Constantine Papadakis

Constantine Papadakis.

Constantine Papadakis (February 2, 1946 – April 5, 2009) was a Greek-American businessman and the president of Drexel University.

Academic career

Papadakis received his diploma in Civil engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece. He came to the United States in 1969 to continue his studies in civil engineering and earn his master's degree from the University of Cincinnati. He then went on to earn his doctorate from the University of Michigan.

Papadakis served as head of the civil engineering department at Colorado State University and then dean of University of Cincinnati's College of Engineering prior to 1995. He was appointed President of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1995 and held that position until his death in 2009. During his tenure, Papadakis doubled the full-time undergraduate enrollment, tripled freshman applications, quintupled the university's endowment, and quintupled research funding. His salary of $805,000 was the sixth highest among university presidents. Later, Papadakis' salary was pegged at over $4 million making him the highest paid college president in the United States.

Other activities

Papadakis sat on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange as chairman of the compensation committee. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

Death

Papadakis died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from pulmonary complications due to pneumonia on April 5, 2009 after battling lung cancer for months. He was 63 years old.

External links

• Drexel University Office of the President
• The Dragon Slayer
• President Constantine Papadakis Exclusive The Triangle
• Constantine Papadakis at Find a Grave