Vanessa Vardon Upon graduating from the prestigious residential Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, in Aurora, Illinois, Vanessa Vardon decided to pursue her Chemical Engineering degree at Drexel University as a member of the inaugural class of accelerated BS/Ph.D. students within the College of Engineering. Throughout her eight year tenure at Drexel as both a student and staff member, Vanessa has become integrally involved in some of the key programs which lead to the University being ranked among the top 5 “Up-and-Coming Schools” by the US News and World Report. She acts as the liaison between the College of Engineering, one of the nation’s largest private engineering colleges, and the nationally recognized LeBow College of Business as well as sitting on the Council for International Programs and the Research Advisory Board. In addition to coordinating graduate recruitment efforts for the College, Ms. Vardon also serves as the international programs manager, responsible for pursuing international funding opportunities, research and study abroad collaborations, and dual degree programs. In the past year, she has planned and hosted the Global Engineering Education Exchange (GE3) annual conference, the consortium of over 80 universities around the world which Drexel is a member of. She has also been awarded a significant grant to host a NATO Advanced Study Institute on Autonomous Systems in 2010 in Turkey. Ms. Vardon is the Middle East and Asian liason for the College of Engineering organizing significant trips to Turkey for faculty, staff, and even the Drexel Division I basketball team as well as launching new recruitment efforts in the United Arab Emirates and Korea. Ms. Vardon also manages the novel 3+2 program with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc in which students complete a 3 year BS at SJTU, a 2 year MS at Drexel, and two international work experiences at the Air Products and Chemicals, Inc locations in the USA and China. |