Plans are underway to build a new hotel at 33rd and Chestnut streets that will replace the University’s James E. Marks Intercultural Center. This project is expected to take two years to complete once board approval has been received and agreements have been signed.

Although Drexel University already received board approval in May 2013, it is close to reaching an agreement with a selected hotel operator and builder. Currently, there is not an agreement with a hotel operator or builder, nor is there final board approval.

Drexel’s Master Plan includes more than one hotel.

“One of the original locations, going back a number of years, was at 30th and Market. That project is not being considered right now. For the last two years, the Master Plan has included a small boutique hotel at 33rd and Chestnut,” Robert Francis, vice president of University Facilities, said.

“For a very long time, we wanted to have some place for visiting faculty, parents, dignified guests and other people to come and stay at a Drexel facility to do their Drexel business,” Francis said.

Francis stressed that the hotel will not be a chain hotel but will instead be a University-oriented hotel with a study-like atmosphere. According to Francis, the hotel will include conference facilities.

The James E. Marks Intercultural Center currently serves as the home of the Office of Equality and Diversity, the Interfaith Council, the Student Center for Inclusion and Culture, and the Study Abroad Office. Features of the Intercultural Center include a seminar room, a Muslim prayer and reflection room, an interfaith chapel, an exhibition gallery, a resource center, an activity room, and a kitchen.

The center opened in 2011, and most of its offices will soon be relocated to the lower level of the Paul Peck Problem Solving and Research Center, located at 33rd and Arch streets, which currently houses the Laurence A. Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship.

Francis noted that not necessarily all components of the Intercultural Center will be moved to the basement of the Problem Solving and Research Center; some may relocate to other floors of the same building. Other components may relocate to buildings across campus. The Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship will relocate to Gerri C. LeBow Hall, which is scheduled to open in the fall.

Regarding the proposed Intercultural Center relocation to 33rd and Arch streets, “It’s a great location and a very short distance for students to travel to have those services available,” Francis said.

“Conversations regarding this change have been going on for a year with all parties that make up the Intercultural Center,” Tatiana Diaz, director of the Student Center for Inclusion and Culture, wrote in an email.

Diaz acknowledged that the change could possibly present difficulties.

“It is our hope that this new location will allow for better access to students, as we will be closer to the residence halls and recreation areas,” Diaz wrote.

Though the upcoming hotel at 33rd and Chestnut is currently the only confirmed hotel project, the University is open to opportunities for more campus hotels.

“We are studying the use of property between here and 30th Street Station. We’re conducting a study in conjunction with Amtrak to see how property will develop around here in the future as the station expands and as high-speed rail comes to Philadelphia. There certainly could be a hotel in the future on our property close to 30th Street Station,” Francis said.

The post Univ. plans for hotel at 33rd and Chestnut appeared first on The Triangle.

Total time: varies
Prep: however long it takes to cultivate racism
Cook: however long it takes to enact racism
Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients:
1 chicken
3 rotten eggs
1 cup blindingly white sauce (the whiter, the better)
2 cups powdered bigotry (preferred over flour)
1 teaspoon narrow-mindedness
2 doughnuts
⅓ cup hasty apologies
Infinite supply of butter

Directions:
Prepare the batter by mixing 3 rotten eggs, 1 cup blindingly white sauce, and 2 cups powdered bigotry.
Brainwash and drench the chicken in batter.
Deep fry the chicken in butter.
Season the chicken with 1 tablespoon narrow mindedness.
Insert the foot of the chicken into its mouth.
Haphazardly chop the chicken into smithereens.
Sandwich the fried chicken between two sugary doughnuts. Make sure the saccharine, sugary doughnuts conceal and cover up the fried chicken as much as possible. Glaze the doughnuts with cup hasty apologies. Adorn the doughnuts with brightly colored sprinkles if desired.

These fried chicken sandwiches are best enjoyed lounging on a veranda overlooking a plantation with a tall glass of melted butter.

Olivia Deng is a freshman political science major at Drexel University. She can be contacted at op-ed@thetriangle.org.

The post The recipe for racism appeared first on The Triangle.

