(Philly, USA) The contradictions of a society that is so rich and yet has so much poverty

Before we can address the benefits which Penn would obtain from a West-Philadelphia community and school partnership, we have to examine the underlying mission of the university and place the benefits within this contextual framework. The university’s benefits are driven by the university’s mission, which in turn is driven by societal needs.

Provision of Public Goods Basis for Societal Needs

I argue that societal needs are predicated on the provision of public goods and base this premise on Galbraith’s argument (1998) that we live in an “affluent society”. Having met the material private needs for the majority of society through free markets, we need to turn our attention to the relative poverty in public goods, which cannot be adequately provided by free markets. The provision of public goods does not lie only in the government’s domain but also with the multitude of social institutions that comprise society, of which universities and Penn are a part of. As Sullivan (1999) argues, the university is a “great influence…as a shaper of outlooks” and hence, functions as a “public institution”. Public goods can take the form of fighting poverty, providing healthcare or providing democratic leadership…etc.

The prestige of university depends on its socially useful role. In an affluent society, economic production will be de-emphasized, as goods produced are of limited urgency. Hence, the prestige accruing to producers will decline. Thus, it is this impetus that Bill Gates and other wealthy individuals have to bolster their reputation and prestige through philanthropy. Similarly, the continued prestige of Penn will depend on its ability to serve a socially beneficial role through provision of public goods, rather than its ability to produce wealthy professionals.

Penn Mission and Benefits

In seeing that the mission of the university is aligned with service to the community, the question of how Penn benefits from working with the community answers itself. The main benefit is since Penn exists for the community, it fulfills its mission by working for the community. Penn also derives prestige by serving its community and fulfilling its social role. Hence, in working with the West Philadelphia community, Penn bolsters its own image and reputation.

As a university fulfilling a social role, but with students trapped in an environment still geared towards production, Penn benefits from community involvement through the humanizing effect which such service entails. Through interacting with West Philadelphia, and realizing the poverty exists in the community, the community allows Penn to transform its students into the socially aware citizens, which it should produce in line with its Mission. The awareness of social issues promoted by such an exercise also helps train democratic-minded citizens.

If community service and public goods provision function are overriding responsibilities of Penn, then every course should be, as far as possible, linked to educating students to provide these functions. Thus, the presence of real social problems present in Philadelphia provides incredible learning opportunities for Penn students. In involving students with real-world problems, Penn provides experiential learning, a far superior learning experience that solves the “inert knowledge problem” raised by Saltmarsh and Hollander (2000).

It is not just learning opportunities that are created; co-creation of socially useful knowledge also occurs. In collaborating with the community, Penn benefits from access to direct observation of social problems, as well as the ability to mine data from the community. This knowledge created applies directly to Penn’s mission, and is a valuable university resource.

Bibliography

Galbraith, John Kenneth. 1998. The Affluent Society. Mariner Books.

Sullivan, William M. 1999.The University as Citizen: Institutional Identity and Social Responsibility. Council on Public Policy Education.

Saltmarsh, John and Hollander, Elizabeth. 2000. Book Review: The Academic Benefits of Service-Learning: Research Results. American Journal of Education