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Constantine Papadakis,Drexel President,Archon PHILADELPHIA – Drexel University President Constantine Papadakis died unexpectedly Sunday evening, April 4. Dr. Papadakis, 63, who was in remission from cancer, died from pulmonary complications. He had requested a medical leave from Drexel on April 2. Archbishop Demetrios conducted the funeral service at St. Luke Church in Broomall, Pa., on April 14, Hoy Tuesday, assisted by several clergy. His Eminence, at the Archdiocesan Council meeting in May, called the passing of Dr. Papadakis “a significant loss.” His Eminence noted that Papadakis “took a university that was nothing and brought it up to level that was the envy of many universities in Philadelphia.” He also called Papadakis, who was a member of the Archdiocesan Council, a trustee of Holy Cross School of Theology and an Archon, “an honor for Orthodoxy and Hellenism.” Papadakis, known as “Taki” by friends, colleagues and loved ones, is survived by his wife of 39 years, Eliana, and daughter Maria, 23, a 2008 Drexel graduate. Known in the national academic community as an innovator and locally as the chief executive who turned around two venerable institutions, Drexel and the former Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Papadakis was among the longest-serving presidents in higher education today. He was appointed Drexel’s
president in 1995, and his 14-year tenure surpassed 85 percent of current presidents of major American research universities. His impact on Drexel, on Greater Philadelphia and on higher education is likely to be felt for decades to come. He also had been a former Bechtel Corp. executive. When he took over the helm, Drexel ranked 175th among the 3,500 universities in the US, he brought it up to 89th place this year. Papadakis’s arrival at Drexel in 1995 ushered in an era of unprecedented growth and excellence. Papadakis, a professional engineer and executive before his move into academia, famously insisted on measurable goals for his managers at Drexel. So numbers are useful in understanding the University’s growth under his leadership: In 13-plus years, total enrollment at the University grew by more than 130 percent, from about 9,000 to 21,000, with full-time undergraduate enrollment increasing by 144 percent to more than 11,000. At the same time, selectivity increased, with freshman applications growing by nearly 700 percent to 27,500, and the median SAT score of accepted students rising to 1,202. Drexel’s success in competing for students was made possible by the financial stability the University achieved under Papadakis. His commitment to sound fiscal management gained him a
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Students Gather for ‘Just Love’ in Boston BOSTON – On Saturday, March 28, Twenty-four students participated in OCF’s “Just Love” program March 28 that was held in conjunction with the OCF Northeast Regional Retreat at Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church. The day was filled with interaction with the homeless of Boston Commons, as well as educational activities illustrating the complexity of poverty. The students began with an orientation led by OCF Service Learning Director Jordan Henderson in which they prepared for the work they would do that day by reflecting on the nature of poverty and brokenness and confronting stereotypes. The students then boarded the subway and headed to Boston Common where they spent the greater part of the day. The first activity the students participated in was called a “Meal Search”. The students broke up into small groups, spread out, and found homeless people with whom to share a meal. Jesse Dominick, who was among several people visiting from Pennsylvania, says the following of the experience: “Out of all the many OCF retreats I have attended this was one of, if not the, best because we really put our faith into action. It was great to firsthand experience poverty and to be able to
put a smile on the face on someone less fortunate. God-willing we will all continue this work in our daily lives in our own towns.” Following the Meal Search, the students participated in several other activities, which encouraged interaction with the poor and reflection on the causes of poverty and how we are to respond as Christians. “Just Love challenged me to redefine homelessness,” says Alexey Petrides of Penn State. “I found that there is a bit of homelessness in each of us, as homelessness is truly defined by poverty, whether it be in a social, spiritual, financial, environmental or health context. Most of us are not so different spiritually than our brothers and sisters in Christ living on the streets. In fact, with the comfortable, self-satisfying lifestyles we live today we can easily find ourselves carrying less of Christ’s cross than those with simple economic burdens who are burdened by their situation. It was both inspiring and humbling to hear their stories and share a meal with them!” OCF coordinates Just Love events like this in cities throughout North America. To bring Just Love to your city, contact Jordan Henderson at jordan@ ocf.net
national reputation, with The Wall Street Journal opining in a 2005 front-page profile that “few university presidents have a hard-core business style quite like Dr. Papadakis’.” His prudent, cost-conscious management was critical to the repair of Drexel’s finances, as evidenced by four improvements in nine years in the University’s Standard and Poor’s rating: from an unsatisfactory BBB+ in 1997 to A+ with a stable outlook since 2005. Papadakis’ primary strategy for improving Drexel’s financial situation was to encourage smart growth. Since his arrival, the University’s annual operating budget has grown by more than 300 percent, and the size of Drexel’s research enterprise has grown from $15 million to more than $100 million in each of the past three years. Papadakis doubled the size of Drexel’s faculty and grew the University’s total employment to 7,300, making Drexel the seventh largest private employer in Philadelphia Perhaps the most transformative change at Drexel under Papadakis was the increase in the University’s comprehensiveness. In 1998 the University trustees signed a landmark agreement to manage the bankrupt Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, followed by a 2002 merger creating the Drexel University College of Medicine. This bold step, undertaken at Papadakis’s urging, saved 13,000 jobs and the education of 3,000 medical and nursing students in Philadelphia. Just three years later, in 2005, Papadakis made another startling announcement: Drexel would become the first top-ranked doctoral university in the country to open a law school in more than 25 years. By September 2006, a faculty was in place, a building was under construction and a talented inaugural class entered Drexel Law. In short order, the school earned provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association and received a major naming gift from Drexel alumnus Earle Mack. In May 2009, the University will celebrate the first graduates of the Earle Mack School of Law. Prior to Drexel, he headed up Colorado State University’s civil engineering department and served as dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering. Papadakis was the only Greek–born president among 2,900 presidents of fouryear colleges and universities in the United States. He was born in Athens on Feb. 2, 1946, to Nicholas Papadakis, a Greek physician, and Rita Masciotti Papadakis, a native of Italy.