Andrew Eisenhart, associate director of international admissions at Drexel, is the proud new owner of a Spruce Hill home as of May 24. His purchase marked the Drexel Employee Home Purchase Assistance Program’s 20th closing.

Established in 2011, Drexel University’s Home Purchase Assistance Program, headed by director Althea Wallace, helps Drexel employees purchase homes in University City. Available to full- and part-time Drexel University employees, the Home Purchase Assistance Program is designed to incentivize employees to live in University City. Drexel University provides a benefit in the form of a $15,000 forgivable loan. Additionally, the University provides a $5,000 forgivable loan for home renovation.

“President Fry enhanced the benefit from $3,500 to $15,000 to benefit eligible faculty and professional staff members,” Wallace said.

The Home Purchase Assistance Program sets clear boundaries for prospective homeowners. Properties eligible for the $15,000 benefit must be within the defined boundaries of Chestnut to Mantua streets and 31st to 42nd streets.

“If they are purchasing a home that is not in the defined boundaries, we have created some relationships with some preferred partner vendors [so] that they can utilize their services,” Wallace said.

The process of purchasing a home through the Home Purchase Assistance Program is fairly straightforward. Prospective homeowners, many of them first-timers to home purchasing, meet with Wallace.

“I sit down and have a conversation with them to figure out when they want to purchase a home, and I find out their financial status because they have to have credit. Their lender won’t lend them money unless their credit is good,” she said.

Following the conversation, prospective owners can either get a pre-approval by themselves with a lender or have an hour and a half lender’s meeting with the Home Purchase Assistance Program’s preferred lenders and receive pre-approval.

Prospective owners then choose a realtor, either on their own or with the Home Purchase Assistance Program’s preferred realtors; find a home; settle on a contract; and sign University documents.

According to Wallace, the length of the process varies, but there are usually around 30 to 45 days between when the employee finds a home and the date of settlement.

“The homeowner has to live in the house for five years; the home has to be their primary residence,” Wallace said. Each year, the University forgives the loan in 20 percent increments. After five years, there is no longer a commitment to the University, but Wallace hopes that Drexel employees maintain their residences.

According to Wallace, an asset of the Home Purchase Assistance Program is that it allows University employees to live in close proximity to where they work.

“If you have to commute into the city, you have to get up much earlier to get ahead of the traffic. When you are just a couple of miles from the campus, you can bike to work and you can walk to work,” Wallace said.

Biking and walking to work are ways that could also benefit the environment. “A lot of people are trying to go green,” Wallace added.

With the help of institutions of higher education such as Drexel, University City is establishing itself as a developing, emerging neighborhood.

“What Drexel is doing with its development is going to be great for homeowners. Eventually, the property value will increase,” Wallace said.

Wallace added, “A lot of the homes have beautiful views of the city skyscrapers. They are also close to the parks and close to the museums.”

“[Closing on the 20th house is] a great accomplishment for the program because I think, realistically, when we sold the first home in the spring of 2011, we were thinking eight per year. But now the program has taken off,” Wallace said.

West Powelton is the most popular location — 17 of the 20 homes purchased through the program are located there.

On marketing the Home Purchase Assistance Program, Wallace said that there are two vendor fairs per year — one in the spring and one in the fall. Vendors include lenders; realtors; and people who provide home insurance, home inspection and security alarm systems.

Eisenhart, who recently purchased his home through the program, said he found out about the program and its benefits through word of mouth and is happy with his new home so far.

According to Wallace, the best marketing is done by the current homeowners. “We are getting ready to put testimonials from them on the website, and we are showing some of their homes, like the before and after photos so other employees could take a look at what type of homes are in the neighborhood.”

The post Profs. encouraged to reside locally appeared first on The Triangle.

Christopher Gray, nicknamed the “Million Dollar Scholar” after securing $1.3 million in scholarships is a co-founder of Scholly, an Android and iPhone application designed to streamline the scholarship application process. His fellow Scholly co-founders are Nick Pirollo, a student at Drexel University, and Bryson Alef, a student at Amherst College. Scholly hit the market for Android and iPhone users May 11.

Scholly boasts an adaptive matching engine designed to help students simplify the scholarship search process.

