Drexel University. Office of the President.

In 1965, the Drexel Institute of Technology first formulated a policy on patents resulting from research by Drexel employees and students. Around 1970, a Patent Advisory Committee was established to review and make recommendations regarding cases where patent ownership was unclear. The Patent Advisory Committee was first appointed, and later chaired, by the vice president for academic affairs. In the early 1970s, this responsibility was transferred to the assistant to the president.

Four presidents of Drexel University are represented in the collection: James Creese (1896-1966, president 1945-1963), William Walsh Hagerty (1916-1986, president 1963-1984), William Samuel Gaither (b. 1932, president 1984-1987), and Richard Breslin (b. 1937 or 1938, president 1988-1994).