The Triangle

Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: News

Papadakis spoke at Convocation on Oct. 18. The highlights of his speech were new campus construction and development plans.

Mace Bearer Richard J. Weggel holds the mace at Convocation. The ceremony took place in the Main Building auditorium.

More women and minorities need to get involved in science, math, engineering and technology, Shirley Malcom, a leader in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said at Drexel University's annual Convocation ceremony Oct. 18.

Malcom, who specializes in education and science literacy, said one reason women and minorities are not as involved as they should be in scientific and technological fields is due to America's history. When America entered the space race in the 1950s, women and minorities were still not active in such fields, she said.

"No country can afford to waste half of its talent pool," she said.

Malcom talked about her own experiences during the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Ala., and said that as times changed, women and minorities eventually rose in the fields of science, math and technology.

Social movements are ongoing, and future problems will have to be solved through collective efforts.

"Students [in the future] will have to work in teams," she said. "Not all of the problems can be fixed by one group of people."

Jeff Gardosh, Undergraduate Student Government Association President, reflected Malcom's thoughts on social evolution, and said students should "take your time here to define yourself and to define Drexel."

While Malcom spoke, lack of seating distracted many from this year's convocation, according to statement released late Thursday from the Pennoni Honors College.

"It was an impressive sight to see so many Honors College students in attendance. However, we know that a number of you were unable to secure seating in Main Auditorium," said an email from the Pennoni Honors College.

The email said, "The Dean is deeply upset and apologizes to those of you that were not able to enter the auditorium."

Honors College Dean said he would work with Provost Stephen Director to make sure students concerns are heard.

Other speakers at the Convocation included University President Constantine Papadakis, who covered ongoing campus development and construction, as well as Provost Stephen Director, who highlighted some of the University's highlights in 2007.

Director talked about events including the law school opening, the accreditation of the School of Public Health, and the 321 co-op jobs students held nationally and internationally.

According to the Office of the Provost, Convocation is the formal beginning to the school year.

Although this year Convocation took place during the fourth week of the term, Director said that the event will be change to an earlier date in the future. He explained that this year, conflicting calendars kept the ceremony from being performed sooner.

Director also discussed the changes of Convocation, saying how more people were involved this year and that some people even had to be turned away at the door.

At this point, he said, the plans for next year's Convocation remain unclear.

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