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 Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

. Founded in 1937 by Samuel Simeon Fels 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 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 Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

: Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania *

Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky Marjorie Margolies (; formerly Margolies-Mezvinsky; born June 21, 1942) is a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Fels Institute of Government, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, and a women's rights activist. She i ...

: CEO, Women's Campaign International; Former Member of Congress * Jim Kenney: 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: New Jersey State Senator, Represents the 12th legislative district * David Byerman '95, Secretary of the Senate of the

Nevada 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 pr ...

* 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 Donna Cooper was Pennsylvania Secretary of Planning and Policy and was a member of the cabinet of Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell. Cooper worked for Good Schools Pennsylvania, an advocacy organization for public schools. She first began workin ...

'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 ...

(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, former Pennsylvania House Representative * Scott Detrow: NPR White House Correspondent and NPR Politics Podcast host * Stephen Dilts '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 Chaka Fattah (born Arthur Davenport; November 21, 1956) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House for from 1995 to 2016. The district included portions of North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, and West P ...

'86: US Congressman * Matthew Gallagher '97: Chief of Staff, Governor of Maryland Martin J. O'Malley * Wilson Goode: 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: Former Governor of Pennsylvania (1955-1959) * Rob Powelson '03: Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; 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 Robert C. Wonderling (born December 22, 1961) was a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate who represented the 24th District from 2003 to 2009. The district he represented includes portions of Montgomery, Berks, Lehigh and Northa ...

'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