UPenn Mission Statement Analysis

Institution: The University of Pennsylvania
President: J. Larry Jameson
Year founded: 1740
Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Number of Employees: 21,028
Type: Private Research University
Academic Operating Budget (FY2025): $4.7 Billion

Did you know? UPenn’s history dates back to 1740 and shares many ties with the colonial city of Philadelphia and America’s birth.

The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) is a private Ivy League research university founded by Benjamin Franklin, the first US president. The school was chartered before the US Declaration of Independence to train academia, commerce, and public service leaders. UPenn’s mission, values, and principles have helped the institution dominate the US higher learning sector for 284 years. In 2025, UPenn was #10 on US News’ Top National Universities list. It was #1 in Business Programs and #17 in the Best Value Schools category. [1]

UPenn has four undergraduate schools and 12 graduate and professional schools. It operates the first medical school established in North America. Degree-seeking undergraduates can attend UPenn’s School of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences, and Applied Science, Wharton School, or School of Nursing. In FY2025, UPenn’s Academic Operating Budget was $4.7 billion. Its FY25 Consolidated Operating Budget was $15.7 billion. [2]

To understand UPenn’s secret to success for 284 years, here is an in-depth analysis of its mission statement, values, principles, and sustainability strategy:

UPenn’s Mission Statement

To bridge the divide between knowledge and action, dismantle academic silos that impede innovation, or break down the economic barriers that obstruct educational equality and excellence.

UPenn states, “Penn has established several key initiatives in robust support of student and faculty work that advances the mission of the University: work that bridges the divide between knowledge and action, dismantles academic silos that impede innovation, or breaks down the economic barriers that obstruct educational equality and excellence.” [3]

Here is our analysis of UPenn’s mission statement:

1. Bridge the divide between knowledge and action

UPenn seeks to strengthen students’ education by bridging the gap between knowledge and action. The institution achieves this mission through the Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) professorship program. For example, PIK professors hold appointments in two or more UPenn schools at Penn. This approach allows them to leverage their knowledge to collaborate with colleagues on boundary-breaking research. [4]

UPenn strives to innovate and lead as challenges become increasingly complex. It relies on the PIK program to recruit faculty across disciplinary boundaries, foster innovation, and expand the world’s knowledge. PIK Professors are world-class educators, researchers, and collaborators. In Mar 2025, Dolores Albarracín won the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award. Albarracín is a PIK Professor with appointments in UPenn’s Annenberg School for Communication and School of Arts & Sciences. She won the BBVA award for insights into how persuasive messages can change attitudes. [5]

2. Dismantle academic silos that impede innovation

UPenn aims to drive innovation by breaking down academic silos. The institution combines several strategies to achieve this mission. For example, the university established the Penn Center for Innovation (PCI) in 2015 to support researchers’ innovative and collaborative efforts. The PCI tech transfer hub shaped transformative scientific breakthroughs, including a state-of-the-art AI model by César de la Fuente to predict amino acid sequences with antibiotic properties.

Penn Medicine’s Carl June collaborated with mRNA vaccines at the PCI to create CAR T cell therapy (a pioneering cancer treatment). The PCI hosted Penn Medicine’s Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who built a Nobel Prize-winning technology to enable COVID-19 vaccines at the PCI. These collaborations dismantled academic silos, nurturing innovation. In Jan 2025, the Penn Center for Innovation (PCI) celebrated its 10^th anniversary. [6]

UPenn nurtures innovation by rewarding creative ideas. For example, UPenn’s President Engagement and Innovation Prizes award UPenn seniors who develop innovative solutions with a positive, lasting global impact. Teams collaborate with a faculty mentor and receive up to $100,000 for their project and a $50,000 living stipend per member. In 2024, engineering seniors Yash Dhir and Rahul Nambiar won the President’s Innovation Prize for the online platform Jochi. This solution helps students with learning differences, such as dyslexia and ADHD. [7]

3. Enhance educational equality and excellence

UPenn aims to eliminate economic barriers that impede educational equality and excellence. It achieves this mission through Penn’s endowment, which provides financial aid and support for generations of Penn students, staff, and faculty. In 2024, UPenn’s endowment was $22.3 billion, making it America’s sixth-wealthiest private academic institution. It comprises over 8,000 individual funds donated to Penn for several years. About 90% of those funds are used for specific purposes designated by the donors, such as financial aid and research. The remaining 10% comes from the school’s coffers. [8]

UPenn breaks down economic barriers by providing grants and scholarships. It launched the Quaker Commitment to expand support for middle-income and lower-income families. In Feb 2025, UPenn’s Board of Trustees increased tuition by 3.7% and approved a $328 million undergraduate financial aid budget for the 2025-2026 academic year. The budget offers full-tuition scholarships for families who earn $200,000 or less and removes primary home equity from the financial aid assessment process.

