By Ben Suplick - Director of Engineering and Energy Planning at the University of Pennsylvania

In 1749, Ben Franklin observed "It has long been regretted as a misfortune to the youth of this province that we have no academy in which they might receive the accomplishment of a regular education". Franklin then published an anonymous pamphlet entitled "Proposals relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania". The pamphlet argued for the necessity of a college and urged concerned citizens to donate money toward its end. Then Franklin did what came naturally: he gathered up a group of his friends and did something to rectify the problem.

From this effort rose the fledgling beginnings of the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin's associates in this college-creating endeavor included ten patriots who would go on to sign the Declaration of Independence and seven signers of the Constitution. In 1765, the Academy (as it was originally known) established the country's first medical school and would also establish the nation's first teaching hospital. By 1792, the Academy was known as the University of Pennsylvania.
The University of Pennsylvania is one of the largest institutions in the Delaware Valley chapter of APPA and a member of the Ivy League. The University has three major sites in southeastern Pennsylvania. The main campus is located in an urban area of West Philadelphia and encompasses 279 acres with 187 buildings (excluding the hospital) and approximately 12.9 million gross square feet. This area of Philadelphia is known as University City as Drexel University also is located nearby. Additional Penn facilities include the 700-acre New Bolton Center and the 9- acre Morris Arboretum. The New Bolton Center is part of the School of Veterinary Medicine with 106 buildings and offering some of the finest veterinary services available anywhere in the country for horses, cattle, camelids, pigs, goats, sheep and other large animals. NBC is located in a pastoral area west of the city in Chester County. The Morris Arboretum, located on the northwest border of the city, is an internationally known arboretum and includes 33 buildings with over 13,000 labeled plants, trees and flowers.
Penn's campus includes numerous historic and architecturally significant buildings. Some of the more notable campus icons are the Frank Furness designed Fisher Fine Arts Library was used in filming Philadelphia, the Palestra arena known as "the cathedral of basketball", and the recently completed Penn Park, which turned a former 14-acre parking lot and adjoining industrial area into a 24-acre park with panoramic views of downtown Philadelphia.

Penn also has a storied history of firsts and unique innovations. Among its achievement are the first school of medicine in North America (Perelman School of Medicine, 1765), the first collegiate business school (Wharton, 1881) and the first student union (Houston Hall, 1896). Among the achievements by its faculty are the invention of the first general purpose electronic computer (ENIAC), the development of vaccines for Rubella and hepatitis-B, and. Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners. Notable achievements by alumni, faculty, and Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania include 6 heads of state (including one U.S. President), 3 United States Supreme Court justices as well as two hundred and fifteen who have served in the United States Congress or in its predecessor, the Continental Congress, representing twenty two states and territories and nine of the thirteen American colonies.
Despite its long history, the current management of the University reflects changes that were implemented in the early 1970's when the University was in difficult financial straits. The University consists of schools and centers which operate under a management model known as Responsibility Center Management (RCM). RCM was designed to control expense, but has proven to be an even stronger driver of revenue. Under the RCM model, the 12 schools and 6 centers are responsible for managing their direct revenue (tuition, grants, gifts, etc) and expenses. Schools and centers incorporate into their budgets an allocated share of the cost of central administrative services. Administrative centers, such as facilities services, base their budget on the receipt of a portion of these Allocated Cost Charges. This decentralized operating model encourages entrepreneurial activity with incentives aligned to promote stewardship and revenue generation.