List of Drexel University alumni

Seven men, three seated and four standing behind the three, look straight ahead with solemn expressions. Formally dressed in suits and ties, the men are about age 20.
The 1916 class of senior chemist students were among the first graduates to earn a bachelor's degree.

Drexel University is a private university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The 16th largest private university in the nation,[1] Drexel is made up of nine colleges and four schools,[2] most of which serve both undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 96 undergraduate degree programs, 88 master's programs, and 35 doctoral programs.[3] Drexel was founded as a technical school in 1891 for the "improvement of industrial education as a means of opening better and wider avenues of employment to young men and women."[4] Drexel began awarding undergraduate degrees in 1914, starting with the Bachelor of Science in engineering; before that, Drexel granted certificates or diplomas in the field of enrollment. In 1931, Drexel began offering graduate degrees through the School of Home Economics.[5]

Since its founding the university has graduated over 100,000 alumni.[6] Certificate-earning alumni such as artist Violet Oakley and illustrator Frank Schoonover reflect the early emphasis on art as part of the university's curriculum.[7] With World War II, the university's technical programs swelled, and as a result Drexel graduated alumni such as Paul Baran, one of the founding fathers of the Internet and one of the inventors of the packet switching network, and Norman Joseph Woodland the inventor of barcode technology.[8] In addition to its emphasis on technology Drexel has graduated several notable athletes such as National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball players Michael Anderson and Malik Rose, and several notable business people such as Raj Gupta, former president and chief executive officer of Rohm and Haas, and Nicholas Schorsch, chief executive officer of VEREIT, and Nicholas Howley, founder and chairman of TransDigm Group.[9]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
  1. ^ Turner, Melanie (2007-10-26). "University interest in Placer heats up". Sacramento Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  2. ^ "Guide to Colleges and Schools". Drexel University. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  3. ^ "Facts and Figures". Drexel University. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
  4. ^ McDonald and Hinton (1942), p. 35.
  5. ^ "Drexel History". Drexel University Archives. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  6. ^ "Debate at Drexel: About Drexel University". Drexel University. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference McDonald129 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Newcomen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Meet The Billionaire Who Built A Fortune 'Price-Gouging' Customers Like The Pentagon". Forbes. 2023-08-07. Retrieved 2024-02-11.