During a recent shopping trip to Macy’s in Center City, I learned that the Wanamaker Organ is the largest operational pipe organ in the world. As I wondered the store listening to the organist, thinking how cool it is to listen to live music versus the thump thump of a top 40-radio station, I recalled another set of astounding pipes – those of the Curtis Organ on Penn’s campus.
A quick Google search shared loads of information on the renowned 1926 organ that would eventually make its home in the walls of Irvine Auditorium. Named for Cyrus H. K. Curtis, a publisher, the Curtis Organ is one of the largest pipe organs in the world and has nearly 11,000 pipes.
Interestingly, the organ was not always destined to fill Irvine with music, but rather to take the stage at the Sesquicentennial Exposition of 1926. The Exposition was a world’s fair, set to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and hosted in Philadelphia. When the exposition went bankrupt, Curtis purchased the organ and donated it to the University to be built into Irvine Auditorium at the time of construction.
Pipe organs are fascinating instruments and much of what makes them sound the way they do is hidden from sight. When on display at the Sesquicentennial Exposition, the Curtis organ’s pressurized chamber under the pipes that is required for the organ’s mechanics was supposedly large enough to comfortably seat 100 for dinner.
I hope you’ll take an opportunity to listen to the Wanamaker Organ the next time you’re in Center City on a Saturday afternoon. In my opinion, there is no better way to shop than to enjoy live music on the largest operation pipe organ in the world. Also, keep a look out for the next screening of theclassic silent movieThe Phantom of Opera set to live music played on the Curtis Organ in Irvine Auditorium – you won’t be disappointed.
Information about The Wanamaker Organ can be found here.
Information about The Curtis Organ and Irvine Auditorium can be found here.
There is an energy here that is infectious. This is where it all happens. Even if you have a lowly internship, you feel like you are in the middle of the action.
The city itself is fantastic. When it is not scorching hot or raining, the weather is really nice – perfect for touring the national mall. My favorite view is to look out from the top of the Lincoln Monument and see the National Mall at night.
Activities fill up the day and the night. There is always something to do in the nation’s capital (especially if you are a nerd). Nearly every day there is at least one free conference (which means free food!) where prominent national thinkers discuss our country’s biggest challenges. At night, you can go to a National’s game, dine with friends, or participate in any of the Penn in Washington events; just last week we were able to meet with Ben Bernanke and hear about the Federal Reserve.
I have to go to work now (wow that feels good to say), but I’ll keep you updated on this amazing summer. Spending the next three years in Philadelphia sounds great. After that, who knows? Maybe I’ll come to D.C.
Red and blue is the best color combination. I am sure you all agree. When I am shopping, I always keep my eye out for red and blue clothing because there is no such thing as too much red and blue. I have seen (and purchased) red and blue striped polo shirts, red and blue argyle socks, and blue sweaters to match my red blouses. Today, I saw this pair of sunglasses on display:
I bought the same pair of sunglasses last month, but mine are solid black. When I saw this pair in red and blue, I almost bought them. I could use two pairs of sunglasses, right? No, I do not need two pairs of the same sunglasses…but they’re PENN COLORS. They are the same style as the pair I already own…but they’re PENN COLORS. They are quite expensive…but they’re PENN COLORS (this argument usually wins). I was tempted, but in the end, I decided to walk away from the sunglasses. It’s too bad because I could really use a pair of red and blue sunglasses to go with my red and blue Penn running hat.
In a recent study performed by scientists at the Penn Alumni Relations office, experts confirmed that when promised a chance at winning an adorable, cuddly Penn Teddy bear simply by registering for events online, Penn Alumni were 67% more likely to follow through and register for said online events.
“I never thought I could win a Penn Teddy bear. It’s like all of my dreams are amalgamating into one soothing package of fluffiness. And all I had to do was sign up for my reunion online?” says one Penn Alum, who chose to remain anonymous.
