Get to know your University! The Drexel University Archives invites you to explore a selection of moments from Drexel’s history through an exhibit featuring photographs, text, and physical objects drawn from the Archives’ collections.

Over 130 years ago, Anthony J. Drexel decided to address Philadelphia’s need for affordable vocational and professional education by establishing an institution that would empower all students to graduate from Drexel ready to begin their careers.

His dream became a reality in 1892 when the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry held its first classes and began preparing its students to become librarians, mechanics, secretaries, engineers, seamstresses, architects, teachers, and more.

Over the course of several decades, the Drexel Institute—now Drexel University--has grown and transformed, actively responding to shifts in technology, business, and education, and to social changes, including the women’s rights movements and the civil rights movement.

While much has changed at Drexel since its founding in 1892 – from name changes to technological changes, from more students and more buildings to substantial and sometimes startling developments in hairstyles and the curriculum--at least one thing remains the same in 2022: Drexel’s dedication to preparing each new generation of students for productive professional and civic lives.

The new exhibit 1892 to 2022: A Selection of Moments from Drexel’s History tells just a small part of this story, focusing on the evolution of Drexel over the last 130 years.

The exhibit is free and open to all members of the Drexel community and the public. It will be on display in the W. W. Hagerty Library atrium September 12 through December 31, 2022.