The Drexel Family Committee

Drexel University 100th Anniversary Celebration: Drexel Family Skit, 1991

Written by Louis Farrelly, past chair of the Drexel Family Committee

The Drexel Family Committee was founded in 1973 by Philip Syng Physick Fell, father of Dorothy Mills Fell Farrelly, Elisabeth Horne Allen, Philip Syng Physick Fell, Jr., and Ogden Mills Fell. Its goal was to bring different members of the family together. In 1991, 450 members of the Drexel family met in Philadelphia to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Drexel University. The extensive celebration included receptions, dinners, classroom tours, a theatrical skit about Anthony J. Drexel performed by family members, and a special visit to the Convent of the Blessed Sacrament, founded by then-Mother Katharine Drexel, in Bensalem, Pa.

The University’s thorough planning included genealogically oriented, color-coded name tags that immediately identified cousins and their place in the vast family tree with descendants’ branches displayed on surrounding walls. All attendees were delighted to meet many cousins from around the world and to learn about Anthony Drexel and his university.

An interim chair was Paul Ingersoll who, in 2000, led 230 Drexel family members to Rome for the beatification of Saint Katharine Drexel, niece of Anthony J. Drexel. The pageantry of this three-day event was exciting and exhilarating, with the Vatican mounting a fantastic celebration for the newly canonized saints. The climax was a High Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in the Piazza of the Basilica of Saint Peter. Events in Rome included receptions and dinners for family members and guests of honor such as Amanda Amy Wall, the miracle child with undeveloped ear components who developed full hearing after years of family prayers and beseeching of Mother Katharine. Being introduced to this child hugging her teddy bear was the thrill of a lifetime and a highlight of the trip. Another interim chair was Nick Drexel (John R., IV), who for many years served on the Board of Drexel University.

In 2010 the Drexel Family Committee was relaunched by Louis Farrelly, Dodie Fell Farrelly, Tony Cadwalader, John Devereux, Francis Mills Ingersoll, Elizabeth Gowen Kuensell, Tom Paul, Wendy Drexel Paul, and Frances Cheston Train. Its Mission Statement: to raise the 300-plus family members’ level of awareness of the University’s history and its current achievements. In 2011, the Committee planned an exhibit of Drexel family art and artifacts which was mounted in the Drexel Gallery on campus. From the time of Francis Martin Drexel, the renowned portrait artist-turned banker, the family has a long and impressive legacy of creating, commissioning, and being memorialized in art. The permanent Drexel Collection includes several significant family-related pieces, which complemented the 2011 exhibit of art on loan from family members.

Drexel Family Endowed Scholarship Fund

The Drexel Family Endowed Scholarship Fund, established in September 2014, enables a number of students to complete their degrees each year. The Scholarship Fund has allowed graduates to go on to successful careers. The fund was initially started by Paul Ingersoll in 2003. Each year the family is introduced to students and alumni scholarship awardees who speak of their plans and their careers and the impact the fund has had in their success.

The Scholarship Fund is administered by the Office of Institutional Advancement. Should you wish to be a part of this proud family tradition, please contact:

David Toll
Senior Associate Vice President, Gift Planning
215.895.4982
dt49@drexel.edu
Institutional Advancement
Drexel University