“Seriously, the Penn Alumni Relations people know what they’re doing,” added another alum. “I’ve heard of prizes as motivators before, but at this point I really think a Penn Teddy bear would be the only thing that could get me to do anything. I wish my employer would pay me in direct deposit Penn Teddy bears.”
“We’ve really never seen anything like it before,” says the Assistant Vice President of Prizes and Giveaways. “We used to promise Apple products to randomly selected registrants, and we only saw a small increase in online registration. Now that we’ve implemented the possibility of winning a Penn Teddy bear, registration has skyrocketed.”
This is an alum who is over the moon about winning a Penn Teddy bear. She is 49% happier now that she owns it.
After hours of questioning, this alum was determined to be 84% more content with life now that he owns a Penn Teddy bear.
Each year, the Penn Alumni Travel program offers trips that send alumni all over the world. We often send a Penn representative on our trips, and ask our colleagues to take photos of the journey. Our travelers also bring their cameras as well. It’s always fun when you return from a trip to review your own photos as well as the other moments and scenes. This year we decided to ask our travelers for their favorite photos and enter our photo contest. The question was how to decide which photos were the best? Our Penn colleagues who have hosted trips in the past were asked to vote on their favorites. The categories were culture, nature, people and places.
We received some wonderful photos, and our judges enjoyed reviewing them, although they had a hard time picking their favorites.
Here are some of the entries in culture:
Katherine Converse, CW’63, CGS’95, submitted this photo from an Egypt trip
Ron, GR’70, and Marilyn, G’68, Slivka sent in this photo of culture:
Mark Whitcher, C’93, found some culture in Antarctica
Our judges selected Sue Endy’s photo of weaving from Lima, Peru as the winner in the culture category:
In our Nature category, Kate O’Neill recorded some bad weather in Rome
And Bruce Endy, C’66, caught a napping iguana in the Galapagos
But our judges couldn’t get over the zebras in the photo from Richard Vernick, C’63
In the places category, we enjoyed this photo from Adele Greenspun, ED’60, of the Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt
Ron, GR’70, and Marilyn, G’68, Slivka sent in this photo from Morocco
But Rachel Wagman’s, C’93, photo from Tanzania took home the prize
In our people category, Sonya Fry entered this photo from the Danube River cruise last summer
Donna Glace included this group shot of Penn travelers at Peterhof Palace outside of St. Petersburg
And Penn professors Jennifer, C’91, and Joe, C’89, GR’96, Wegner sent in this photo of their son Alexander from Egypt
Peggy Weymouth won for her photo of this child in Petra, Jordan
Finally, Janelle Wiseley and I were tasked with choosing the grand prize winning photo. Our unanimous selection was this photo of Quito, Ecuador from Christine Turk.
You can see all of our prize winning photos and photo entries b y visiting our photo contest page here.
And, we will be asking for entries again for trips this year, so if you haven’t joined us on a trip yet this year, we hope you do. There are many beautiful pictures waiting to be taken! See our remaining 2011 trip schedule at http://www.alumni.upenn.edu/travel/2011/index.html
I had the best seat on Franklin Field for Commencement. Why? Because I acted as the “Stage Marshal.”
Here is why I have that honor year after year. In 2004, when Dr. Gutmann was inaugurated, I was asked to be a marshal at the formal inauguration ceremony in Irvine Auditorium. It was a wonderful event and my job was to seat all of the visiting representatives from colleges and universities. I did my job very well and caught the eye of the Commencement planners. They were impressed with my seating skills, so since 2004, I have been assisting the “stage party” at Commencement. The “stage party” includes Dr. Gutmann, the Trustees, Deans, VPs, honorary degree recipients and the Commencement Speaker. Eminent people walk by me every year – Bono, Jodi Foster, Jon Huntsman, Denzel Washington. The perks include saving front row seats for my faculty friends…
…And also getting to see exactly where Denzel Washington will be sitting.
