Drexel University was founded by Anthony J. Drexel, a Philadelphia financier and philanthropist, in 1891, as the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry. Among the Institute's initial offerings was a program of evening study for working adults, the Department of Lectures and Evening Classes, which eventually became the Evening College. Drexel himself hoped to address “the needs of a rapidly growing industrial society and the young men and women seeking their place in it.” Considered a “revolutionary notion for his day,” Drexel created “an institute that placed no restrictions on religion, race, gender or social class,” that emphasized practical training in business, laboratory sciences, cooking, art and library science (Rottenberg, p. 157). From its inception in 1892, the Department of Lectures and Evening Classes was a key component in achieving those goals.

In 1896, the Department of Lectures and Evening Classes was renamed the Department of Evening Courses. Classes offered included drawing, decorative painting, modeling, woodcarving, stained glass, mathematics, bookkeeping, stenography and typewriting, chemistry, physics, shop work in wood and iron, cookery, dressmaking, millinery, physical culture, economics, English, and architecture (McDonald, pp. 228-229, 232). Professors Arthur Rowland and Henry V. Gummere were instrumental in the program’s success as well as the introduction of "group courses". By grouping courses within various departments, after two years of study students were eligible for a technical or vocational certificate. Gummere became director in 1914.

During World War I, the college saw the withdrawal of its leading personnel and most of its male students.

After WWI, Director Gummere resigned and was replaced by Willis Spivey in 1919, who took the reins shortly after a 1918 decision to change the name of the Department of Evening Classes to the Evening School. Spivey is credited with reorganizing and revitalizing the Evening School. Under his leadership, the Evening School implemented a diploma program. The curriculum was extended to take between six and eight years of part-time study and "offered practical training at collegiate level, but admittedly with less than college theory" (McDonald, pp. 252). To be more in line with this notable change in curriculum, the school’s name was changed again in 1924 to the Evening Diploma School. Spivey left the Evening Diploma School in 1941 and long-time administrator Laura Campbell became acting director until 1946 when she was appointed the director. Campbell’s tenure is noted for her active role in implementing higher entrance requirements and for developing evening honors courses.

Under Spivey's leadership the Evening School gained recognition in Philadelphia for excellence in training, however, there was little recognition outside of the area. This lead Drexel alumnus to explore the possibility of offering an evening degree program. In 1950, the Evening College earned accreditation to grant the B.S. degree, and entrance requirements were once again strengthened. Dean Kenneth Riddle choose Professor William J. Stevens to be his Assistant Dean and Howard W. Benfield became the Head of Industrial and Student Relations. The Evening College functioned almost as an independent institution, having its own social and academic organizations and activities, including honors, awards, student government and publications, many of which fell under Benfield’s supervision. According to Benfield, the active student life was in part due to Evening students' activities fees differing from those of the Day College students, and although the Evening students were welcome at Day student clubs and activities, they were limited in their ability to participate, mainly in terms of voting, scheduling, as well as reserving space.

Evening College Student Government consisted of the Student Council as the upper body and Class Congress as the lower body. Student organizations included social fraternities such as Lambda Delta Sigma, Alpha Phi Omega, Alpha Sigma Lambda and the Social Fraternity of Evening Students. Students also formed professional societies such as the Accounting Society, Administrative Management Society (AMS), Architectural Society, Engineers Club, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE). The Cross Keys was an honor society created to award students for outstanding service in student affairs. In the 1950s the Drexel Wives Club was developed by Myra McDaniel, the wife of a student leader Reuben McDaniel. She was the first president of the group, which continued with success through the 1980s. The groups purpose was to be acquainted with their husbands educational interests and broaden their own lives both intellectually and culturally. Student publications include the Drexel Evening Dragon and for a limited time the Evening College yearbook, The Spartan, the last publication of which was the class of 1956. Thereafter, the Day College and Evening College worked jointly on creating a yearbook, The Lexerd. The above listing of activities is not comprehensive, but rather a selection of activities represented within the collection.

The diploma program was discontinued in 1971. The Evening College's name was changed to University College in 1987, and it was briefly discontinued in 1993, when its programs were transferred to the College of Arts and Sciences. The Evening College was re-established in 1997 as the College of Evening and Professional Studies. Since 2001, the Evening College has been part of the Goodwin College of Professional Studies.

Directors of the Evening School and Deans of the Evening College include Henry V. Gummere, 1914-1918; Willis T. Spivey, 1919-1946; Laura S. Campbell, 1946-1947; George Montgomery (interim director), 1947; Kenneth W. Riddle, Director of the Evening Diploma School, 1948-1963 and Dean of the Drexel Evening College, 1952-1963; Stanley J. Gwiazda (Dean), 1963-1987; and Ewaugh Finney Fields (Dean), 1988-1993.

History and Vision

Goodwin College’s tradition of offering university degrees to students who are working full-time during the day began more than a century ago. Drexel University offered the first evening courses in 1892.

In 1919, the University appointed its first director for evening programs, Willis Spivey, and three years later, students were able to obtain a diploma based on courses taken under the umbrella of the evening faculty.

However, it was not until 1950 when in response to the demand for post-war education, the Evening College, as it was called then, was allowed to grant baccalaureate degrees, following a major restructuring of the College’s curriculum and entrance requirements. The first graduating class of nine students received their degrees in 1952.

Since then, programs offered by the College have enjoyed increasing popularity. In response to working students’ demands, by 1980 the College was able to offer 14 degree programs in various disciplines such as architecture, engineering and construction management. In 1987, the name of the College was changed to University College, emphasizing that part-time evening programs were the mirror image of their day counterparts.

New programs continued to be established throughout the 1980s and most of the '90s. In 1997, the College of Evening and Professional Studies was established as an independent college of Drexel University, again targeting students working full-time during the day and wishing to obtain degrees during the evening. The new College expanded the program offerings to include degrees in areas such as General Studies, Information Systems, Health Systems and Technology, Industrial Engineering, and Customer Operations.

In 2001, to honor alumnus Richard C. Goodwin, the College was renamed the Richard C. Goodwin College of Evening and Professional Studies. In 2002, the College absorbed the department of Hospitality Management, thus bringing for the first time in its history educational opportunities for traditional students pursuing studies during the day. In the same year the College dropped “Evening” from its name and adopted its current title since evening studies were no longer unique to the College.

In the fall of 2002, the College introduced the Saturday Scholars® program, an accelerated degree completion program for the non-traditional student, and developed new full-time majors in Engineering Technology, Construction Management, Computing and Security Technology, and Sport Management, incorporating full-time, tenured, and tenure-track faculty.

In January 2009, a reorganization resulted in the addition of two distinct areas falling under the academic umbrella of Goodwin College: Customized Learning Solutions and Continuing Professional Education, providing hands-on and accessible, career-oriented education to adult learners, traditional students, and organizations seeking superior academic quality and learning solutions.



Bibliography:

McDonald, Edward D. and Edward M. Hinton. Drexel Institute of Technology, 1891-1941: A Memorial History. Philadelphia: Printed by the Haddon Craftsmen, Inc., 1942.

Montgomery, George. Establishing Drexel's Evening College: A Tribute to Kenneth W. Riddle. 1963.

Rottenberg, Dan. The Man Who Made Wall Street: Anthony J. Drexel and the Rise of Modern Finance. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001.