‘Going National: The Drexel Microcomputing Project’

From Drexel’s YouTube channel:

But far less recognized is that Drexel made the very bold decision of committing all students to purchase a previously unreleased and untested computer from Apple. This was, of course, the Macintosh (introduced in January 1984), which was unlike any previous computer. Drexel’s commitment to the Mac was also of great benefit to Apple, helping to legitimize this brand-new platform, which helped make the Mac a successful product that continues to thrive in education 40 years later.

This entire initiative, called the Drexel Microcomputer Project, was captured in a 1-hour documentary filmed by David Jones, Dean of the Pennoni Honors College from 2008 to 2014. The film premiered at Drexel in 1985.

I was very fortunate not only to know Dave Jones (who died in 2018) but to have him as a professor for several film criticism courses (one on westerns, and another on the works of Alfred Hitchcock). I was a computer science major, not a film major, but Jones didn’t care. He was also familiar with — dare I say, a fan of — my column in The Triangle, Drexel’s student newspaper. He took me to lunch my senior year and encouraged me to pursue writing as a career. He was a great teacher: thoughtful, kind, insightful, open-minded, and deeply knowledgeable.

I saw a screening of Going National back in 2011, and sat on a panel discussion with Jones to talk about it. It’s a good documentary, and he really captured the feel of Drexel’s campus at the time. It is a very ’80s movie. It was gratifying that I got to tell him, then, that his advice to me back in 1996 had worked out pretty well.

★ Monday, 17 March 2025