Fels Institute of Government

In March 1937, Samuel S. Fels and Wharton Dean Joseph H. Willits founded what is now known as the Fels Institute of Government within Penn's Wharton School with the mission to improve local government by developing best governing practices in government and by training professional government managers.

Fels quickly became the leading school for training city and county managers in the country, boasting near continuous leadership of the International City Management Association. Over time, Fels expanded its mission and for several decades has prepared graduates for a much broader range of public leadership positions in city, state and federal agencies, elective politics, nonprofit organizations, and private firms with close connections to the public sector.

The Fels Institute currently offers a Masters Degree in Governmental Administration. Former Pennsylvania Governor George Leader, a Fels graduate celebrated on the cover of Time magazine when he won election in 1954 as one of the nation's most fascinating new leaders, recently said that "whatever success I had in state government, I owe to Fels." [1] Other notable Fels graduates include Pennsylvania congressman Chaka Fattah [2] and Delaware State Representative Wayne Smith.[3]

Now located in the Fels Mansion on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, the Institute maintains a small student body. [4]

Contact details

Fels Institute of Government
University of Pennsylvania
3814 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6197
Phone: (215) 898-2600
Fax: (215) 898-1202
Web: http://www.fels.upenn.edu