Why This Matters

Penn has lost sight of Franklin's fundamental goals for higher education, including his emphasis on freedom of thought. We see this erosion firsthand through Penn senior survey data.

“I feel free to express my political beliefs on campus.” 2012: 9% disagree or strongly disagree, 2024: 45% disagree or strongly disagree

“I feel that I can voice my opinion on controversial topics without fear of being unfairly judged.” 67% disagree or strongly disagree (new question 2024)

This is a crisis for Penn’s academic mission. That’s why we are launching Franklin’s Forum: an independent alumni community committed to promoting academic excellence at Penn.

What We Stand For

Franklin’s Forum is a community of alumni devoted to securing a strong future for Penn. We want to refocus the school on key aspects of its recently revised values statement and the ideals on which Penn was founded, set forth in Benjamin Franklin’s 1749 Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania. We believe Penn must:

1. Promote academic excellence, maintaining a focus on merit

2. Seek and defend truth by advancing the use of logic and reasoning

3. Encourage freedom of inquiry and expression, promoting respectful debate

4. Advance strong governance to promote the institution’s continuous self-improvement

Together, these four principles constitute the mission of Franklin’s Forum and offer alumni an opportunity to secure the future we want to see for Penn.

How We Work

We are not alone in our belief in the power of alumni engagement. Board of Trustees Chair Ramanan Raghavendran recently told Penn Today, “When I meet alumni, I push them to know more about this amazing place and get more engaged.” Franklin’s Forum is here to do just that.

We will begin by launching a weekly newsletter to keep our community of alumni, administrators, faculty, and staff informed about developments at Penn and spotlight opportunities for meaningful improvement. By keeping our community involved, we can empower alums to support Penn and help to advance the school in the name of Ben Franklin, the alumni who have come before us, and the future students who will one day be lucky enough to call Penn home.

Our plan is to:

1. Unite supportive voices and share knowledge across the university community 

   Recently, Penn has grown in complexity and size, now with total revenue as large as a Fortune 250 company. To understand and improve the university, it’s essential to tap into the wide range of Penn experiences across its twelve undergraduate and graduate schools. We will bring together alumni, administrators, faculty, and staff who share our mission and commitment to driving change, keeping them informed and sharing our perspective in a weekly digest.

2. Remain nonpartisan and focused 

   Franklin’s Forum is proudly independent and unaffiliated with any political party. We are committed to keeping both our mission and Penn’s future free from politicization. We will remain external to the university while seeking to collaborate within to drive change. Our focus will remain clear: promoting our ideals, inspired by Benjamin Franklin, to advance Penn’s core mission of academic excellence.

3. Create accountability through informed and actionable feedback

   Franklin’s Forum exists to support Penn in its mission to promote academic excellence. This means holding the school’s stakeholders accountable by making their decisions transparent and understandable. By highlighting actions and their effects at Penn — and providing thoughtful, actionable feedback from invested alumni — we aim to help shape the university’s direction for the better.

Who We Are

Franklin’s Forum follows a model of independent, alumni-led communities that has already found success at both Harvard (as 1636 Forum) and Columbia (as Stand Columbia Society). Built on the 1636 platform, Franklin’s Forum is founded and run by Penn alumni, for Penn alumni. Gabrielle Solomon (W ‘23) runs the forum’s operations and content.

We hope you’ll join us in ensuring Penn stays true to the spirit of Benjamin Franklin, accountable to its mission, and ready for the challenges of the future.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or want to learn more.