Because Founding Father Benjamin Franklin also founded Penn in 1740, the University's substantial involvement in the National Constitution Center makes historical sense. But it also makes a difference in dollars and cents.
Because Founding Father Benjamin Franklin also founded Penn in 1740, the University's substantial involvement in the National Constitution Center makes historical sense. But it also makes a difference in dollars and cents.
Fund-raising efforts had been foundering before President Judith Rodin called the Constitution Center's president, Joseph Torsella, offering the University's help. "Now, buttressed by such backing ... from a prestige academic partner, the Constitution Center is poised to move ahead," the Philadelphia Inquirer stated in an editorial. State funding is still in limbo.
Besides Beeman, Gary Hack, the dean of Penn's Graduate School of Fine Arts, also will play a key role in shaping the new museum, acting as its senior consultant on design and site-planning.
"A lot of potential backers want to know that this going to be more than Disney," said Mayor Edward G. Rendell, a Penn alumnus, announcing Penn's role at a June 12 news conference at Independence Mall.
Beeman and Hack, the mayor said, would lend the project needed credibility. He praised the two as "simply the best and the brightest in their fields. They exemplify the combination of academic distinction and practical experience that characterizes the type of individual we intend to attract to the center."
In addition, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, has provided valuable information about how to deal with the media. And law Professor Barbara Woodhouse, along with law students, is helping to develop a Constitution Center Web site. "I am delighted at the extent of cooperation we are receiving from the Law School," said Beeman.
- Meghan Leary
Return to Compass Features for July 15, 1997