Fels Institute of Government

The Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is a graduate school of public policy and public management. Founded in 1937 by Samuel Simeon Fels of the Fels Naptha Soap Company, the Fels Institute prepares its students for 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 is housed in Fox-Fels Hall, the former residence of Samuel Fels. It is a brick mansion located on the west end of the University of Pennsylvania's campus.

Academics
Fels offers a Master of Public Administration degree in both full-time and executive (part-time) formats. Fels also offers four-course certificates in Nonprofit Administration and Public Finance.

Faculty

 * Dr. Robert Pearson: Carnegie-Mellon, Pearson's R (regression)- His model was not fully specified
 * Hon. Edward G. Rendell: Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 * Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky: CEO, Women's Campaign International; Former Member of Congress


 * Jim Kenney: Mayor of the City of Philadelphia
 * Stephen Mullin: Senior Vice President, Econsult Corporation; Econsult Solutions Inc.; Former Philadelphia City Finance Director
 * Eric Costello Neiderman: Manager, Cargo Security Research & Development, Transportation Security Administration, Dept. of Homeland Security
 * Wayne A. Smith: President and CEO, Delaware Healthcare Association; former House Majority Leader, Delaware General Assembly

Notable Fels alumni

 * Jennifer Beck: New Jersey State Senator, Represents the 12th legislative district
 * David Byerman '95, Secretary of the Senate of the Nevada Senate
 * Kenneth Braithwaite '95: US secretary of the Navy under President Donald J. Trump
 * Donna Cooper '87: Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, and former Pennsylvania Secretary of Policy and Planning
 * Madeleine Dean (attended): US Representative for Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district, a house manager for the Second impeachment of Donald Trump, former Pennsylvania House Representative
 * Scott Detrow: NPR White House Correspondent and NPR Politics Podcast host
 * Stephen Dilts '96: New Jersey Transportation Commissioner
 * Chaka Fattah '86: US Representative for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district
 * Bob Ganley '72: Former city manager of South Portland and Portland, Maine
 * Wilson Goode: First African-American Mayor of Philadelphia (1984–1992)
 * George M. Leader: Former Governor of Pennsylvania (1955-1959)
 * Frank A. Salvatore: Pennsylvania Representative for the 170th district (1973-1984); Pennsylvania State Senator for the 5th district (1985-2000)
 * Rob Wonderling '91: Former Pennsylvania State Senator and current President and CEO of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce

Fels Publications

 * Vacant Property Reclamation and Neighborhood Change in Southwest Center City Philadelphia (July 2008): Details the current status of vacant properties surveyed in 1998 to better understand the changing neighborhood.
 * MyVote1 National Election Report (Christopher Patusky, Allison Brummel, & Timothy Schmidt, August 2007): Summarizes the results of the 2006 MyVote1 National Election Hotline project.
 * The Philadelphia SchoolStat Model (Leigh Botwinik, Christopher Patusky, Mary Shelley, 2007): Describes how the Compstat and CitiStat models were adapted for the Philadelphia School District, what performance improvements occurred after implementation, and which features of the approach seemed to be the biggest contributors to improvement.
 * "Making the Most of Social Media" (Chris Kingsley, Allison Brummel, Catharine Lamb, & Jack Higgins, 2009): Discusses the growth of Social Media over the past several years, including the challenges associated with adopting them for public use - legal, practical and political, and distills the experience of cities who have done this both more and less effectively into seven suggestions that cover the full cycle of adoption, from pre-planning to self-evaluation.