He finished the private high school, Kalpaka (Athens), before entering the National Technical University of Athens, where he studied for five years and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. He arrived in the United States in 1969 and settled in Cincinnati where his then fiancee Eliana Apostolides resided with her parents. Papadakis had met Eliana two years previous while she was vacationing in Greece. The two graduated with master’s degrees from the University of Cincinnati in 1971 and traveled to Athens for their wedding. They moved to Michigan, where Papadakis enrolled at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and earned his doctorate in civil engineering in 1973. Their daughter Maria, who graduated from Drexel in 2008 with a bachelor of science in business administration, was born in 1985. For his achievements, commitment to higher education and involvement in charitable organizations, Papadakis received 153 awards and honors including the 2008 Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce William Penn Award, the 2008 Union League Business Leadership Award, the Medal of the City of Athens, the Opera Company of Philadelphia Viva La Diva Award, and the 2006 Gold Medal Award of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association. In 2004, Papadakis was Knighted Cavaliere Ufficiale in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by President Berlusconi. He was also awarded the Congressional Medal of Ellis Island for his success as an immigrant. Dr. Papadakis was one of the earliest members of the Greek American Chamber of Commerce and Drexel University has been a long–term corporate member of the Chamber. The National Commander of the Order of St. Andrew-Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Dr. Anthony Limberakis, said “It is with profound sadness, that the Order of St. Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America, notes the falling asleep in the Lord of Archon Didaskalos tou Genous, Dr. Constantine Papadakis, president of Drexel University. The untimely passing of Archon Constantine is an unspeakable loss for his family, Drexel University, the Greek and American Communities at-large, and particularly for the Order of St. Andrew. His wisdom, experience, expertise and fellowship will be deeply missed by all. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family and friends” Memorials may be made to the “Constantine Papadakis Fund at Drexel University,” Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104.
Fr. James Orfanakos
He came to the United States in 1956 and studied at Brooklyn College and City College of New York. He also attended the University of Athens Theological School and was most recently studying under the St. Stephen’s theological studies special program. He was married to Joan Liakopoulos of Athens, Greece. They had two children, Peter and Vicky. He was ordained as a deacon and a priest in November 1984 in Greenlawn by Bishop Kallistos of Zelon. The funeral took place April 24 at Zoodochos Peghe Church in the Bronx.
COMMACK, N.Y. – Fr. James Orfanakos, 74, died April 20. He was a former pastor of Transfiguration Church in Mattituck, N.Y., who continued to serve the community as a supply priest. He had also served as pastor of two other Long Island parishes, St. Paraskevi in Greenlawn as a priest with a lay profession (1984-86), and Resurrection Church in Glen Cove in 1987. He was born Sept. 24 1934 in Xirokampion, Sparta, Greece, and attended elementary and high school in Sparta.
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MAY – JUNE 2009
MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Joshua Waynick, 20, the son of St. Luke Church pastor Fr. Gregory and Presbytera Waynick, died May 3 in a fire that destroyed the Waynick’s home when he entered the house to rescue the family dog. Funeral was May 9 at St. Nektarios
Church in Charlotte. Burial was in Nashville. The Waynick family lost virtually everything in the fire, which destroyed about 80 percent of the home, according to the local newspaper, the Mooresville Tribune. A fund has been established to try to help them at St Luke Greek Orthodox Church, PO Box 1513, Mooresville NC 28115