“It’s an app that creates a fast and simple way for students to find scholarships for college. And it doesn’t just focus on high school students. It’s for those who are currently in college, too, so it includes undergraduate and graduate students as well,” Gray, a pre-junior studying entrepreneurship, said. “So it makes the process as simple as possible. You don’t sign up, and the search is extremely simple. You’re matched with scholarships you’re eligible for in a minute.”

To increase convenience, users can save the scholarships they qualify for and email the complied list of saved scholarships to themselves. Examples of scholarship-winning essays are also included on the app.

Scholly, which contains an extensive database that is updated on a monthly basis, has eight filters to narrow the scholarship search for students.

“It took me six months to actually create the database,” Gray said. “I went through thousands of scholarships and asked myself, ‘What are the eight things scholarships look at?’”

The filters that Gray and the other co-founders devised are state, race, grade point average, gender, need or merit based, grade, major, and miscellaneous. The miscellaneous category includes specific personal characteristics such as religion, sexual orientation and disabilities.

Though the specific filters set Scholly apart from other scholarship apps, Gray said that what makes Scholly different is that users do not need to create an account.

“Other scholarship apps, it takes like 30 minutes to sign up. You have to give your personal information, your address, what you like … I mean, it just takes a long time to sign up,” Gray said.

Another notable difference between Scholly and other scholarship apps, according to Gray, is the curated search process.

Regarding other scholarship apps, Gray said, “Their search is not curated. So basically they’ll just give you a list of 400 scholarships. You probably only qualify for…five of them because they data mine from the Web; they just scrape data from the Web and put anything that looks like a scholarship. A lot of them are not even scholarships — take a look at FastWeb or Scholarship.com. Some are internships or things like that because they don’t curate.”

Because Gray relied on what he considers noncurated scholarship search engines, he experienced an arduous scholarship application process. Gray, who is the recipient of the Coca-Cola and Gates Millennium scholarships, started his scholarship search process the summer of his junior year in high school.

Intent on finding a solution to the grueling scholarship application process, Gray developed his idea for Scholly last summer while working with the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Education.

“I was working with students, and it takes so long to just find scholarships to apply for. I’ve worked with students back home, in Philadelphia, California, and other states on the East Coast. It just takes so long; it’s frustrating. Everyone asks me this one question: ‘Where do I find these scholarships? I don’t like FastWeb. I don’t like Scholarships.com. How did you find all your scholarships?’ I won all those scholarships, so they come to me for that,” Gray said.

Being a Drexel student also contributed to Gray’s development of Scholly. He acknowledged the utility of his entrepreneurship classes in developing Scholly.

“How can you turn something like Scholly, which has the image of a nonprofit, into a sustainable business? My education at Drexel definitely helped with that,” Gray said.

Ranked the eighth most expensive school in the nation by Campus Grotto in 2012, an education at Drexel comes at a steep price.

“Just being around the students here inspired me to create this app. Drexel is a very expensive school, so hanging out and talking about the loans they’re taking out, … students are like, ‘Do that,’” Gray said. “Drexel also has a very strong entrepreneurial community. So with that, it really helps being around like-minded people.”

So far, Scholly has received positive feedback from the public, with favorable reviews on the iPhone App Store. “Students love it; parents are loving it,” Gray said.

The most consistent feedback Gray has received on Scholly is about its efficiency.

“Speed has been the biggest attribute. It condenses a long search process into a minute,” Gray said.

Gray said he believes that the ethos of Scholly’s founders lends to its appeal. “A lot of the way the app attracts users is because it’s made by someone who won so many scholarships. It kind of adds that credibility. It’s not an app created by some random person who just data mines.”

To further market Scholly to attract more users, Gray said he plans to work with high school counselors and college advisers to promote the app, in addition to embarking on a media campaign.

“Right now we have a line of press releases coming up. We’re doing a big marketing campaign using mainstream media. This issue is very relevant.” Having already made an appearance on Fox News May 28, Gray said he aspires to appear on “Good Morning America” and CNN.

Scholly has enjoyed success as a new app, and Gray is confident that Scholly can sustain its success in the future.

