Dorinda Livesay IXDS 5403 Media History and Theory Professor David Meyers August 6, 2016
University of Pennsylvania, commonly known as Penn or UPenn, was founded in 1740 by George Whitefield. The university was founded on the idea of a Philadelphia charity school that would also serve a house of worship. Due to construction cost, the project remained unfinished for decades.
History
In 1751, Benjamin Franklin revisited the idea of opening the doors with the help of a board form of 24 trustees that was made up of leading citizens in Philadelphia. The school was opened to the gentry and working class for both men and women. The proposed curriculum that would be taught was based on Franklin’s essays “Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth. The focus was to train young people leadership in business, government and public service. Franklin’s forethought pushed the boundaries to move science and society forward that help shape American into what we are today.
“An Investment in Knowledge Pays the Best Interest” – Benjamin Franklin
Franklin’s vision called “Publick Academy of Philadelphia” was chartered in 1751 as the Academy of Philadelphia. In 1755, it obtained the status of colligate charter creating the College of Philadelphia. The College of Philadelphia graduated its first class in 1757. It established the first medical school in 1765 in America. It was the first institution of higher education to be named a university, University of the State of Pennsylvania, in 1779. In 1791 the university earned the name University of Pennsylvania and was made a private school. Between 1802 – 1872, the university expanded several times until it out grew itself and built a new campus in West Philadelphia on 302 acres that reflects its rich heritage. In 1889, the Board of Trustees voted to adjust the founding from the initial date of 1750 to 1749 then to 1740 making it appear as the oldest college. It was also the first university in the United States to offer both “undergraduate” and professional education
Benjiman Franklin Founder
University of Pennsylvania has a rich history of many distinguished alumni and faculty that walked through its halls, such as 9 signers were on the Declaration of Independence, 11 signers of the Constitution of the United States were associated with the University, 28 Noble Prize winners, 9 Nobel laurates, 12 heads of state, 1 United States President (William Henry Harrison, Ninth President), 3 United State Supreme Court Justices, a number of State Supreme Court Justices, founders of technology companies, international law firms, global financial institutions and university presidents. This only scratches the surface of the accomplished alumni and faculty that attended the University of Pennsylvania. In 2014, a study showed that the University of Pennsylvania graduated the most billionaires at the undergraduate level that any other university.
Over the years, the University of Pennsylvania developed a number of professional schools are also well recognized such as their medical school, dental school, design school, business school, law school, engineering school, communication school, nursing school, veterinary school and their liberal arts programs. They are also recognized for their capabilities in research and biomedical. In turn, has ranked the University of Pennsylvania among the top research universities in the world for both quality and quantity of research.
PENN’S
DISTINGUISHED NOTABLES
John Robert Schrieffer NOBLE PRIZE OF PHYSICS
Fourth Street Campus, College of Philadelphia: Academy/College Building (built 1740) and Dormitory/Charity School (built 1762), ca. 1770
INNOVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES
ENIAC
ELECTRONIC NUMERICAL INTEFRATOR AND COMPUTER Several important innovations and discoveries in science came from faculty and students. University of Pennsylvania’s most notable innovation is the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, also known as ENIAC. ENIAC was born and developed at the Moore School of Engineer in 1946 by John Mauchley and J. Presper EcKert, Jr. ENIAC was capable of computing mathematical problems at tremendous amount of speed. During WWII, the ENIAC was used to help speed up calculations needed to produce artillery firing tables for the military. This put University of Pennsylvania on the ground floor of the Information Age. During World War II, University of Pennsylvania made many contributions to the war effort. In the 1950’s and 60’s, a lot of tax dollars went to support basic research and University based training. Along with the ENIAC, University of Pennsylvania continues to break the mold in the field of engineering. They developed the technology behind the PET Scanware; played a part in developing the theory of superconductivity (faculty member John Robert Schrieffer along with John Bardeen and Leon Cooper); created the first spelling and grammar checker; the COBOL programing language; the PDP-12 to help doctors gather better data for diagnosis without endangering the patient’s health; the Bubbleman software that NASA purchased to test the responses of the human body to certain procedures and work station arrangements on the Space Shuttle.
University of Pennsylvania did not only succeed in the field of engineering, they also excelled in the field of medicine with discoveries, such as the rubella and hepatitis B vaccines, Retin-A, cognitive therapy, cancer’s link with genes, Resistin, the Philadelphia gene (linked to chronic myelogenous leukemia), the genes for fragile X syndrome, spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Conductive polymer. Etc.… University of Pennsylvania also shaped the field of medicine with the of computers by incorporating the technology to develop the first dialysis machine and the scientific basis for in-vitro fertilization
MEDICAL
DIALYSIS MACHINE To continue, University of Pennsylvania’s notable successes does not end there. In the field of business and economics, the University made major advancements. It was the first to establish a research center in a business school and the first center of entrepreneurship. They developed the conjoint analysis, which is widely used as a predictive tool in the research market. the method of measuring Gross National Product (GNP), the Penn effect (observation of consumer price level in regards to higher in richer countries than a poor one), the Warton Model – measures and forecast economic activity, and the idea behind the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) which was put in practice during President Nixon’s presidential term.
What has been present barely scratches the surface of what the University of Pennsylvania has done in continuing to educate and inspire the past and future leaders and innovators of our fast moving global society. They continue to dominate in many ways and in many fields today. The alumni and student body, administrators and present and past faculty with its size, quality and diversity has produced one of the most influential and powerful networks in the United States and Internationally. There are no limits to what the University of Pennsylvania will continue to accomplish in our world.
“By faliling to prepare, you are preparing to fail�--BEN FRANKLIN
"Make no mistake: Penn's place in the world tomorrow will be decided by what we do today. By enunciating our plans and aspirations now we will determine how we harness our collective drive to shape the future." -- Amy Gutmann, August 2013
REFERENCES Friedman, S. M. (1996, April). Brief History of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved August 03, 2016, from http://www.archives.upenn. edu/histy/genlhistory/brief.html McConaghy, M. D., Silberman, M., & Kalashnikova, I. (2004, August). Introduction, From Franklin's Vision to Academy to University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved August 03, 2016, from http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/genlhistory/brief.html Tracing the Digital Revolution at Penn's New Home for Innovation. (2014, December 24). The Pennsylvania Gazette. Retrieved August 03, 2016, from http://thepenngazette.com/tracing-the-digital-revolution-at-penns-new-home-for-innovation/ University of Pennsylvania. (n.d.). Retrieved August 03, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania Heavens, Nicholas G. "AFTER ENIAC: Important Milestones and Fascinating Innovations During the Last Fifty Years of Computing Research at the University of Pennsylvania." University of Pennsylvania. August 2000. Accessed August 03, 2016. http://www.archives.upenn. edu/histy/features/computers/intro.html.