Author: Amanda D’Amico
I did the math: I’ve spent over 4,000 hours on Penn’s campus. To put that in perspective, I spent about a quarter of that on GW’s campus, earning my Master’s degree. I’ve been to Penn sporting events, graduations, alumni weekends, lectures, and campus events. I’m proud of Penn’s distinguished history and growth.
I talk about Penn’s accomplishments so often that my fiancé feels compelled to regularly remind me that I’m not a Penn alumna. While it’s true that I’m not a Penn graduate, there are many recognizable and well-respected individuals who are:
– Owen J. Roberts, Class of 1895, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
– William J. Brennan, Jr., Class of 1928, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
– Charles Addams, FA’34, Creator of The Addams Family
– Arlen Specter, C’51, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
– Ronald S. Lauder, W’65, Ambassador of the United States to Austria
– Ed Rendell, C’65, Former governor of Pennsylvania
– Andrea Mitchell, CW’67, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent for NBC
– Michael Nutter, W’79, Mayor of Philadelphia
– Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., C’85, Ambassador of the United States to China
– Elizabeth Banks, C’96, Actress
– John Legend, C’99, Grammy-winning Recording Artist
– Vanessa Bayer, C’04, Saturday Night Live cast member
– Jerome Allen, W’09, Former NBA Player and current Penn Basketball Coach
This list is by no means exhaustive. There are literally thousands of recognizable and renowned Penn alumni who shaped the political world, the media, entertainment, medicine, and business.
Below, please find two examples chosen at random. To learn more about Penn’s distinguished alumni, visit the Alumni Relations web site or the Penn archives.
Honorary degree recipient, Nnamdi Azikiwe (Doctor of Humane Letters) with Professor Sandra Barnes, May 19, 1980.
Frankly Penn 