Sharing individual stories can counterbalance criticism of higher education.
By President J. Larry Jameson
When I last wrote to you here in the Gazette, I was preparing for a trip abroad to meet with our international alumni, families, and institutional partners. Hands down the best part of these and any alumni engagement is the conversation. I learn so much from our alumni—about their Penn experience, their careers, their families, and how they stay connected. All of this informs my thinking about current students and how we create a learning experience to prepare them for life after graduation.
I’ll ask alumni, “What do you remember from your time at Penn?” One person may talk about how meeting a new friend sparked a business idea or a new artistic project. Another might mention how a lightbulb moment steered them toward a surprising calling in life. At a recent dinner with Wharton graduates, they each highlighted the humanities, recalling specific professors and classes that were most memorable—an excellent reminder of the value of a well-rounded, interdisciplinary curriculum. I also know this from personal experience.
As an undergraduate at my alma mater, I initially focused on English and the social sciences. When I reluctantly took a required science course, that’s when it happened. I fell in love with biology and ended up with a degree in chemistry. This would turn out to be a recurring theme: I’ll never forget my first brush with doing original research and, later, chance encounters with Nobel laureates and brilliant mentors while I pursued advanced degrees.
For me, the path from such moments in college, graduate school, and medical school to this present moment is not so much a dotted line as a blend of serendipity driven by purpose. I look around now and think, without those pivotal student experiences, I would not be where I am, doing what I am doing, today. I am still on a university campus, curious and excited to learn.
I point this out because in the US in recent years, popular narratives and public debates concerning higher education routinely miss this critical part of the picture. The focus is less about opportunity and impact and more about challenges.
That is not to say that places like Penn are perfect. Far from it. One of our foundational University values is constant self-improvement, which we’re doing by listening carefully to criticism and working hard on what we can do better.
Still, few headlines or commentators devote similar attention to all the individual lives changed by college, or how they go on to make a substantial difference for their families, fields, businesses and institutions, communities, and countries. The same is true of how universities like Penn partner with neighbors, states, and the nation to buoy the economy, create jobs, increase knowledge, and fuel life-improving and lifesaving innovation.
So, here is what I would wish: that everyone could enjoy a conversation with a Penn alum. Every time a person reads a news story or hears a public pronouncement critical of higher education, I’d also want them to talk to one of you and ask, “What do you remember from your time at Penn? How did it impact your life decisions and career?”
Especially for our graduates who benefited from financial aid, an alum might talk about how Penn’s commitment to access and affordability opens unimaginable doors of opportunity.
Consider this: In 2005, for an undergraduate with the average financial aid package at the time, the net cost of a Penn education was $19,000 a year. This year, thanks to Penn’s historic commitment to financial aid and the visionary philanthropy of our alumni, the average financial aid award is more than $70,000. In constant 2005 dollars, that means the current average net cost to aided students and their families is nearly 30 percent less than it was two decades ago.
We now educate and graduate more exceptional students who are the first in their families to go to college or come from low-income backgrounds than ever before in Penn’s history. With our new Quaker Commitment, we will also guarantee full tuition financial aid for families earning $200,000 or less, making a Penn education more affordable for middle-income students.
Or perhaps an alum who was raised locally (our admitted Class of 2029 has the largest cohort of Philadelphian students ever) might reflect on how Penn bolsters economic opportunity, public education, and community health in the region and the state. One in seven jobs in the city and 155,000 jobs in Pennsylvania stem from Penn’s world-class teaching, research, and patient care. Through a vast range of initiatives, we partner with local schools, civic groups, and businesses to help our neighbors thrive.
Or maybe an alum would think back on working closely with a faculty member, participating in the live arts, experiencing basic research firsthand, and learning how translational discoveries get made. Such experiential learning and innovative research define a Penn education, and we continue investing in the campus to foster those experiences and breakthroughs.
For example, in April we launched the Penn AI initiative with a terrific faculty panel discussion in our new Amy Gutmann Hall, where students, faculty, and staff collaborate across disciplines on data science and artificial intelligence. Nearby, on Walnut Street, at our new Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology, the same dynamism will help Penn shed new understanding and create new knowledge in our efforts to respond to climate change. Our new Student Performing Arts Center, located at the eastern gateway to campus, is underway.
Or maybe an alum would relive an exhilarating season on the field, water, or court—like members of our men’s squash team with their perfect season and second national championship in two years [“Sports,” this issue].
Of course, even with Penn’s global alumni community more than 360,000 members strong, the sum of all people who have learned and worked on our campus or will do so in the future is a vanishingly small percentage of the total population. Most people will never experience what you have experienced. It is an exceptionally rare privilege to be a part of this University, which is why I believe hearing from our alumni about their campus experiences firsthand is a rare and powerful thing.
So, as you reminisce on your Penn experiences and how they’ve helped shape your life, I also encourage you to share those compelling stories more widely. In your social circles, workplaces, and other spaces and networks, when discussions about higher education veer toward criticism, your Penn experiences are an important counterbalance—one that our society and institutions need more of right now.
Trust that I will be doing the same. Whenever someone asks me what’s most memorable about my time at Penn, I’ll lead with the inspiring stories I’ve heard time and again from you.
