Dr. Eric A. Zillmer, athletic director and Carl R. Pacifico Professor of Neuropsychology, traveled to Bosnia in November to visit Pennsylvania National Guard troops participating in the NATO peacekeeping mission. Zillmer was part of a delegation of members of the media and civic and military leaders on a goodwill tour to that region.

“I was asked to join this trip because of my involvement with the National Guard and ‘Operation Partnership,’ a synergistic working group between Drexel University and the National Guard that focuses on opportunities for the use of the Drexel Armory for Drexel events and Drexel athletics,” said Zillmer.

Before his trip, Zillmer contacted all Philadelphia professional and college athletic teams for donations of memorabilia to give to the troops. All teams participated, contributing more than 250 items including t-shirts, caps, key chains, warm-up suits, shorts and jackets.

While in Bosnia, Zillmer visited Camp McGovern, a fortified camp on the Croatian border that serves as base for more than 300 Pennsylvania National Guard Reservists, many from the 103rd Engineering Battalion operating out of the armory located on the University City Main Campus. At Camp McGovern, Zillmer met two Drexel graduates: Lt. David Calhoun, a 1997 accounting graduate and former member of the Drexel ROTC and the rugby team, and Mitchell Drucker, a 2000 MIS/Finance graduate and current LeBow College MBA student. Drucker, a Battle Captain responsible for the daily operations at Camp McGovern, was a member of the Beta Alpha Psi honor fraternity and the Golden Key Honor Society.