Drexel is proud to announce that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge and Secretary of Education Eugene Hickok have selected the University as the site for a new Governor`s School for Information Technology.

Governor`s Schools of Excellence are five-week summer residential programs held on college and university campuses for gifted high school students throughout the Commonwealth. They are designed to educate and stimulate future leaders in such areas as the arts, agricultural sciences, healthcare, international studies, the sciences and education.

Drexel is proud to be part of such a unique educational partnership. I applaud the Commonwealth for its foresight in acknowledging the dominant role information technology will play in the new millennium.

The Commonwealth could not have chosen a better location for the new Governor`s School. This initiative will advance Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania`s emergence as a hub for technology, particularly information technology. And because our College of Information Science and Technology is ranked among the top 10 in the nation, the high school students will learn from the best in the field.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Joseph Cascerceri and the Office of Government and Community Relations staff for their efforts on behalf of Drexel. Congratulations to Dr. Scott Overmyer, associate professor of Information Science and Technology, who will serve as director of the new school.

We look forward to hosting the students on our campus. Talented, technology-focused high school students such as these represent the future of Drexel University and other institutions. In this season of commencements, their arrival on our campus symbolizes a changing of the guard.

It will be difficult, however, to top the achievements of the Drexel and MCP Hahnemann University students who are earning their degrees this season. Members of the Class of 1999 at both universities have distinguished themselves in academics, community service and athletics. To all graduates, I extend congratulations and best wishes for continued success in your professional and personal lives.

C.R. "Chuck" Pennoni Interim President