The Fels Institute of Government at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

is a graduate school of

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

and public management. Founded in 1937 by

Samuel Simeon Fels Samuel Simeon Fels (February 16, 1860 in Yanceyville, North Carolina – June 23, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Biography Born to a Jewish family in Yanceyville, North Carolina, Fels famil ...

of the Fels Naptha Soap Company, the Fel Institute prepares its students for public leadership positions in city, state, and federal agencies, elective politics, nonprofit organizations, and private firms with close connections to the public sector. The Fels Institute is housed in Samuel Fels' former residence, a brick mansion located on the west end of the University of Pennsylvania's campus.

Academics

Fels offers a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

degree in both full-time and executive (part-time) formats. Fels also offers four-course certificates in Nonprofit Administration and Public Finance.

Faculty

* Dr. Robert Pearson: Carnegie-Mellon, Pearson's R (regression)- His model was not fully specified * Hon. Edward G. Rendell: Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania * Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky: CEO, Women's Campaign International; Former Member of Congress *

Jim Kenney James Francis Kenney (born August 7, 1958) is an American politician who is the 99th Mayor of Philadelphia. Kenney was first elected on November 3, 2015, defeating his Republican rival Melissa Murray Bailey after winning the crowded Democratic ...

: Mayor of the City of Philadelphia * Stephen Mullin: Senior Vice President, Econsult Corporation; Econsult Solutions Inc.; Former Philadelphia City Finance Director * Eric Costello Neiderman: Manager, Cargo Security Research & Development, Transportation Security Administration, Dept. of Homeland Security * Wayne A. Smith: President and CEO, Delaware Healthcare Association; former House Majority Leader, Delaware General Assembly

Notable Fels alumni

Jennifer Beck Jennifer Beck (born January 3, 1967) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician who served in the New Jersey State Senate representing the New Jersey's 11th legislative district, 11th Legislative District from 20 ...

: New Jersey State Senator, Represents the 12th legislative district *

David Byerman David Byerman formerly served as director of the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission from 2015-2018. In this capacity he managed all nonpartisan legislative staff in Kentucky, overseeing an agency with approximately 400 employeesNevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the previ ...

* Robert Bittenbender '98: Former Budget Secretary under Pennsylvania Governors Tom Ridge, Mark Schweiker and Dick Thornburgh, and former executive director of the Senate Appropriations Committee. * Peter Brown '99: Professor at the University of Minnesota and author of ''America's Waterfront Revival Port Authorities and Urban Redevelopment''. * Donna Cooper '87: Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, and former Pennsylvania Secretary of Policy and Planning *

Madeleine Dean Madeleine Dean Cunnane (born June 6, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. The district includes almost all of Montgomery County, a suburban county north of P ...

(attended): US Representative for

Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district Pennsylvania's fourth congressional district, effective January 3, 2019, encompasses the majority of Montgomery County and a small sliver of Berks County in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the Pennsylvania district ...

, a house manager for the

Second impeachment of Donald Trump Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first imp ...

, former Pennsylvania House Representative *

Scott Detrow The following is a list of National Public Radio personnel: Leadership *John Lansing, president and CEO *Jarl Mohn, president emeritus, board member of NPR Foundation, and co-chair of NPR's 50th anniversary capital campaign. * Paul G. Haaga, ...

: NPR White House Correspondent and NPR Politics Podcast host *

Stephen Dilts Stephen Dilts is a former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), having been sworn into the post on December 16, 2008, and leaving that position early in 2010. Dilts succeeded Kris Kolluri, who was shifted to head th ...

'96: New Jersey Transportation Commissioner * Joseph A. Esposito '06: Former Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education * Chaka Fattah '86: US Congressman * Matthew Gallagher '97: Chief of Staff, Governor of Maryland Martin J. O'Malley *

Wilson Goode Woodrow Wilson Goode Sr. (born August 19, 1938) is a former List of mayors of Philadelphia, Mayor of Philadelphia and the first African Americans, African American to hold that office. He served from 1984 to 1992, a period which included the c ...

: First African-American Mayor of Philadelphia (1984–1992) * Richard Keevey: Former Director of the Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School's Research Institute on the Region *

George M. Leader George Michael Leader (January 17, 1918 – May 9, 2013) was an American politician. He served as the 36th governor of Pennsylvania from January 18, 1955, until January 20, 1959. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a native of York Count ...

: Former Governor of Pennsylvania (1955-1959) * Rob Powelson '03: Commissioner,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...

; Former Chairman of Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission * Frank A. Salvatore: Pennsylvania Representative for the 170th district (1973-1984); Pennsylvania State Senator for the 5th district (1985-2000) * Anna Shapoval '04: Country Director, Doctors of the World - Kiev, Ukraine * Richard Smith '91: Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education * Richard Steffens '88: US Diplomat and author & lyricist for the Carnegie Hall production ''Mother Russia''. * Greg Walker '05: Policy and Planning Officer, Sound Transit * Rob Wonderling '91: Former Pennsylvania State Senator and current President and CEO of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce

Fels Publications

''Vacant Property Reclamation and Neighborhood Change in Southwest Center City Philadelphia''
(July 2008): Details the current status of vacant properties surveyed in 1998 to better understand the changing neighborhood.
''MyVote1 National Election Report''
(Christopher Patusky, Allison Brummel, & Timothy Schmidt, August 2007): Summarizes the results of the 2006 MyVote1 National Election Hotline project.
''The Philadelphia SchoolStat Model''
(Leigh Botwinik, Christopher Patusky, Mary Shelley, 2007): Describes how the Compstat and CitiStat models were adapted for the Philadelphia School District, what performance improvements occurred after implementation, and which features of the approach seemed to be the biggest contributors to improvement.
"Making the Most of Social Media"
(Chris Kingsley, Allison Brummel, Catharine Lamb, & Jack Higgins, 2009): Discusses the growth of Social Media over the past several years, including the challenges associated with adopting them for public use - legal, practical and political, and distills the experience of cities who have done this both more and less effectively into seven suggestions that cover the full cycle of adoption, from pre-planning to self-evaluation.

References

External links

*
Penn Arts and Science
{{Penn University of Pennsylvania Public administration schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1937 1937 establishments in Pennsylvania