Soccer Sweet 16, tuition reduction, star speakers, Rodin sleuthing and prize-winning professors.
May 2018 – During the 2017-18 academic year, Drew University lowered its tuition, welcomed star speakers, reached the Sweet 16 in soccer and saw its professors, programs and alumni earn global and national acclaim. Here are the top 17 stories of the year.
17. Timely Gift
The bright, cozy lounge leading to The Commons is named after former trustee Joseph B. Baker C’69 in thanks for his generous support of the renovation of the campus’ largest dining hall.
16. Grateful Grads
Forbes ranks Drew among the 200 colleges with the most grateful graduates, based on how much they donate and the percentage who give back.
15. Star Speakers
The latest lineup of Drew Forum speakers is studded with the likes of former Vice President Joe Biden, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and satirist Samantha Bee.
14. Influencer
Associate Professor Emily Hill earns the Most Influential Paper Award for helping to discover an easier way to search and understand software.
13. #Drew21 in NYC
The Class of 2021 first-year seminars, which use New York City as a classroom, explore museums, landmarks and neighborhoods.
12. Mythbuster
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson debunks myths about the moon, Pluto, body heat and the fate of the earth during a packed Drew Forum talk at Simon Forum.
11. International Flavor
Drew is nationally ranked by the Institute of International Education for enrolling international students and undergraduate participation in study abroad programs.
10. ‘I’m Keith Hernandez!’
New York Mets legend Keith Hernandez holds court at The Concert Hall, answering more than 20 questions from fans and Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow.
9. Future Focused
For the second straight time, The Princeton Review features the university in its highly selective guide, Colleges That Create Futures.
8. Black History Month
Students, faculty and staffers participate in more than a dozen events during Black History Month, including workshops, theatre performances and a trip to see Black Panther.
7. Nationally Ranked
Drew makes Times Higher Education’s list of the 100 best liberal arts schools in the U.S.
6. I ♥️ Drew
On Valentine’s Day, we celebrate six love stories that began on campus.
5. High Marks
Drew’s theatre program rises to No. 5 in the U.S. in The Princeton Review’s latest rankings, which also rates the school eighth in race/class interaction.
4. Sweet 16
The men’s soccer team experiences its best year ever, going undefeated in the regular season, winning a Landmark Conference championship and reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
3. Finding Rodin
Mallory Mortillaro C’13, G’15 creates an international sensation when—as a part-time cataloguer for the Hartley Dodge Foundation—she identifies and authenticates an Auguste Rodin sculpture of Napoleon Bonaparte hiding in plain sight in Madison Borough Hall. President MaryAnn Baenninger is among the well-wishers at a foundation celebration at the hall.
2. Prize Winner
Director of Creative Writing Courtney Zoffness wins the richest prize for a single short story for “Peanuts Aren’t Nuts,” becoming just the second woman to claim the prize and the first writer to accomplish it before publishing a book.
1. Lowering Tuition