I also had the opportunity to watch the Class Board carry the flags in and to take a great photo of them in front of the stage:
Here is the view of the stage from my seat:
The best part of my marshal job each year is having the perfect seat to listen to the Commencement speaker. This year, Denzel Washington delivered a moving and poignant speech – my favorite line: “Remember this: You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.” A great reminder that we can’t take our possessions with us when we go…That what matters most are our day to day interactions with people.
The only thing I am taking with me are the memories. . . . many of which were made right here on this amazing University of Pennsylvania campus!
John Wideman, C’63, Hon’86, first director of the Afro-American Studies Program. October 24, 1968
In 1971, the University of Pennsylvania welcomed its first academic program focused on studies of the African diaspora, the Afro-American Studies program. The program was led by its first director, John Wideman (C’63 Hon’86), a member in the English Department and the second black tenured faculty member in Penn’s history. Dr. Wideman, tasked with a difficult challenge, laid the foundation to successfully develop a much-needed academic program without any trained faculty members and few available courses.
Forty years later, the program, now known as the Center for Africana Studies (CFAS- through a merger with the Center for the Study of Black Literature and Culture), has flourished tremendously and now boasts over 50 affiliated faculty members and over 80 courses offerings for undergraduate and graduate students. CFAS also sponsors several co-curricular programs including: the Artist- and Scholar-in-Residence Programs, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture in Social Justice, The Africana Media Project, The Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Memorial Lecture, The annual Race and Sports program, and Brave Testimony: A Celebration of Poetry of the African Diaspora.
Africana Studies Summer Institute for Pre-Freshmen, 1994
Dr. Camille Z. Charles is the current Director of The Center for Africana Studies, the Chair of Penn’s Faculty Senate, Professor of Sociology and Education and the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor in Social Sciences. When speaking of this historic milestone, Dr. Charles explains, “These anniversaries are truly milestones in Penn’s history. I am proud to help ensure that a once overlooked field of study has remained an integral part of the academy for forty years and continues to shape the educational experiences of all Penn students.”
This fall, the University will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of Afro-American Studies at Penn and the 25th anniversary of the Center for Africana Studies Summer Institute for Pre-Freshmen, the first and, to date, only summer program of its kind and in the Ivy League.
On November 5, 2011 (Save the Date!) during Homecoming Weekend , the Black Alumni Society will join the Center for Africana Studies in a day-long series of programs and events in celebration of this milestone and in honor of Black History at Penn. The program series will include a brunch featuring the Black Alumni Society’s annual Honoring Leaving Legends program, a faculty and alumni panel, a reunion for past Summer Institute alumni and Afro-American or Africana Studies majors and minors as well as other exciting events and special guests. All alumni are invited to attend any of these historic events. For details, to RSVP, and to get involved please visit: The Center for Africana Studies Homepage or contact Michelle Houston at: mhoust@sas.upenn.edu.
As students, I’m sure that you have strolled along this major pedestrian thoroughfare at one point on another. Now, the walkway is under construction starting with the 3600 block this summer and will continue to the 3800 and 3900 blocks this fall.
Locust Walk is the place to go to bump into other students and peers. It is more than a walkway; it serves as a social and interactive path between college houses (a.k.a. dorms) and classrooms. Each and every time during my senior spring semester I would run from my house on Sansom and hop on the Walk to get to my either my Linguistics or Business Italian class in Williams Hall, I would see several of my classmates and friends. We would catch up on last week’s cast party or make plans for that weekend, and I would be inevitably late for class. Yet, my Penn classmates and I weren’t the only things traveling along the walk. The renovation includes the replacement of underground utilities and the paved surface. In addition to the thousands of students, faculty and staff that traverse the 20 and ½ foot wide Walk, electricity, gas, water, telecommunications, and sewage all passed under our feet. This infrastructure will be improved during the renovations as well.
For now, though, the intensity of the work in a confined space requires that students, faculty and staff to be re-routed from the work area. The temporary walkways provided by the contractor for safety, will have to serve as the major social conduit through campus.
For more articles about the Locust Walk Renovation, visit:
Most Penn students arrive for their freshman year at the tender age of eighteen. They are questioning, seeking—naïve in some ways perhaps, often idealistic.
