Drexel and the Academy of Natural Sciences are close on deal to continue the Academy’s operations and keep it in Philadelphia, Pa. leader says

David L. Cohen, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada and Comcast executive, said the governor asked him to be his “agent” in helping to broker a deal between Drexel University and the Academy of Natural Sciences.

No one, he said, wanted to see another University of the Arts, which abruptly closed in June 2024, leaving a hole in the city’s arts landscape and sending students and staff scrambling.

“I don’t want to lose the Academy on my watch, and neither does the mayor,” Gov. Josh Shapiro told Cohen, Cohen said. “Can you figure out if there’s a solution here? If there’s a solution, can you help convince the Academy and Drexel to pursue that solution.”

» READ MORE: The Academy of Natural Sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries

That’s what Cohen said he has been doing, holding 40 or 50 meetings over the last several months in search of an agreement and producing a draft proposal for the future of the Academy.

The two entities, he said, are close to agreeing to terms on governance and finances. While the museum is closing, as Drexel and the Academy announced Tuesday, the larger agreement would allow for the continued operation and growth of the Academy in Philadelphia, without jeopardizing Drexel, which is facing its own financial challenges.

“We want to preserve the Academy,” he said, “but we also don’t want to jeopardize Drexel.”

Neither the governor’s or mayor’s press offices responded to requests for comment.

Cohen has long been a negotiator in many major city issues, formerly serving as chief of staff to former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and leading the board of trustees of the University of Pennsylvania.

Shapiro, he said, was clear about the objectives.

“The goal that the governor articulated to me and the mayor was to preserve the essential mission of the Academy, all three legs on the stool,” he said citing research, education and public engagement with the collection. “Some of the legs might be a little shorter. They might be a little skinnier. But the goal is that the Academy survives and has a foundation to thrive and grow in Philadelphia. This is a matter of civic importance.”

Drexel and the Academy are exploring establishing another museum, maybe a smaller one, in another location through a third partner, Cohen said.

“That’s a work in process,” he said. “I had an hour and a half meeting yesterday with one of the potential institutions that could serve that function for the Academy and for Drexel.”

Cohen said he hopes ultimately the community rallies around the Academy and helps to support it.

“We don’t need a single savior here,” he said. “This can be a community effort. I know the Philadelphia nonprofit and foundation community, and time and again this community has stepped up, and I have every hope that we, and it’s a we, will step up again.”

Cohen credited both Drexel and the Academy for their cooperation and willingness to “focus on a common need for the community as a whole. They really deserve the credit for doing this.”

He said he first got involved in the matter about a year ago when he was home recovering from back surgery and got a call from two members of the Academy board about the issues they were having with their partner, Drexel.

The Academy was looking at possibly leaving the city, though it really didn’t want to do that, he said. He suggested they talk to the mayor and the governor. The board members told him they had been trying to do that but were unable to get attention.

Cohen texted the governor and mayor on the spot from his living room, he said. Meetings were convened, and that led to the governor seeking Cohen’s help.

“My wife says to me ‘why in the world did you take this on,” Cohen recalled. “Let me tell you, this legacy, this mission, this institution is worth fighting for. There is real history here, real value.”