“We’ve been endorsed by the Coca-Cola Scholarship. We have the biggest scholarship on our side. They have the option of giving support to a random person who data mines or three students who have won a collective amount of scholarships.”

Gray said he believes that an important component to Scholly’s future longevity is its support from prestigious scholarship foundations.

“We have endorsements from Coca-Cola and Gates Foundation, the biggest scholarship brands. They are going to support their scholars,” Gray said.

Additionally, to give Scholly a competitive edge, Gray said he plans to make improvements to the app. Ambitious future plans for Scholly include enabling users to apply for scholarships through the app, implementing even more specific filters, and including what Gray describes as exclusive scholarships.

“We are working on exclusive scholarships via Scholly. There are people we are working with, and they want to put their scholarships on the app.”

The prospect of competition does not faze Gray. In fact, he said he sees collaboration prospects in the future.

“We expect people to work with us rather than compete. I see more partnership than competition,” he said.

The post Scholarship app simplifies search appeared first on The Triangle.

A senior in Drexel’s College of Information Science and Technology will embark this summer on a bike trip across 14 states, stopping along the way to build houses with a nonprofit organization called Bike & Build.

Ben Toll, who is pursuing a master’s degree in information systems and a bachelor’s in information technology, will begin his journey with Bike & Build June 10 in Providence, R.I. Founded in 2002 by Marc Bush, Bike & Build is an independent nonprofit that helps raise money for housing. The planned route will take the group through Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho before reaching the end in Seattle. The cyclists will reach their final destination Aug. 18.

Toll’s interest in Bike & Build was sparked last summer. “One of my friends did it last year. I was in California last summer, and I saw his Facebook post about it. He posted pictures of his trip,” Toll said. Taking inspiration from his friend, Toll decided to follow in his friend’s footsteps.

“They encourage kids who are in college or just out of college to cycle around the country. In doing so, everyone has to raise $4,500 each. Along the way, during the trip, we have various build sites, and we just build for the entire day,” Toll said regarding Bike & Build. An organization driven by young adults, Bike & Build is open to cyclists between the ages of 18 and 25 and leaders up to age 28. The participants orchestrate the affordable housing projects, which Bike & Build funds with prearranged contributions.

Additionally, Toll has previous experience with cycling. “Last summer I was able to align all of my Drexel classes to be online, so I made my way out to California for three months. While I was out there, I found a cycling group on meetup.com, which I cycled slightly over 1,000 miles with around the [San Francisco] Bay Area,” he said.

Toll also cycled 103 miles and helped raise $300 along the way with Bike MS. “I’ve done Bike MS (City to Shore) here last year, but … nothing to this extent.”

Because of Bike & Build’s intensive nature, training is recommended. Much like a runner must prepare for a marathon, a Bike & Build cyclist must prepare for the 3,930-mile route.

“They recommend you cycle 500 miles with your bike prior to the trip. They ask that you train 500 miles to get used to it,” Toll said.

Toll said he anticipates challenges. “The biggest challenge I see in this ride will be overcoming the 4,000-plus miles I will ride this summer. While I’ve been riding my entire life, I’ve never cycled on a daily basis over the course of 70 days.”

However, he is excited for the trip. “I look forward to having an outdoorsy adventure in the summer before I have to tackle work. I enjoy helping out with building homes for families who are in need. Also, I just enjoy cycling,” he said.

Highlighting the numerous options that Bike & Build offers, Toll added, “There are a few different routes — there are eight routes that go across the country.” With bike routes in the Central United States; Northern United States; Providence to Seattle; Providence to California; Southern United States; North Carolina to San Diego; Maine to Santa Barbara, Calif.; and South Carolina to Santa Cruz, Calif., there are a myriad of routes to choose from.

Toll said he believes his experience will be worthwhile. “Cycling across America will be such a major accomplishment, and I look forward to sharing the experience with other people that I will be helping to build new homes with and just having a great time.”

The post Senior will bike across 14 states appeared first on The Triangle.

A senior in Drexel’s College of Information Science and Technology will embark this summer on a bike trip across 14 states, stopping along the way to build houses with a nonprofit organization called Bike & Build.

