John A. Fry recently got a contract extension to remain as Drexel University’s president through 2028, and one of the reasons he’s staying is to continue to shepherd the school’s recent acquisition of the Atwater Kent Museum — the city’s history collection.
the approval this month of the ownership transition from the city to the university by Philadelphia Orphan’s Court, he said. Drexel, he said, wants to make as much of the collection accessible as possible, both on the campus and by lending it to other institutions. Very little of it was on display at Atwater Kent, he said.The university plans to digitize the collection and set up a website that will allow people to see everything. He envisions scholars coming to campus, too, to work with the collection.
The university likely will undertake a fundraising campaign to establish a permanent endowment for the long-term care and stewardship of the collection, he said. But first Drexel will wrap up its current campaign that is set to conclude this summer and has so far brought in $775 million, and then conduct a feasibility study on the next university campaign, he said.