In the race for representation in national politics, Penn appears to lag far behind its peers.
Recent presidential contenders George W. Bush, John Kerry and Howard Dean all called Yale University home for their undergraduate years.
Harvard University has 41 alumni in the 109th Congress.
But Penn alumni -- including College graduates Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) and Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell -- hold only a handful of high-powered positions.
Despite these disheartening statistics, the numbers are difficult to interpret in terms of determining the sheer political might of a group of alumni. Political Science Department Vice Chairwoman Nancy Hirschmann observed that any detailed understanding requires more extensive data.
It is important to "take a much broader measure," Hirschmann said. How many Penn alumni are in politics is "a loaded question that doesn't necessarily bear out any of the facts I've seen."
Political Science professor Henry Teune agreed.
"We have a more significant presence [in politics] than you think," Teune said. "I think if you look at prominent public figures ... if you took people who have had a presence out on the national scene, not necessarily people who were presidents or members of Congress, it's not so bad from Penn," he added.
Part of the reason may be a sheer numbers game, with Harvard's well-known Kennedy School of Government's enrollment at about 900 students as compared to Penn's Fels Institute of Government, which has a typical graduating class of about 40 students. Harvard Law School -- widely regarded as one of the best in the country -- is also one of the largest.
The work of the late Digby Baltzell, a prominent sociologist and Penn professor who died in 1996, also points to religious backgrounds as another reason that explains why Penn may have fewer power players on the national political scene.
Harvard, Yale and Princeton Universities "were founded upon the theological principles of John Calvin," explained Lawrence Sherman, director of the Fels Institute. "The theology says that leadership is extremely important, that there is no higher calling than being a preacher or a governor, the leader of a theocratic community."
Penn and Philadelphia, however, were founded upon the Quaker tradition, which downplayed the merit of political involvement -- despite the political career of its Puritan-raised founder, Benjamin Franklin, Sherman said.
Today, programs like the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program -- founded in 1999 -- seek to cultivate leaders on the undergraduate level, while in 1983 the Fels Institute shifted its focus from an academically-oriented Ph.D. program to one which prepared students for public service. Still, the institute's focus remains with local government.
"Although we put a lot of people in the federal government statistically, we are more well-known for local and state management," Fels Executive Director Christopher Patusky said.
Patusky noted that "the very early [graduates] in that period are coming into their 'sweet spot' now for higher positions."
Today, Penn's reputation as a school less politically active than many of its peers may offer some indication of the interests of its graduates -- many of whom enter the business world after graduation.
But if recent numbers are any indication, Penn may be on the upswing.
"Voting is a very fundamental civic act, and the number of Penn students who voted in the 2000 political election was embarrassingly low, quite frankly," said Joseph Tierney, executive director of the Fox Leadership Program.
During this past election, however, a local program helped to almost triple voter turnout on campus.
University Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs Carol Scheman said that there is a correlation between the 2004 presidential election and increased interest in politics on Penn's campus.
"The way that we were energized during the presidential election wasn't unique in terms of activity. It was absolutely unique in the extent of the activity," said Scheman, who has frequent contact with her counterparts at peer institutions.
"I know this isn't happening on other campuses."
"More and more I'm meeting students who want to know ... the career path that gets them involved in public policy," she added.
Sherman has already seen a marked increase in the number of Penn graduates in local government, the incubator for the national political scene, as Fels alumni in the Pennsylvania legislature have doubled their numbers since she began keeping track.
"We're definitely making strides -- not huge strides, but we're getting there," Sherman said. "It just takes a long time to make up for three centuries of a theological bias against leadership and against politics."
