The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn ) is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have been the first university in America. Penn is a member of the Ivy League and is one of the Colonial Colleges.
Benjamin Franklin, Penn's founder, advocated an educational program that focused as much on practical education for commerce and public service as on the classics and theology. Penn was one of the first academic institutions to follow a multidisciplinary model pioneered by several European universities, concentrating multiple "faculties" (e.g., theology, classics, medicine) into one institution. Penn is today one of the largest private universities in the nation, offering a very broad range of academic departments, an extensive research enterprise and a number of community outreach and public service programs. Penn is particularly well known for its medical school, business school, law school, social sciences and humanities programs and its biomedical teaching and research capabilities. Its undergraduate programs are also among the most selective in the country.
In FY2009, Penn's academic research programs undertook more than $730 million in research, involving some 3,800 faculty, 1,000 postdoctoral fellows and 5,400 support staff/graduate assistants. Much of the funding is provided by the National Institutes of Health for biomedical research. Penn tops the Ivy League in annual spending, with a projected 2009 budget of $5.542 billion. In 2008, it ranked fifth among U.S. universities in fundraising, bringing in about $475.96 million in private support.
Incorporated as The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania , Penn is one of 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities.
History
In 1740, a group of Philadelphians joined together to erect a great preaching hall for the evangelist George Whitefield. Designed and built by Edmund Woolley, it was the largest building in the city and it was also planned to serve as a charity school. The fundraising, however, fell short and although the building was erected, the plans for both a chapel and the charity school were suspended. In the fall of 1749, eager to create a college to educate future generations, Benjamin Franklin circulated a pamphlet titled "Proposals for the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania," his vision for what he called a "Public Academy of Philadelphia." However, according to Franklin's autobiography, it was in 1743 when he first drew up a proposal for establishing the academy, "thinking the Rev. Richard Peters a fit person to superintend such an institution." Unlike the other four American Colonial colleges that existed in 1749 — Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, and Princeton — Franklin's new school would not focus merely on education for the clergy. He advocated an innovative concept of higher education, one which would teach both the ornamental knowledge of the arts and the practical skills necessary for making a living and doing public service. The proposed program of study became the nation's first modern liberal arts curriculum.
Franklin assembled a board of trustees from among the leading citizens of Philadelphia, the first such non-sectarian board in America. At the first meeting of the 24 members of the Board of Trustees (November 13, 1749) the issue of where to locate the school was a prime concern. Although a lot across Sixth Street from Independence Hall was offered without cost by James Logan, its owner, the Trustees realized that the building erected in 1740, which was still vacant, would be an even better site. On February 1, 1750 the new board took over the building and trusts of the old board. In 1751 the Academy, using the great hall at 4th and Arch Streets, took in its first students. A charity school also was opened in accordance with the intentions of the original "New Building" donors, although it lasted only a few years.
For its date of founding, the University uses 1740, the date of "the creation of the earliest of the many educational trusts the University has taken upon itself" (the charity school mentioned above) during its existence.
The institution was known as the College of Philadelphia from 1755 to 1779. In 1779, not trusting then-provost the Rev. William Smith's loyalist tendencies, the revolutionary State Legislature created a University of the State of Pennsylvania . The result was a schism, with Smith continuing to operate an attenuated version of the College of Philadelphia. In 1791 the legislature issued a new charter, merging the two institutions into the University of Pennsylvania with twelve men from each institution on the new board of trustees. These three schools were part of the same institution and were overseen by the same board of Trustees.
Penn has three claims to being the first university in the United States, according to university archives director Mark Frazier Lloyd: the 1765 founding of the first medical school in America made Penn the first institution to offer "undergraduate" and professional education; the 1779 charter made it the first American institution of higher learning to take the name of "University"; and existing colleges were established as seminaries.
After being located in downtown Philadelphia for more than a century, the campus was moved across the Schuylkill River to property purchased from the Blockley Almshouse in West Philadelphia in 1872, where it has since remained in an area now known as University City.
