More than a year after being diagnosed with lung cancer, Papadakis, 63, died Sunday evening at sunset - his favorite time of day - with his wife of 39 years, Eliana, and their daughter, Maria, a 2008 Drexel grad, at his side.
University officials said the cancer was in remission, but he died suddenly of a pulmonary complication after a long bout with pneumonia.
News of his death stunned many on campus who continued to hold out hope that their enthusiastic, visionary leader could beat the cancer.
"Taki more than anybody I know did not want to be a diagnosis. He wanted to be a leader," said Donna Gentile O'Donnell, a Drexel trustee.
"He was in every sense a Greco-Roman warrior, and he stayed focused on what was best for the university until the very end. His leadership and courage and fortitude were beyond measure."
His death at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania came just three days after the board of trustees approved his medical leave and appointed C.R. "Chuck" Pennoni, past chairman of the board, as interim president.
A memorial service will be held on campus in early May. Trustees will meet in mid-May to discuss plans for naming a new president.
Time to grieve
"Right now, we're going to grieve for Taki and focus our energy on the family," said Richard Greenawalt, trustees chairman.
Greenawalt said he expected the university would stay on course.
Papadakis was the prime mover behind the Sacramento expansion; the university trustees have yet to approve the campus. Whether it will proceed is uncertain.
Papadakis, a former smoker who still enjoyed an occasional cigar, was diagnosed with the cancer after he sustained an injury on a business trip and had a chest X-ray.
