Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania, usually referred to as Penn or UPenn, is a private Ivy League research university. It is recognized among the top universities by many organizations and academics. Although the institution was founded in 1740, it was actually founded in 1749 by Benjamin Franklin and other Philadelphians.
The university comprises twelve graduate and professional schools in addition to four undergraduate schools. The College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School, and the School of Nursing are among the institutions that accept undergraduate students. Its law school, whose first professor drafted the first draught of the United States Constitution, is one of its highly regarded graduate schools.
Princeton and Columbia Universities dispute the claim that the University of Pennsylvania is the fourth-oldest institution of higher learning in the country. A group of Philadelphians banded together in 1740 to build a large preaching hall for the itinerant evangelist George Whitefield, who traveled the American colonies and preached in the open air. Edmund Woolley designed and constructed the structure, which at the time was the biggest in the city and drew thousands of visitors when it was first used for a sermon. Originally intended to be a charity school as well, plans for the chapel and school had to be shelved due to a lack of funding.
The Academy of Philadelphia, a secondary school for boys, opened its doors in 1751, occupying the site of a long-abandoned church assembly hall at 4th and Arch Streets. The College of Philadelphia was granted a collegiate charter in 1755, and the first classes were held there, frequently enrolling pupils who had previously completed their studies at The Academy of Philadelphia. When the British withdrew from Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War, Penn’s sole academic structure, “College Hall,” served as the Second Continental Congress’ temporary meeting location because the British armed forces severely damaged many areas of the city, including the Pennsylvania State House, where the Congress had originally met.
Benjamin Rush, a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice who was also a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, a member of the Continental Congress, and the surgeon general of the Continental Army, taught classes in this facility in 1807.
Admission to a lecture by Benjamin Rush, professor at Penn Medical School
The mansion housed classes until 1829 when it was destroyed. On the same property, William Strickland’s twin structures College Hall and Medical Hall were created.
The Philadelphia-based architecture firm Cope and Stewardson recognized for creating the Collegiate Gothic style by fusing the Gothic architecture of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge with the local terrain, designed a large portion of Penn’s buildings. forming the lower portion of Memorial Tower is Upper Quad Gate.
The University of Pennsylvania School Historic District is the older part of the campus, while the current core campus spans over 299 acres in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. The majority of Penn’s research institutes and all of its schools are situated on this campus. A large, upmarket grocery store, a movie theatre, and a number of eateries and pubs can be found in the area.
Lewis Evans, donated volumes to start Penn’s library in 1750. Twelve years later, William Smith, the provost at the time, set sail for England in order to earn more money and expand the collection. As one of the library’ first donors and a trustee, Benjamin Franklin made sure that money was set aside for the acquisition of literature from London, many of which are still in the collection today, more than 250 years later.
With the addition of 15 libraries, 400 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, and an operating budget of more than $48 million, the Penn Library System now consists of 15 locations. The library system has 1.11 million e-books, 4.23 million microform items, 6.19 million book and serial volumes, and more.
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