Heads of the University of Pennsylvania
See also: Ivy League PresidentsEducational innovations
Penn's educational innovations include: the nation's first medical school in 1765; the first university teaching hospital in 1874; the Wharton School, the world's first collegiate school of business, in 1881; the first American student union building, Houston Hall, in 1896; the country's second school of veterinary medicine; and the home of ENIAC, the world's first electronic, large-scale, general-purpose digital computer in 1946. Penn is also home to the oldest psychology department in North America and is where the American Medical Association was founded.
Motto
Penn's motto is based on a line from Horace’s III.24 (Book 3, Ode 24), quid leges sine moribus vanae proficiunt? ("of what avail empty laws without morals?") From 1756 to 1898, the motto read Sine Moribus Vanae . When a wag pointed out that the motto could be translated as "Loose women without morals," the university quickly changed the motto to literae sine moribus vanae ("Letters without morals useless"). In 1932, all elements of the seal were revised, and as part of the redesign it was decided that the new motto "mutilated" Horace, and it was changed to its present wording, Leges Sine Moribus Vanae ("Laws without morals useless").
Colors
The official school colors are red with hex value #990000, and blue with hex value #011F5B. In printed materials they are PMS 201 red and PMS 288 blue.
Academics
Undergraduate schools
The University of Pennsylvania has four undergraduate schools:
- School of Arts and Sciences (SAS)
- School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)
- School of Nursing
- The Wharton School of Business
The College of Arts and Sciences is the undergraduate division of the School of Arts and Sciences, which also contains the Graduate Division and the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, Penn's division for non-traditional undergraduate and graduate students.
Penn has a strong focus on interdisciplinary learning and research. It offers joint-degree programs, unique majors, and academic flexibility. Penn's "One University" policy allows undergraduates access to courses at all of Penn's undergraduate and graduate schools, except the medical, veterinary and dental schools. Undergraduates at Penn may also take courses at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore, Penn's fellows in the Quaker Consortium.
Graduate and professional schools
The following schools offer graduate programs:
- Annenberg School for Communication
- Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
- Graduate School of Education
- Law School
- School of Dental Medicine
- School of Design (formerly the Graduate School of Fine Arts)
- School of Engineering and Applied Science
- School of Medicine
- School of Nursing
- School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) (formerly the School of Social Work (SSW))
- School
Pennsylvania Medicaid and Elder Law Attorney
Visit the law library to order his best selling law treatise on Pennsylvania Medicaid, now in its fifth edition. About the book: Pennsylvania Medicaid - Long Term Care
The Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP)
Health & Welfare Building, Room 515, PO Box 2675, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2675 717-787-1870. Welcome to The Office of Medical Assistance Programs Website
PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAID
220 Burnham Street ● South Windsor CT 06074 Vox 888-255-7293 ● Fax 860-289-0055 Page 1 of 2 3/12/2008 PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAID DENTAL ELECTRONIC CLAIMS ENROLLMENT REGISTRATION ...
Pennsylvania Medicaid Pregnancy Assistant - Get a personalized copy of ...
Get your personalized Pennsylvania Medicaid Application Assistant for FREE. Includes Pennsylvania medicaid application forms, breakdown of Pennsylvania eligibility requirements ...
Pennsylvania Medicaid Book for Elder Law Attorneys
Pennsylvania Medicaid - Long Term Care Care 2009 by Robert C. Gerhard, III Pennsylvania Elder Law Attorney 2009 Edition is Now Available! Pubisher: George T. Bisel Co.
The Pennsylvania Medicaid Policy Center (PMPC)
Pennsylvania Medicaid Policy Center University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health 130 DeSoto Street, A616 Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (412) 624-3104 / pmpc@pitt.edu
Medicaid
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard Baltimore, MD 21244
The Pennsylvania Medicaid Policy Center (PMPC) - Frequently Asked ...
Home >>Frequently Asked Questions. What is Medicaid? Does each state have their own Medicaid program? How is the Medicaid program funded? Who administers Medicaid in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), 2003
This page lists the total Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) expenditure and number of participants for a particular state
Pennsylvania Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), 2002
This page lists the total Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) expenditure and number of participants for a particular state