1740-1915

Pioneers at Penn

"I think that what diversity means today is also meaningful for the whole history of racism and sexism and classism in this country. And that is, it means breaking down the barriers to opportunity and to a really excellent education, and to really open leadership in our society- and those barriers have been many. And a commitment to diversity, to me, means a commitment to struggling against those barriers."

President Amy Gutmann, "Towards Inclusion"
2006

 

1916-1966

Minorities at Penn Appear Across the Campus

"We have an enrollment at the University of 12,000 students, who have registered from every State in the Union, and 253 students from at least fifty foreign countries and foreign territories, including India, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and practically all the British possessions except Ireland; every Latin American country, and most of the Oriental and European nations."

George E. Nitzsche
1921

 

1967-1989

From Presence to Permanence

"[The committee] does subscribe to the notion that a major part of the total educational experience of a university student is found in the interchange of ideas with other students and the mingling of cultures represented within the student body. Thus, it believes that diversity of student background is a positive educational value and should be actively pursued, even at the expense of other desirable attributes. The admission policy of the University should be designed to produce a student population having the highest possible diversification as to (1) intellectual interests, (2) special talents, (3) social and economic background, and (4) cultural characteristics. The social, economic, and cultural homogeneity of the present student body is a source of some concern to the Committee, and some of the subsequent recommendations of this Report reflect this concern,"

"Admissions Policy for the Undergraduate Schools of the University of Pennsylvania,"
Chaired by Dan M. McGill,
1967

1990 - Present

Towards Inclusion

"There is a big difference between diversity and inclusion. Diversity is sort of- it's just a snapshot. I say that there can be no case for diversity because the case is already made, it is the- it is the reality in which we live. What doesn't exist and what takes hard work and what you have to think about is inclusion. So just simply having, you know, the existence of different groups and a multiplicity of cultures isn't enough. And so really it is inclusion, real efforts that you make affirmatively, to include people of different backgrounds and sort of accentuating those differences. And what that means is that ultimately as you as an institution will change, and will have to change. That's not a bad thing,"

Gilbert F. Casellas, Esq., "Towards Inclusion"
2006

 

The 1992 "Report on Minority Permanence at the University of Pennsylvania" remarked,

"Since September 1979 there has been a 69% increase in offers of admission to minorities and a 68% increase in the number of matriculates….It is important to note that minority recruitment is a priority concern not only of this office [of Minority Recruitment] but of the entire admissions staff….Hispanic recruitment is receiving special emphasis this year, in an effort to build Penn's appeal to this fastest-growing minority group. In addition to travel and personalized recruitment, the staff is working with current Penn undergraduates to develop a network of Hispanic undergraduate student recruiters….The office has also initiated an annual Latino Pre-Applicant program."

The report discussed the wide range of student organizations on campus promoting diversity at the undergraduate and graduate levels:

Undergraduate level:

• ACELA: Asociacion Cultural de Estudiantes Latino Americanos
• BSL: Black Student League
• CASA: Caribbean American Student Association
• CSA: Chinese Student Association
• JCS: Japan Culture Society
• KCS: Korean Cultural Society
• MEChA: El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (established 1972 at Penn)
• PPA: Penn Philippine Association
• PVC: Penn Vietnamese Club
• SAS: South Asia Society

Graduate level:

• The Minority Graduate and Professional Students Association
• Society of Black Engineers
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
• Black MBA Association, Wharton Latin American Student Association
• Asian American Association of the Wharton School
• Black Law Students Union, Student National Medical Association
• Organization of Minority Veterinary Medical Students
• Graduate School of Education Multicultural Student Association
• Hispanos Unidos of the School of Social Work
• National Association of Black Social Workers-University of Pennsylvania Chapter

Scholarships/Fellowships targeting minorities include:

• The Minority Scholars Initiative
• The Andrew W. Mellon Minority Undergraduate Scholars Program
• The William Penn Scholars Initiative in Mathematics, Science and Engineering
• The Penn Historically Black College Undergraduate Biomedical Initiative, or, the Lincoln University NSF Initiative
• Fontaine Fellowship Program (Note: named for William Thomas Valeria Fontaine. Since 1968 tuition awards and stipends have been provided for around 215 minority men and women)
• Howard Mitchell Fellowship Program

Programs aimed at minority high school students in the Philadelphia region:

• The Philadelphia Regional Minority Student Scholars Invitational
• The Philadelphia Junior High School Program

Additional pre-college programs for minorities include:

• LEAD
• PRIME
• Minority High School Student Research Apprentice Program
• Upward Bound and Veterans Upward Bound
• National Youth Sports Program (Penn is the annual host)
• Penn participates in the American Foundation for Negro Affairs (AFNA) program
• William Penn Summer Science Enrichment Program
• Penn Partners Program
• Discovery Program of CGS.

The report details a multitude of resources available to minority students at Penn with the goal of creating a permanent presence of diversity on campus. From pre-college programs to strengthening the West Philadelphia community, Penn highlights their past success and future goals, demonstrating a sustained commitment to foster a welcoming University for students from all backgrounds.

University President Sheldon Hackney presented "Minority Permanence at the University of Pennsylvania: A Retrospective Analysis."

Dr. Claire Muriel Mintzer Fagin, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN (Hon. LL.D.) was appointed, as the first woman, to a one year term as Interim President and Chief Executive of the University of Pennsylvania.

In January 1997, Jon M. Huntsman (Wharton '59), founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Huntsman Chemical Corporation, endowed the Huntsman Program. "Globalization is the single most dramatic change factor affecting business….I am proud to endow a program that is the first to fully integrate comprehensive international studies into a business curriculum in order to prepare graduates to work anywhere."

The Huntsman Program is an integrated undergraduate program in business, language and liberal arts of the School of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School.