Ben Toll, who is pursuing a master’s degree in information systems and a bachelor’s in information technology, will begin his journey with Bike & Build June 10 in Providence, R.I. Founded in 2002 by Marc Bush, Bike & Build is an independent nonprofit that helps raise money for housing. The planned route will take the group through Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho before reaching the end in Seattle. The cyclists will reach their final destination Aug. 18.

Toll’s interest in Bike & Build was sparked last summer. “One of my friends did it last year. I was in California last summer, and I saw his Facebook post about it. He posted pictures of his trip,” Toll said. Taking inspiration from his friend, Toll decided to follow in his friend’s footsteps.

“They encourage kids who are in college or just out of college to cycle around the country. In doing so, everyone has to raise $4,500 each. Along the way, during the trip, we have various build sites, and we just build for the entire day,” Toll said regarding Bike & Build. An organization driven by young adults, Bike & Build is open to cyclists between the ages of 18 and 25 and leaders up to age 28. The participants orchestrate the affordable housing projects, which Bike & Build funds with prearranged contributions.

Additionally, Toll has previous experience with cycling. “Last summer I was able to align all of my Drexel classes to be online, so I made my way out to California for three months. While I was out there, I found a cycling group on meetup.com, which I cycled slightly over 1,000 miles with around the [San Francisco] Bay Area,” he said.

Toll also cycled 103 miles and helped raise $300 along the way with Bike MS. “I’ve done Bike MS (City to Shore) here last year, but … nothing to this extent.”

Because of Bike & Build’s intensive nature, training is recommended. Much like a runner must prepare for a marathon, a Bike & Build cyclist must prepare for the 3,930-mile route.

“They recommend you cycle 500 miles with your bike prior to the trip. They ask that you train 500 miles to get used to it,” Toll said.

Toll said he anticipates challenges. “The biggest challenge I see in this ride will be overcoming the 4,000-plus miles I will ride this summer. While I’ve been riding my entire life, I’ve never cycled on a daily basis over the course of 70 days.”

However, he is excited for the trip. “I look forward to having an outdoorsy adventure in the summer before I have to tackle work. I enjoy helping out with building homes for families who are in need. Also, I just enjoy cycling,” he said.

Highlighting the numerous options that Bike & Build offers, Toll added, “There are a few different routes — there are eight routes that go across the country.” With bike routes in the Central United States; Northern United States; Providence to Seattle; Providence to California; Southern United States; North Carolina to San Diego; Maine to Santa Barbara, Calif.; and South Carolina to Santa Cruz, Calif., there are a myriad of routes to choose from.

Toll said he believes his experience will be worthwhile. “Cycling across America will be such a major accomplishment, and I look forward to sharing the experience with other people that I will be helping to build new homes with and just having a great time.”

The post Senior will bike across 14 states appeared first on The Triangle.

Drexel University’s Bossone Research Center transformed into a hub where students, ranging from elementary school students to doctoral students, convened April 22 to present and look at robots that can move plastic rings, shoot basketballs, dance and perform music.

The second annual Philadelphia Robotics Expo was organized by Central High School’s RoboLancers club and sponsored by Drexel University. The event, which encourages science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, featured an array of displays, presentations and workshops, with workshop topics such as programming, mechanical, electrical and electro-mechanical. The event was free and open to the public.

The expo drew a large crowd of elementary, middle and high school students. Molly Coats, a fourth grader from Philadelphia, attended the event because she likes “computers and working with electronics.” Her sister, eighth grader Elinor Coats, said that she enjoyed “working with things,” precisely the reason why she chose to attend the Philly Robotics Expo, which offered plenty of opportunities for students to interact with technology.

John Colavito, a fourth grader from Garnet Valley, Pa., attended the expo in 2011, where he “built a bridge and learned a lot of skills.” This year he is involved in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League and attended a programming workshop at this year’s expo. David Stokarski, another fourth grader from Garnet Valley, said that the expo inspired him to study engineering in the future.

On display was Lego TETRIX, which were the materials used in the FIRST Tech Challenge competition, a robotics scrimmage that allowed participants to guide life-sized robots in an arena.

