Ideas>at work
the dornsife center DREXEL UNIVERSITY
dc:du
ma nt ua
lancaster avenue
powelton village
“When Drexel first approached us with the idea for an urban extension center, we thought it was a wonderful opportunity. We are proud to support a place where the community can partner with the University and have ownership in the work and in building their own future.” Dana ‘83 and David Dornsife
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making the practical possible Drexel has always had an affinity for the practical. Anthony Drexel’s founding vision to help young men and women in an emerging industrial society make a better life through professional preparation is as relevant today as it ever was. We deliver an excellent education with a practical edge, sending forth students who both think and do. Now we will partner with the community to make the practical possible. Drexel’s tradition of cooperative education stresses hands-on, tangible experience, and our emphasis on service promotes better citizenship by providing ample opportunities for students to apply their skills on behalf of others and to address the challenges of everyday life. Good neighbors. Better neighborhoods. As members of a broader community, universities have an obligation to help improve their neighborhoods. By doing what good neighbors do — lending an ear, sharing solutions, offering advice, and giving concrete assistance — we become partners in creating better spaces in which to live and work. A perfect marriage of presence and purpose. In 2014, Drexel will open the Dornsife Center for Community Partnerships, on an historic site at 35th and Spring Garden Streets. Seven days a week, residents will have access to expertise from across our schools, colleges, and centers. They will be able to come together with Drexel students and faculty — community and campus learning from one another — and the synergy sparked by this give and take will build trust and mutual respect. An ideal site secured by generous donors. Thanks to the generosity of alumni such as Dana Dornsife, class of 1983, and her husband, David, as well as friends such as Phil Lindy, Drexel is well on its way to realizing its ambitious plans that will improve quality of life for the community as well as the University. But we are far from finished. Help us raise the $10 million we need to put our ideas to work. Dana Dornsife ‘83 and David Dornsife help to solve the biggest problems facing today's world through their generosity, talent, and time. Dana ‘83 is founder and president of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit that provides financial assistance to defray costs associated with patient participation in clinical trials. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Epeius Biotechnologies, Inc. David is chairman of the Herrick Corporation, the largest steel fabricator on the West Coast. The couple are active supporters of World Vision, supporting microeconomic enterprise, agriculture, and literacy programs. The Dornsifes are also supporters of the Alzheimer's Association and are part of the Yosemite Conservancy leadership team.
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the vision BUILDING A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP ON COMMON GROUND
“My aspiration for Drexel University is for it to be the most civically engaged university in the United States.” John A. Fry, President, Drexel University, convocation speech
DREXEL IS HERE TO STAY in West Philadelphia, and like all long-time residents, we are well-served to look beyond our own property to see that the communities around us — Mantua and Powelton Village — are vibrant and strong. No vision for Drexel will succeed without careful attention to the health and well-being of our neighborhoods.
What strengthens a healthy neighborhood? Affordable Housing. Strong Public Schools. Accessible Healthcare. Good Jobs. Diverse Retail. Artistic and Cultural Activity. Safe Streets. A Comprehensive, Long-term Commitment. The Dornsife Center is just one part of Drexel’s vision for the community, the defining elements of which are commitment and collaboration. We are in it for the long term and will work hand in hand with groups and coalitions on the ground, with the Mayor’s Office, and within city agencies and departments, City Council, and the School District of Philadelphia, partnering to create positive change. Already, we are planting trees, adding lights, and greening landscapes beyond our campus. To tip the balance toward home-ownership, Drexel offers qualified staff and faculty forgivable loans to purchase and renovate single-family dwellings in the area. We’re also forming relationships with local schools — Samuel Powel Elementary and Morton McMichael School — and helping to transform Lancaster Avenue into a thriving retail and commercial corridor.
And that is simply the beginning. The Dornsife Center is the cornerstone of Drexel’s vision for the community; it focuses our best features — experiential learning, research, student and employee volunteerism, and neighborhood investment — on making this a better environment for all. Modeled after the public extension centers that connect communities to the knowledge and expertise of the great land-grant universities, the Center will pioneer the same concept in the urban environment.
