Creese became President of Drexel Institute in 1945, as the Second World War was ending. The war years had brought new focus to war efforts in the curriculum at Drexel, as well as substantial administrative changes. The period immediately following the war saw a surge in students at Drexel, resulting in a need for more buildings for classes and laboratories. Drexel had been continuously updating their facilities, but the post war years demanded an even bigger dedication to increasing the amount of space on campus for student use. Most students lived off campus during this time period. During Creese's long presidency at Drexel, many changes occurred in every academic department. One of the changes involved cooperative education which began to be included in the curriculum of more departments and was more connected to academic study. A new emphasis on research resulted in Drexel receiving state aid for projects. During Creese's administration Drexel aimed to be a school similar to MIT, with an emphasis on technology, but also a strong humanities department in the undergraduate division. Students in all of the individual schools, including engineering and business, received a humanities education. The administration of Drexel became more institutionalized, with succinct departments and new administrative offices. The Dean of Faculty became more responsible for daily operations than in previous decades. There was also an increase in the number of departments and committees in the academic and administrative offices of the college. An Office of Admissions led by George Galphin opened in 1954. Drexel highlighted cooperative education as a strong incentive for students in the 1950s. The Middle States Association and the Engineering Council for Professional Development made accreditation visits to Drexel in 1953 and 1962, respectively. There were also two major fundraising campaigns, one in 1947 and the other near the end of Creese's tenure in 1962. There was a huge program for development during his tenure due to the concentration on new academic buildings for the school. During Creese's presidency Drexel built a large number of new facilities including the Engineering Laboratories Building (1950), a Basic Science Center (1955), the Korman Library Center (1959), a Campus Activities Center (1962), and a Classroom-Laboratories Building (1963). Creese was involved with numerous outside organizations while he was president of Drexel. He was a member of the governing boards of Drexel, the Franklin Institute, and the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, the Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia Fellowship Commission, and the Pen-Jer-Del (Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware Metropolitan Project, Incorporated) among others. He was a chairman of the Pennsylvania Governor's Committee on Unemployment Compensation. He was a part of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1956 to 1959, the board of the Pennsylvania State Highway Professional Personnel Board, and was a Trustee of the Baldwin School, a private school outside of Philadelphia. Creese was on a panel for the Department of Defense and their Reserve Officers' Training Corps Program (ROTC) in 1950. He was a member, and director, of the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation until the time of his death. He received ten honorary degrees during his lifetime. He was a member of the
Phi Beta Kappa and the
Phi Kappa Phi societies. He was the President of the National Association of Urban Universities from 1949–1950. He was on the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities from 1962 to 1963. Creese was also on the Board of the American Association for Adult Education from 1942–1949. ==After Drexel==