Lego TETRIX can also be found in the classroom, notably for mathematics and science use. Kenneth Johnson, education consultant for Lego Education North America, explained how they “package material for classroom use, competition use, for gifted and talented programs, and club use for after-school programs.”

He explained how Lego puts together packaging materials along with curriculum materials with help from partners such as Carnegie Mellon. These partners assist Lego Education in writing educational materials that will enhance the learning experience.

Drexel’s Society of Women Engineers was also present at the expo. “We try to support women to choose a career in science, technology, engineering and math,” Emily Buck, the outreach director of the organization and a junior materials science and engineering major, said. Drexel SWE presented the freshman design program mazes.

Angeline Aguinaldo, a freshman biomedical engineering major at Drexel, explained how students use an accelerometer, a sensor programmed in MATLAB, to navigate a ball through a maze. The accelerometer acts as a remote control to move the ball.

Among the fascinating technological innovations on display were Darwin and Hubo, two of the three Drexel humanoid robots. Drexel leads the Hubo Project, which, according to William Hilton, a freshman electrical engineering doctoral student, “aims to create a standard humanoid platform to the United States.”

Hilton explained that Drexel works in the Music Entertainment Technology Laboratory to teach Hubo how to “dance, sing, and play musical instruments and perform in ensembles with humans.”

“Hubo is doing a very good job in inspiring kids. There are hundreds of elementary schoolers, middle schoolers and high schoolers here today,” Hilton said. “Whenever kids see robots, they get excited because there’s something magical about seeing something move almost as if it is a person. I think that inspires a lot of kids to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

Hilton said he sees a future in using robots to further engage in the classroom. He added, “In the future, I see a lot of use for robots in high school education. You can use them to teach concepts such as program, geometry and game theory.”

The post Robot expo inspires young scientists appeared first on The Triangle.

James Johnson, a Drexel Master of Business Administration student, co-founded Tech2Educate with Tony Perry, a recent Temple University graduate.

Tech2Educate is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of education in charter schools with technology. Among the board members are Lawrence Duke, a Drexel marketing professor, and Kristina Najera, a Temple education professor.

Intent on making a difference in the community and passionate about education and improving it, Johnson established Tech2Educate. Johnson applied his passion for education to try to improve troubled Philadelphia schools.

“What I see in Philadelphia is a growing trend of charter school expansion. Specifically, they’re shutting down district public schools and turning them into charter schools. So as that market grows, they’re going to be left with a void in technology and resources. That’s where Tech2Educate fits in, to fill that resource void and make the classroom engaging,” he said.

The mission of Tech2Educate is to provide teachers, students and independent public schools, such as charter schools, with up-to-date technology and software to engage students in the classroom and enhance students’ educational experiences.

“It’s all about engaging the student. It’s all about making the classroom fun and exciting,” Johnson said.

To enhance the classroom experience for students, Tech2Educate outlines three clear campaigns: the Tablet Campaign, the eReading Campaign and the Computer Lab Campaign. Johnson plans to implement all course subjects with the Tablet Campaign eventually. For now, though, math is the primary focus.

“Our first campaign we’re going to be implementing is mathematics because the current principal at [Knowledge is Power Program] West Philadelphia wants to improve math, especially middle school math,” Johnson said. The first program will be developed with the principal of KIPP West Philadelphia Charter School over the summer.

Additionally, there is a goal to implement interactive business courses with tablet-based learning. “As an undergraduate and current graduate student at Drexel, we do simulation courses which give us business experience. It makes the classroom fun and competitive. Friendly competitiveness is good for learning,” Johnson said.

Duke believes that competitiveness will spur innovation. He explained that within the LeBow College of Business, professors use competition to encourage innovation.

The eReading Campaign focuses on reading and writing, which Tech2Educate considers essential skills. These skills will be emphasized with Najera, who specializes in using technology to enhance critical writing skills.

The Computer Lab Campaign successfully made its first donation April 1 to the KIPP charter school with 25 Google Chromebooks. These computers will enable Tech2Educate to establish the first computer programming club at that school.

Tech2Educate decided to make its first donation to KIPP West Philadelphia because it is a school with insufficient resources. “They have roughly 350 students and only had about 30 laptops for the entire school,” Johnson said. With the generous donation from Tech2Educate, KIPP West Philadelphia will be able to engage students and implement educational modules.

