drexel's Center for Graduate Studies.
"Stupendous!" EdD Students on Both Coasts Linked from Day One
Could
there be a more challenging time for educators? It's not just the costs
to deliver education, or the method of presentation, or where the information
is now coming from, or how fast and accessible it is, or the quality,
or the declining sources of public funding, or the demands on private
financing. Baby Boomers who hold many positions of leadership in academia
are within sight of retirement, and there is going to be a huge transfer
of authority to the next generation of leaders. Where will they get the
practical skills, vision, and education they need to lead? This is not
just an issue for us here in California — there are challenges
in every state. That's one of the reasons that Drexel's new EdD
in Educational Leadership and Management is so exciting: for the
first time in any such program (to our knowledge), we are linking our
doctoral students in California with doctoral students in Pennsylvania,
allowing each to work with and learn from the experiences and expertise
on both coasts. This started on day one for our 20 new doctoral students
in Sacramento. Program leader Ed Bureau used just one word to describe
the cohort members, the opening of both classes, the transcontinental
learning session, the teaching: "Stupendous!" Drexel's inaugural
EdD class was over-subscribed this fall, but the program will start again
next March.
News from the EdD Bureau: The Cohort Orients Itself to the Journey Ahead
On
Saturday, September 12, members of the inaugural EdD cohort met for the
first time as a group in an orientation program led by Dr. Ed Bureau.
Program specifics were detailed to prepare the students for full participation
in their new program of studies. "Keystone" principles supporting
the program and expectations set the bar high for everyone involved — students
and faculty alike.
Cohort members are anxious to start classes at the end of the month and to begin their educational adventures as new members of the Drexel University community. During the morning, individual and collective enthusiasm was very apparent as hopes and goals were shared. Because of the diverse profile of the group, the current cohort is a fertile ground for learning. Cohort members anticipate learning from and supporting each other as the studies progress.
The orientation program included the first transcontinental meeting of the Sacramento and Harrisburg cohorts — the "capitol approach." High-end video-conferencing technologies from both locations enabled the entire EdD community to participate in inaugural programming. Those with questions should contact EdD Program Director Dr. Ed Bureau at web28@drexel.edu or call the Graduate Center at 916–325–4600.
Starting Off Linked: iSchool Students Receive Graduate Peer Mentors
The iSchool at
Drexel is pleased to welcome the 2009–2010 Graduate Peer Mentors
to the program. Launched in the fall of 2008, the Graduate Peer Mentor
program provides current and prospective iSchool graduate students
across the nation the opportunity to connect with their peers. Students
who seek information about courses, would like to know more about student
life, have questions about resources, or are interested in learning about
the iSchool experience can contact peer mentors who have been
individually selected for the program by the College advisors. To contact
a Graduate Peer Mentor, visit
the iSchool Graduate Peer Mentor page.
Drexel's Inaugural HRD Class in Sacramento!
Drexel
University offers the only true MS
in Human Resource Development program in California; and the word
spread like — Dragonfire! We have 16 students in the inaugural
HRD cohort who started class on September 22. Our HRD students are "diverse
and eager to learn," and the student cohort "represents virtually
every industry sector and group including private, public, not-for-profit,
and institutions of higher education," says Dr. Salvatore Falletta,
associate clinical professor and associate program director for HRD.
All students enroll in the MS in HRD as part of a cohort, taking all core courses together allowing interaction and networking opportunities among peers, faculty, and guest speakers. Since many of our students are busy working professionals, the MS in HRD program employs a hybrid model whereby students meet once each week as a cohort and in addition complete assignments and learning activities on Blackboard via the Internet.
The HRD faculty and students are also actively involved in the local community. For example, the Sacramento Area HR Association (SAHRA) hosted their annual conference at the downtown Convention Center on September 30. Drexel University was an institutional sponsor for the SAHRA Conference, which expected over 200 HR professionals in attendance.
Recruitment has already begun for the next HRD cohort, which will begin in March 2010. If you have questions, contact the Associate Program Director, Dr. Salvatore Falletta at salhrd@drexel.edu or call the Graduate Center at 916-325-4600.
Preventing Patient Care Errors: There's an App for That
More
than 300 undergraduate students in Drexel's
College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP) in Philadelphia
received iPod touch devices on their first day of classes as part of
a new initiative to make critical health information available at the
touch of a finger, Dr. Gloria Donnelly, dean of CNHP announced.
The iPods will be populated with valuable information including drug and side effect data, nursing procedure guides, clinical lab values and software enabling digital note-taking. The four-ounce iPods will replace many of those heavy nursing textbooks and, with the devices configured for wireless Internet, automatically update medical information.
"Whether students are searching for drug interactions during a clinical exercise or information in a medical dictionary, they can go online and find the latest evidence through numerous databases," said Dr. L.J. "Rocky" Rockstraw, director of Drexel's Center for Clinical and Electronic Learning Resources and an associate clinical professor at the College of Nursing and Health Professions.
Students in the Master of Science in Nursing programs at the Center for Graduate Studies will incorporate mobile technology devices into the curriculum. Productivity and reference mobile software, tailored to the leadership roles that students are preparing for, allow students to access information at the point of need. The MSN curriculum includes INFO 526: Information, Innovation, and Technology in Advanced Nursing Practice, a unique course focused on the structure and process for information management and access, the use of technology in patient care, and on technological innovations that move clinical practice forward.
The iSchool at Drexel Welcomes New Assistant Professor Sean Goggins
Dr.
Sean Goggins is the newest full-time member of the iSchool faculty,
and will be teaching graduate-level courses online within the Master
of Science in Information Systems. Dr. Goggins obtained his graduate
education while working in technology leadership positions in the utility,
software, medical device, and publishing industries. His experience
in industry shapes his approach to teaching, which also includes a
recognition of the importance of student experiences, a sincere focus
on relating his own experiences to students new to the field, and a
first hand appreciation of the challenges associated with working and
going to school. Dr. Goggins' research interests are centered on socio-technical
systems and theory to support physically distributed small group collaboration
and creativity.
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