Bryan: 'Mayor of W. Philly'

Glenn Bryan prides himself on being a link between Penn and the surrounding community -- a natural job for a man who is a product of both. As director of the University's Office of Community Relations, Bryan is responsible for maintaining relationships with West Philadelphia's residents and community groups. His involvement with the community has led several residents to describe Bryan as the "mayor of West Philadelphia." The area is familiar ground for Bryan, who grew up on 52nd and Locust streets and lived in the area his entire life. Bryan began his career in community work during his years of undergraduate and graduate studies at Penn. He became part of Upward Bound -- a University program intended to involve local high school students with Penn and motivate them towards college -- while attending West Philadelphia High School. Bryan credits the program for influencing him to attend the University. "There wasn't a high number of African Americans from the community coming to the University at that time," Bryan explained, noting that because of the program "eight of us came from my high school class." One of Bryan's undergraduate experiences might provoke jealousy among many current students. As a sophomore, he lived in a four bedroom quad in High Rise North -- by himself. The high rises were still in the process of being completed, so Bryan did not have to share the apartment. "I was king of the hill," he said. But it was also during his undergraduate years that Bryan first felt a need to give back to the community, initially by tutoring students at his former high school, and then as a work-study student at the Office of Community Relations -- which he now runs. "Ironically, I've ended up working at the office where I was once a work-study student," he said. "It's been an interesting ride." After graduating from Penn's School of Social Work, Bryan worked at many social services agencies -- several in West Philadelphia -- before returning to the University in 1992 as Community Relations director. "I had always kept my eye on Penn in terms of what they had been doing in working with the community," Bryan said. "The community has felt shut out from Penn for so long and I wanted to help build that relationship." Bryan said the University is moving in the right direction in its efforts to improve its relationship with the community. "There has been a resurgence of involvement but with more focus," Bryan said. "But I still think there's a ways to go." He stressed that students need to interact more with the community, adding that "effective engagement will reduce the level of crime and fear." And he urged students to venture into a West Philadelphia community which he said has a lot to offer students. "Who knows?" he added. "They might even want to stay." The University could significantly improve the area by interacting with local youth, according to Bryan. He described "Communiversity Day" -- a University program allowing local high school students to spend a day at Penn interacting with students and attending classes -- as an "ideal opportunity" to make a difference in West Philadelphia. "To motivate students to come to a school like Penn, that's the ultimate barometer for success," Bryan said. "Because again, that's where I came from." Bryan has received several community recognition awards for his work in West Philadelphia, including a 1996 Making a Difference Award from U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). While he acknowledges the area's problems, Bryan said he is optimistic about its future. "I look at the community as a community of strengths rather than looking at its deficiencies," he said, adding that "[the University] has its deficiencies just like the community does. The key is making the strengths work for each other."