“We are providing an advisory role on how technology can be used effectively in charter schools,” Duke said.

The effectiveness of technology-based learning will be measured by testing all students’ abilities and proficiency in each course. Johnson offered as an example, “If it’s a reading and writing program, they will be tested prior to the implementation of the program. Post school year we’ll test them again to measure the results, and we’ll post them on our website for donors to see.”

Currently, Tech2Educate is seeking funding from individual donors, who can access Tech2Educate’s website and donate via PayPal, in addition to community and corporate grants. Tech2Educate also started a crowd funding campaign to help raise funds for its mathematical tablet program. The crowd funding campaign will be conducted through Indiegogo, a platform that enables individuals to donate conveniently to campaigns.

Future plans for Tech2Educate include expansion to New Jersey, New York, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., but for now the focus is in Philadelphia. “The current number of charter schools in Philadelphia is around 100, so there are plenty of schools for us to work with now,” Johnson said.

Additionally, Johnson plans to raise awareness about charter schools. “People need to know how charter schools work and how they can be a very positive thing for the public education system. And there are so many college students in Philadelphia — Drexel, Temple, [the University of Pennsylvania] and La Salle [University]. We want to work with them and get students involved.”

Johnson attributes his success in establishing and running a company to his education at Drexel’s LeBow College of Business, where he received a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in operations management in 2011. It was during his undergraduate years at Drexel when Johnson learned about the nonprofit sector in great depth.

“I took a business consulting course with professor Linda Reilly. We worked with an executive director at a local nonprofit, and we analyzed its fee structure. That was my first interaction with nonprofits,” he said. “There are so many skills I have learned. I learned marketing skills and basic accounting skills, which have been crucial to starting a nonprofit.”

Johnson encourages all to help Tech2Educate advance in its goals to improve education in charter schools. More information and ways to contribute can be found at igg.me/at/tech2educate.

Al West, the chairman and CEO of SEI Investments Co., was named the LeBow College of Business’ 59th Business Leader of the Year. In the past, LeBow has presented this award to recipients such as George W. Romney, president of American Motors Corp., and Gen. Douglas MacArthur.

Continuing the tradition of excellence exemplified by Business Leader of the Year recipients, West was chosen because of his visionary leadership at SEI.

“We look for someone who has a record of innovation and success in leading a company,” Frank Linnehan, interim dean of LeBow, said.

Headquartered in Oaks, Pa., SEI is a financial services company that helps institutional investors, private investors and wealth managers with asset management, investment processing and investment operations.

Publicly listed on Nasdaq, SEI currently manages $458 billion for 7,000 global clients.

“SEI is an incredibly creative and financially sound organization known for innovative approaches,” Linnehan said. With the creativity and vision of West, SEI has had a long history of innovation.

West established SEI in 1968 to improve training for loan officers by creating computer-simulated training technology. Shortly after, during the 1970s, SEI modernized the accounting system. While other companies relied on old-fashioned handwritten records, SEI created an automated system. Though it was still a relatively new company, it was ahead of the game. Throughout the decades, SEI continued to innovate, pushing boundaries and limits.

SEI is also an innovator in the workplace environment. What distinguishes SEI from other companies is its unique work setting.

“At the corporate headquarters, there are no offices, the CEO sits with other employees, and there are no formal titles,” Linnehan said. The direct openness and lack of hierarchy is not what one would typically expect in a corporate setting.

It takes a visionary leader to create a collaborative environment, and Linnehan said he hopes Drexel students can learn from West’s cooperative leadership skills. “Leadership is not about an individual,” he said.

To prepare Drexel students to become business leaders as successful as West, Linnehan said, “We make sure that students are technically competent, and we make sure that students understand that collaboration and working together are integral to leadership in business.” Taking inspiration from West’s innovation and collaborative leadership, the new LeBow College of Business building will contain collaboration rooms for use by both faculty and students.

West’s achievements with SEI were honored March 5 at a luncheon at Park Hyatt Philadelphia at The Bellevue. Proceeds will go to the LeBow College of Business.