Abstract Parke Rexford Kolbe, the Drexel Institute's fourth president, served from 1932 to 1942. Before coming to Drexel, Dr. Kolbe was president of the University of Akron from 1913 to 1925 and of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn from 1925 to 1932. As Drexel's president, Dr. Kolbe presided over the decentralization of Drexel's administration and the development of educational programs to support national defense as the threat of U.S. involvement in World War II loomed. The bulk of the...