When Aaron Heller arrived at Penn he was twenty-two, like many students of his time. He had spent the past three years overseas, part of the enormous clash of humanity that was World War II. They were a different kind of student—more serious in some ways, better able to put life into perspective—but still seeking, and determined to take advantage of the GI Bill to get a good education.
Today, Aaron asserts that he is still seeking. He and his wife Rita (CW’48), voracious readers and lifetime learners, have traveled the world to see works of art that they read about in Proust. He has also become a painter as was his older brother, Samuel.
The following excerpt is from an essay entitled “Coming Home” which Aaron wrote his freshman year at Penn, nearly sixty-five years ago:
He was short in build, this overseas returnee, and his face was flushed. His hat was sitting at an indeterminate angle. His overcoat was unbuttoned and flapped disturbingly as he ran to the ticket window.
The scene in the railroad station became indelibly imprinted in the mind. Fur coats, arms and legs, natural and man-made hues gradually resolved themselves into an intelligible impression. The complacent fat jowl above the camel-hair overcoat pierced the scene and sickened him.
“How much to Philadelphia?” he asked the ticket seller.
“Two dollars and thirty cents.” The voice that spoke was monotonous and unconcerned. It disturbed him even more when he could find no moral reason to attach to his disturbance.
Every eye was watching him and his face flushed. He was clumsy while he placed his baggage on the rack and stammered apologies to an indifferent woman. His mind slowly perceived that this woman with wrinkled face and arthritic legs was in her own petty world. He looked at the other passengers to discover that they dwelt in a circle that used the width of the body as a diameter.
A few times a week during my undergraduate years at Penn, I would run along a curved, “J”-like path, hurl myself backwards over a long, horizontal bar, and land – poof – in an undignified position on an enormous, dusty, blue cushion. Then someone would either cheer for me or yell at me (usually the latter) and I would do it again. And again. And again. Such is the life of a high jumper.
I always look so anguished mid-jump, but hey, whatever got me over the bar. If you really want to see a show at your next track meet, watch for the pre-jump ritual dances. All jumpers have one. Home meet at Franklin Field, spring 1993 (sophomore year).
But why do it?
You know, that is an excellent question. High jumping is not exactly a useful skill. There was a TV movie in the ‘80s about legendary American athlete Jesse Owens, whose epic, four-gold-medal-winning performance in Berlin’s 1936 Olympics shattered Hitler’s hopes of proving Aryan supremacy at the Games. Towards the end of the movie, a kid steals a lady’s purse and runs. Nearby, an older Jesse Owens takes off after the kid. Who knows if this was based on a real incident, but I still remember seeing the kid struggle to climb over some pile of debris and keep running. Then, there was the Jesse Owens character, in a business suit, hurdling that same pile in slow motion. The moral of the story? Hurdling is both cool and potentially useful. And don’t run from Jesse Owens.
Penn’s Varsity Track & Field Team Captains are each given a baton at the Penn Relays. Penn’s illustrious Chaplain, Chaz Howard, C’00, keeps trying to trick me into giving him mine. Sorry, Chaz!
I’ve tried to come up with scenarios where being an ex-high jumper might come in handy. Here’s what I’ve got: I’m being chased by someone evil. Up ahead of me is a fence, and there are walls on either side, so there’s no way out but over. And the walls are far enough apart that I can run my “J.” And the fence is lower than 5’ 9 ¼” high. And on the other side, there is a big stack of mattresses.
Yeah. I accept that high jumping knowledge doesn’t transfer well. But what I love about my event, and Track and Field in general, is that it’s raw. It’s about the body and what it can do, just because, end of story. How far can you throw? This far. How fast can you run? This fast. How high can you jump? This high. Next question? Few tasks or results in life are so clear, so easily measurable.