UPenn introduced its no-loan policy in 2008. 45.4% of Penn’s undergraduate students receive financial aid through this program. The average package is $70,552. UPenn’s no-loan policy and Quaker Commitment dismantle economic barriers, unlocking educational opportunities for aspiring undergraduates. [9]

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UPenn’s Values

UPenn is committed to advancing discovery and opportunity to deliver a better future for all. The university embraces excellence, freedom of inquiry and expression, and respect. UPenn’s culture is inspired by its founder, Benjamin Franklin, who championed open-mindedness, curiosity, inventiveness, practicality, brilliance, imperfect but self-improving, and enhancing social good. These values define UPenn’s DNA and inspire the school to create a better world for all. [10]

How does UPenn live by its values?

Excellence: UPenn values world-class performance in all endeavors. It strives for excellence across activities, from research to sports, teaching, student life, and community engagement. In Feb 2025, the Department of State recognized UPenn as a Fulbright US Student Program “Top Producing Institution” for the 2024-25 academic year. 15 Penn students and alumnae received Fulbright grants to 13 countries. UPenn was one of the universities with the highest awardees, thanks to its commitment to excellence. [11]

Freedom of inquiry and expression: UPenn values and embraces diverse ideas. However, it isn’t required to uphold First Amendment protections because it is a private university. As of Jun 2024, UPenn was #248 out of 251 in FIRE’s College Free Speech ranking. It scored 12 on FIRE’s Speech Climate and C on sexual misconduct. FIRE is concerned about UPenn’s 2024 policy changes to punish protected expression after pro-Palestinian protests on its campus protests. [12]

Respect: UPenn is committed to building a respectful, enriching University environment that celebrates faculty, staff, and students regardless of their backgrounds. Its motto is the Latin phrase “Leges sine Moribus vanae” (Laws without morals are useless). The university values diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI). In Feb 2025, UPenn removed DEI terms from its site following Trump’s anti-DEI directive. However, the institution rebranded its Diversity and Inclusion website to “Belonging at Penn” and reiterated its commitment to equal opportunity. [13]

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UPenn’s Principles

The University of Pennsylvania crafted its principles by asking its community: “What does the world need from Penn?” It analyzed the answers based on its mission, values, and unique strengths. The institution consolidated recurring themes to define its principles. UPenn views itself as an anchored, interwoven, and engaged university. These three principles guide UPenn’s decisions, actions, and behaviors. For example, UPenn believes it is an anchored university because its exceptional and diverse people, communities, and campus are the foundation of everything it does.

UPenn’s inclusive environment and initiatives break down silos, embrace individuality, and blend unique ideas, creating an interwoven institution. The school believes it is an engaged university because it cultivates leaders who serve communities’ best interests. Eight Founding Fathers who signed the US Declaration of Independence and seven who signed the US Constitution attended UPenn. Its alumni, trustees, and faculty include 24 Continental Congress members, 3 US Presidents, 3 US Supreme Court justices, 32 US senators, 163 US House Reps, 19 US Cabinet Secretaries, and 46 governors. UPenn also produced 38 Nobel laureates, 9 foreign heads of state, 36 living undergraduate billionaires, and 5 Medal of Honor recipients. These figures confirm UPenn is an engaged university. [14]

UPenn’s Sustainability Action Plan

UPenn is committed to building a sustainable business that supports people and protects the environment. The institution has set several sustainability goals, including:

Achieve a 100% carbon-neutral campus by 2042.
Reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 compared to 2022 levels.
Reduce carbon emissions from fleet vehicles by 20%.
Ensure all new construction and renovation projects incorporate sustainable construction best practices.
Increase spending on green seal products to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals.
Reduce its water consumption.

UPenn launched its first climate action plan (CSAP 3.0) in 2019 and revised its sustainability strategy every five years. It started purchasing carbon offsets for its air travel emissions in Nov 2022. The school funded a project to capture and destroy nitrous oxide emissions to offset 9,138 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. As of Nov 2023, UPenn had reduced its carbon emissions by 46% from its 2009 baseline. The school signed a Power Purchase agreement in 2020 to construct two new solar energy facilities for its campus to cut emissions by 60% and replace 92 inefficient ultra-low temperature freezers in labs. [15]

UPenn unveiled its Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 4.0 in Nov 2024, outlining its 2025-2029 sustainability goals. It completed the first carbon footprint for all UPenn-owned real estate, created its first air travel offset policy, and added six electric passenger vans to its fleet between 2019 and 2024. The school also initiated a waste audit contract, signed onto the City of Philadelphia’s Zero Waste Partnership program, and started Green Labs to save energy. As of Nov 2024, UPenn had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 47% from 2009. It launched Pennsylvania’s largest solar project, producing about 70% of the electricity used by UPenn’s campus and UPHS facilities in Philadelphia. [16]