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QUICK FACTS: Three properties on 1.3 acres — Three-story historic building
A PHYSICAL SPACE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD.
the site
THE HISTORIC BUILDING
A hub for Drexel’s local outreach efforts, the Dornsife Center will also provide a physical gathering space for the community. In a world where back-fence conversation has been replaced by Twitter feeds, the Center’s three buildings and surrounding green space will serve as a 21st-century public square. Ideally situated close to campus where Mantua meets Powelton Village, the site is equally accessible to Drexel students, faculty, and community residents. Flexible spaces will accommodate everything from small seminars to large meetings, from social entrepreneurship to individual learning.
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carriage house, c.1854, and a 12-classroom schoolhouse — Nearly 30,000 square feet of space — 35th and Spring Garden Streets
THE SCHOOL
THE CARRIAGE HOUSE
“I believe that today’s students are more civic-minded — they want to be engaged in the community. Through this project, Drexel has an opportunity to prepare students for the world they will live in. It is also an opportunity for the community to take ownership in building their future. The Dornsife Center is a perfect vehicle for both.” Phil Lindy, the driving force behind Drexel’s Lindy Center for Civic Engagement, secured the Spring Garden Street properties for the University and will be an active participant in the renovation.
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GOOD NEIGHBORS. BETTER NEIGHBORHOODS.
the community
M MA N TUA
LA L A N C A S T E R AV E N U E
The community itself is the catalyst for change. Through the work of the Dornsife Center, we will create an incubator for practice so students can experience, innovate, and receive optimal preparation. But all of this must build from the community’s authentic knowledge of itself and what it needs. It is not what we do for the community. It is what we do with it. Each community has valuable assets to contribute. Knowledge, expertise, and tangible skills. They all have a vision. They also understand what challenges and motivates their neighbors. The Center is a place where their vision and experience can come together with ours. For we have as much to learn from our communities as they do from us.
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Conversations about our Master Plan with Drexel make clear that we share a vision for a stable, clean, safe Powelton Village with great schools, good homes for faculty and staff, interesting retail and great public spaces that work well for the area, the institution, AND the neighborhood. Powelton Village 2011 Neighborhood Plan
PV P O W E LT O N V I L L A G E
Not one community but many. Our communities are made up of diverse populations, but their similarities are greater than their differences. In every neighborhood, parents want bright and productive futures for their children. Adults must determine how to retool their skills for a new economy. Young adults are weighing post-high school options or struggling to find their first jobs. Entrepreneurs attempt to start small businesses. Our job is to make Center programming responsive to a broad cross-section of needs.
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Healthy Living Programs Health screenings, fitness classes, yoga, and dance therapy — to name just a few examples — that will promote and sustain healthy lifestyles.
A PERFECT MARRIAGE OF PRESENCE AND PURPOSE.
the programs MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT, across its three buildings, the Dornsife Center will be a hive of activity, hosting self-sustaining programs for neighborhood adults, senior citizens, children, and youth. Plans call for open spaces and multipurpose classrooms that can accommodate professional development for teachers, job training programs for residents, and tutorials in robotics and social media for teens. The possibilities are limited only by Drexel’s expertise and the community’s interests. Ideas for programs and services have already come from all of Drexel’s schools and centers — and competition for space is keen. We will determine the final offerings in consultation with our neighborhood partners, and we intend for them to change over time in response to shifting community needs. Likely candidates include:
Community Kitchen A hands-on place where residents can learn — and teach — cooking and nutrition, perhaps using fruits and vegetables grown in the Center’s urban farming program. Law Clinic A free clinic where residents can learn about their rights and responsibilities as citizens and homeowners and get sound advice on many legal issues. Design Studio Staffed by Drexel’s student architects, this will be an area where residents can consult on household design and structural challenges — from preventing flooding in basements to reconfiguring spaces for elderly parents. “Academy” West An extension of Drexel’s Academy of Natural Sciences that introduces the neighborhood to the Academy’s treasures by bringing exhibits on the natural world uptown. Inventorium Fabrication space where engineering students can invent practical tools that solve real-life problems for residents — from wheelchair modifications to water filtration systems. Learning Library A quiet place that combines the productivity of study space with the resources of the library and explores new ways to support learning through technology. Computer Labs Space that will provide digital access in a community where fewer than half of the residents have computers in their own homes.
