Message from the President
For nearly a century, the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania has pursued social justice and progress by educating leading-edge practitioners and scholars who have brought comfort, safety, and hope to society’s most vulnerable members.
Today, the School is at the national forefront in combining interdisciplinary research and practice for the betterment of others while also affirming its excellence both in preparing graduates for leadership in social policy and practice and in developing innovative public policies and strategies for alleviating homelessness, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, and mental illness.
The School of Social Policy & Practice is playing a vital role in furthering the Penn Compact, our shared vision for propelling Penn from excellence to eminence through increased access, integrated knowledge, and heightened engagement locally and globally.
Recognizing that excellence and diversity go hand in hand, the school enrolls great future leaders from all backgrounds, with underrepresented minorities and international students accounting for 31% of current student enrollment.
The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, & Research, which mobilizes the expertise of Penn faculty in law, medicine, nursing, education, social work, and the arts and sciences, offers an inspiring example of the School’s dynamic multidisciplinary approach.
Another example of integrated knowledge and global engagement is the new masters degree program in Nonprofit/NGO Leadership, a collaborative endeavor among Penn's School of Social Policy & Practice, the School of Arts and Sciences, and the Wharton School. With this exciting new program, the School of Social Policy & Practice can become the preeminent institution devoted to the advancement of human welfare and the education of those who will lead the grassroots, non-profit, governmental and corporate organizations that are promoting human rights and healthy democracies worldwide.
Approaching its 100th birthday, the School of Social Policy & Practice is more dynamically engaged locally and global than ever. Masters students contribute 240,000 hours of community service in their field placements each year, while a contingent of faculty, staff and students traveled to Hancock County, Mississippi, to assess social service and mental health needs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Meanwhile, the Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP) is developing the information, tools, and metrics to enable philanthropists to make wise social investments locally as well as globally.
By growing ever stronger with the recruitment of top-flight faculty and students, by developing more interdisciplinary programs, and by expanding its global impact, the School of Social Policy & Practice truly is well on its way to eminence in teaching, scholarship, and practice for the 21st century.
Amy Gutmann, PhD
President, University of Pennsylvania