DiIulio brings high profile to Penn's Poli Sci Dept.

A noted academic and prolific author, John DiIulio's hiring represents a major coup. John DiIulio is home again. After growing up in South Philadelphia, picking up a few degrees from Penn and then scoring a couple of teaching stints at Harvard and Princeton universities, the newly appointed Political Science professor is back in Philadelphia -- "forever," he says. "I'm not going anywhere," said DiIulio, a 1980 College graduate who earned his bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Economics from Penn. At 41 years old, DiIulio is arguably one of the most desired young Political Science professors in the country and represents a victory for Penn's struggling Political Science Department -- which has for the last several years been plagued by a shortage of standing faculty. Giving up a 13-year tenured position as a top-ranked professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton, DiIulio comes to the University this year -- after it tried to recruit him on two other occasions -- as the Frederick Fox Leadership Professor of Politics, Religion and Civil Society. At Penn, he will head the Center for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society, which is currently under development. CRRUCS, a program to create and evaluate faith-based urban development efforts, will approach religion's role in society from an academic research perspective. DiIulio also directs the Fox Leadership Program and is teaching an introductory undergraduate American Politics course this fall. "I want to be a part of making this America's greatest university," DiIulio said. Boasting a veritable laundry list of awards and achievements, DiIulio is no stranger to the limelight. Serving previously as an advisor to both Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore, the political guru has written 12 books and is a contributing editor at the conservative Weekly Standard. He has also written op-eds for The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among other newspapers and magazines. And he commits his time -- which is becoming more precious these days -- to other institutions outside the University, serving as a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, senior counsel to the local Public/Private Ventures and founding director of the Center for Public Management at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C. "I keep saying yes to everything," he said. The Italian-American Catholic has always been a Philadelphia kid. He grew up bouncing between Southwest Philadelphia and his grandmother's home in South Philadelphia. DiIulio attended a parochial school in Philadelphia and was surrounded by nuns much of his life. But he never really talked about religion with his friends. And after he left home, he never attended church. So it's almost ironic that now, years later, DiIulio has become a leading proponent of faith-based social programs for inner-city kids. He is on a mission -- to save America's urban youth. It is precisely this mission that has become controversial among other urban studies scholars. DiIulio has stated publicly his tough-minded belief that putting criminals permanently behind bars reduces crime -- and that letting them out leads to just more of the same. And he has received national media attention for his theory of "super-predators" -- young criminals who are violent, merciless and impossible to help. For that, he was labeled a racist reactionary by some in the field. But DiIulio has moved away recently from debates about prisons and parole. His primary concerns now are in helping the faith-based ministries prosper in America's inner cities and giving others a good education. DiIulio points out that in leaving Princeton and coming to Penn, he has gotten rid of a two-, sometimes three-hour commute. But that's not why he chose to come to the University. DiIulio is best known for his leading role in the fight against crime, as his views influenced a 1994 federal crime bill. Urban politics has always been in his blood -- he says he was looking for an institution that could merge urban research, civic responsibility and top-notch faculty and students. "Civic House impressed the hell out of me," he said, referring to Penn's community service hub. While Princeton has "tremendous strength," it is not urban, he said, pointing out that he is proud of his alma mater and the Philadelphia area where he -- along with his wife Rosalee, a 1980 College of General Studies alumna -- has raised an 11-year-old daughter and 8- and 6- year-old boys. Today, they reside in Elkins Park, Pa. The scholar juggles family, research, writing and teaching, but admits that his packed schedule faces some hot competition from his daughter's Penn Charter school day. His daughter is still up reading at 11 p.m., DiIulio noted, saying he was shocked an 11-year-old could work so much. But he did mention casually that he has risen on occasion at 2:30 a.m. to finish some of his own work. DiIulio, though, claims he is not an "academic" academic. Today, he advises, teaches, researches and inspires, all in the pursuit of giving others a worthy college education. Last week, DiIulio met with his first Penn Political Science honors thesis student -- a special occasion, he said. College senior Jennie Huang, who was nervous about meeting DiIulio, said she was impressed by the numerous Philadelphia-area contacts he gave for the thesis, her first academic paper. "The department didn't have a professor that specializes in public policy [last year]," said Huang, who was referred to DiIulio over the summer by Political Science Professor Jack Nagel, who was DiIulio's mentor 20 years ago at Penn. "I got really lucky." Nagel said that at the time he thought DiIulio, who then possessed a "rare combination" of scholarly and street smarts, would enter politics rather than academia. But DiIulio, who was a top student in Nagel's graduate courses as an undergraduate, has influenced public policy in the past 20 years not as a politician but as a political scientist. "He didn't change his fundamental values or style," Nagel said. Another one of DiIulio's colleagues shares Nagel's admiration for the political guru. Political Science Professor Anne Norton, who taught with DiIulio at Princeton in the late 1980s, said he connects academic life to urban life, working "politically and ethically" to integrate the University into the city. "I would sign up [for his courses]," Norton said.