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Dana ‘83 and David Dornsife’s transformational gift will allow the University to form true and lasting partnerships that will enrich Drexel and sustain our neighborhoods for generations. The everyday lives of residents will get easier through access to badly needed services. Students will have expanded opportunities to enhance learning and deepen engagement.
All of this — and more — is possible. Purchasing the property was the first step. But we need your help to make it our own. Our challenge: to preserve the beautiful features of the original house and carriage house, which appear on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, while modernizing all three buildings and making them compatible with the way people learn today.
Make it Smart
the opportunities
Keep it Going
Build it Out
Give it a Name
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$10
HELP US RAISE THE $10
MILLION WE NEED TO:
Build it Out A thorough needs assessment led to a comprehensive renovation plan to ensure the buildings’ safety and security. Exact specifications are still emerging, but at a minimum, we will replace virtually all electrical and mechanical systems, add amenities and elevators, configure flexible floor plans that can accommodate a range of uses, and make exterior repairs.
Make it Smart Drexel has always put a premium on smart learning environments, and the Dornsife Center will be no exception. Community spaces are also student classrooms, and both demand the latest technology. All three buildings will have the appropriate infrastructure to support interactivity and telecommunications, and we will equip them with the requisite technological tools to support the Center’s functions.
Keep it Going While expenses for Center programs will be borne by the sponsoring college or school — for example, the Earle Mack School of Law will underwrite the Law Clinic — we seek unrestricted funds to cover the first five years of the Center’s fixed operating expenses. This support will outfit the Center and give us the capital we need to launch and run it efficiently in its crucial start-up years.
Give it a Name The Center will offer a host of naming opportunities designed to match individual interests. Whether you have a special affinity for design or dance, healthy lifestyles or mechanical engineering, you can find a program that connects to your passion. For more than a century, Drexel has served as an excellent steward of philanthropic dollars. Your support has enabled us to achieve tremendous growth over the last decade, and, once again, we invite your participation as we pioneer an exciting concept and turn it into a successful program.
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“The possibilities for the site have excited our deans and faculty. Every one of Drexel’s schools and colleges has expressed an interest in participating in Center programming. We can see labs where the community can bring computers that need fixing, or address architectural and environmental problems in individual homes. We are taking the mission of the cooperative extension programs funded by land-grant universities and applying it to an urban community. As a private university, we are breaking new ground.” Dr. Lucy Kerman, Vice Provost, University and Community Partnerships
AS A RESULT OF THIS INITIATIVE, people will live healthier and safer. Working on their own initiative, neighborhoods will experience innovation and growth. Drexel can gain a competitive advantage in recruitment and serve as a national model for how urban universities can share assets with communities. The students who choose us will leave us better prepared.
Best of all, with your support, we can offer our closest neighbors hope as well as help.
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dc:du timeline
august 2012 > secure the property
october 2012
>
plan programs
december 2012
>
design the space
february 2013 april 2013 june 2013
>
approval process
> community review
[CAN WE DO A TIMELINE??? 24 months total] --- using little building icons or somesuch? > site stabilization August 2012 (secure property; plan programs, design space) 2013 (renovation, construction) September, 2014 (Center opening)
august 2013 october 2013
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>
construction documents
construction december 2013
february 2014
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> construction
construction
april 2014
september 2014
>
interior finishes
> grand opening: now let’s get to work...
the dornsife center