Front and center with fellow Team Captains, Maggie Morrow, C’95 and Monica (McCullough) Walker, C’96 in the 1994-95 team photo
The student-athlete experience adds something else to the mix: a special kind of school spirit. On the track or on the field, you are your team, you are your school, and you are identified from afar by your school colors. Student-athletes wear those colors on behalf of their entire university, and the team members who came before them. There’s pride at stake. I became sensitive to certain shades and color combinations within the Ivy League, and it took me years to get to the point where I could wear some of them in public without feeling like I was wearing the uniform of an opposing team.
Other than temporary allergies to rival school colors, what did I learn from my days as a high jumper?
Sometimes there is no middle ground. Either the bar stays up or it doesn’t. Sometimes the wind knocks it over, but usually it’s the jumper. What could I do better next time?
Sometimes you do get a second chance (and a third), but it’s better not to need it. You get three attempts at each height. Room for error is nice, but doing it right the first time saves time and energy for the harder jumps to come (FYI: the bar supports on each side are called “standards,” so the officials are literally “raising the bar” and “setting a higher standard” with each new round. That’s one to grow on).
Sometimes you are capable of more than you think you are. A good coach – or set of coaches – will see where you are able to go, equip you for the journey, challenge you until you arrive, and be there to celebrate with you once you get there. I showed up as a freshman walk-on to the team with a personal best of 5’4”. I left as a Senior Co-Captain with the school record of 5’ 9 ¼”. Who knew? They did. NCAA Division I coaching is nothing to sneeze at if it could get me 5+ inches higher in the air.
Sometimes it’s out of your hands. The outdoor season was always my favorite, though that blasted wind would often mock me by taking down the bar just steps before I reached it. Rain made running on the “J” curve an adventure in trusting the spikes in my heels to keep me from skidding (distinctive to a high jump shoe for this very reason). And you haven’t lived until you’ve landed in the “pit” (the big dusty cushion) after an hour of rain. The weather was out of my control. All I could do was my best to get to – and over – the bar.
Sometimes it’s all in your hands. When conditions are perfect, you’re feeling good, and you have three attempts ahead of you, it’s just you and that bar. It’s personal. However many people are watching, the results of the jump are entirely up to you. Will you rise to the challenge? If so, how high?
You know, maybe high jumping has more transferable knowledge than I gave it credit for.
In my Penn Varsity sweater at Homecoming 2008. These red sweaters with blue felt “P” haven’t changed much over the last century, so it’s quite a bonding moment to run into different eras of alumni wearing the same sweater with just as much pride.
Hats off to Adria (Ferguson) Sheth, C’97, seated far left in the back row of the above team photo. That super-fast underclassman grew up to fund Penn’s first women’s varsity coaching position endowed in a woman’s name in honor of former Head Coach Betty Costanza, who founded the Women’s Track & Field program at Penn. Let’s have a rousing, sports movie slow clap for Adria. To Betty and Assistant Coach Tony Tenisci, I love you both forevah for putting up with me, and for teaching me to fly, a few seconds at a time. Thanks for pushing me to push myself harder. Thanks also to Dick Fosbury for being the good kind of crazy. Enjoy this Visa commercial narrated by Morgan Freeman about the radical “Fosbury Flop” method of high jumping that revolutionized the sport. Aside: if the “Go World” Olympics ads don’t move you, you have no soul. This is the one that gets me every time. OK, and this one. And this one, this one, and this one. But anyway, back to Dick Fosbury….
A quick Google search shared loads of information on the renowned 1926 organ that would eventually make its home in the walls of Irvine Auditorium. Named for Cyrus H. K. Curtis, a publisher, the Curtis Organ is one of the largest pipe organs in the world and has nearly 11,000 pipes.
I hope you’ll take an opportunity to listen to the Wanamaker Organ the next time you’re in Center City on a Saturday afternoon. In my opinion, there is no better way to shop than to enjoy live music on the largest operation pipe organ in the world. Also, keep a look out for the next screening of the classic silent movie The Phantom of Opera set to live music played on the Curtis Organ in Irvine Auditorium – you won’t be disappointed.
Frankly Penn 