The Penn Institute for Urban Research received a $10 million anonymous gift to advance its city research, education, and policy mission on Tuesday.
The donation — announced by Penn President Larry Jameson on Sept. 22 — will support a co-director position as well as a postdoctoral fellowship at Penn IUR. The funds aim to enhance the institute’s ability to address critical issues facing cities today, from housing affordability and fiscal stability to the role of anchor institutions and the financing of climate resilience.
“This gift advances the University’s commitment to creating knowledge that benefits communities locally and around the world,” Jameson wrote in the announcement. “It also ensures that Penn IUR can continue developing urban leaders and practical solutions for rapidly growing cities worldwide. Providing support for leaders whose expertise connects finance, policy, and planning strengthens Penn IUR’s impact on a global scale.”
Established in 2004, Penn IUR serves as a hub for shaping policies and strategies on relevant urban issues. Penn IUR co-director Susan Wachter described the need for robust urban research in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
“We think it’s so important to bring together faculty from across the University to work on urban issues,” Wachter said. “Urban issues aren’t informed by just one discipline. We need many different disciplinary approaches to fully inform public policy and the urban challenges of the cities of today and tomorrow.”
Wachter leads the institute with Eugénie Birch, who also teaches urban research and education at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. Birch similarly emphasized the potential opportunities afforded to students by the donation in a written statement to the DP.
“This gift expands Penn IUR’s capacity to prepare the next generation of urban leaders,” Birch wrote. “Through enhanced opportunities for postdoctoral scholars and collaborations across Penn’s schools, students will gain access to research and policy initiatives that address the complexities of managing cities.”
The funds are set to sustain collaboration between urban research professionals from diverse fields and cultivate technical skills for new students.
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The announcement comes amid a series of large donations to Penn, including a $21 million legacy gift in support of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, the Penn Libraries’ Rare Judaica Acquisitions Endowment Fund, and the Morris Arboretum and Gardens. The gift was delivered from the estate of 1982 College graduate Louise Strauss.
On Sept. 15, Penn received a $60 million gift from Bruce Jacobs — a 1979 School of Arts and Sciences graduate, 1986 Wharton School Ph.D. graduate, and former Wharton faculty member — which allowed the Wharton School to launch its first new degree program in 50 years.
