# University of Pennsylvania *Private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia; former Minnesota governor Harold Stassen was its president from 1948 to 1953.* The University of Pennsylvania, commonly called Penn, is a privately governed Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin, its first president, chartered it in 1755, and it is counted among the nine colonial colleges.[^1] It enters the Minnesota record through [[Harold Stassen]], the Republican elected [[Governor of Minnesota]] in 1938 and re-elected in 1940 and 1942.[^2] After Stassen lost the 1948 Republican presidential nomination to Thomas Dewey, Penn's board of trustees chose him as president. He held the office from 1948 to 1953.[^3][^4] Penn's own University Archives give the institution's account of that presidency. They record that officials throughout the university questioned the choice of a president who had no ties to Penn and no experience as an academic administrator.[^3] They also record that Stassen raised money and cut costs during a long-term financial crisis, and that his dispute with the NCAA over televised football ended with Penn backing down under threat of expulsion.[^5] The same account records frequent absences from campus, including during his spring 1952 campaign for the Republican nomination, and calls his tenure "brief and relatively unproductive."[^6] Stassen left the presidency for the Eisenhower administration. The State Department's Office of the Historian records his appointment as Director of the [[Mutual Security Agency]] on January 27, 1953. It records his appointment as Director of the [[Foreign Operations Administration]] on August 3, 1953.[^7] ## Who The university's corporate body is the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, whose official seal authenticates the documents the corporation issues. Wikipedia lists J. Larry Jameson as Penn's tenth and current president.[^8] The law school's first professor was [[James Wilson (Founding Father)]]. The university's alumni include Supreme Court justice [[William J. Brennan Jr.]][^9] Stassen was born on April 13, 1907. The Minnesota Historical Society's finding aid and the Legislative Reference Library place his birth on a farm in [[Dakota County, Minnesota]]. Penn's archives give West St. Paul.[^10][^2][^11] He received his law degree from the [[University of Minnesota]] Law School in 1929 and opened a law office in South St. Paul that November.[^10] The Legislative Reference Library dates his election as Dakota County attorney to 1929. The Historical Society places it a year after the law office opened. Both record two terms.[^12][^10] He was elected governor in 1938 at age 31, which the Historical Society describes as the youngest age of any governor in the state's history. The Library lists him as the 25th governor, a Republican, who assumed office on January 2, 1939.[^10][^2] ## What Wikipedia's account of Penn's structure is internally inconsistent. Its Academics section gives twelve schools: four undergraduate and eight graduate and professional. Its lead gives four undergraduate and twelve graduate and professional schools.[^13] The schools that enroll undergraduates are the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Wharton School and the School of Nursing.[^13] During Stassen's presidency, Penn's archives record, the university channeled its financial resources into a few prestigious departments at the expense of others. It also carried out George McClelland's campus expansion plan and reformed intercollegiate athletics to meet the requirements of the new Ivy League.[^5] At the time, Penn was one of only two colleges in the country with a national television contract. When the NCAA voted to restrict televised games, Stassen signed a $200,000 contract with ABC. He backed down after the NCAA threatened to expel the Quakers. The archives state that the episode damaged Penn's national reputation and its relations with peer institutions.[^5] The Historical Society records that Stassen continued outside work during his Penn presidency. He served as president of the International Council on Religious Education and helped merge it with the National Council of the Churches of Christ in 1950.[^14] ## When - 1740: a group of Philadelphians organized to build a preaching hall for the evangelist George Whitefield.[^15] - Fall 1749: Franklin circulated *Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania*.[^15] - June 16, 1755: the College of Philadelphia was chartered.[^15] - 1765: Penn founded the first medical school in America.[^15] - April 27, 1943: Stassen resigned the governorship four months into his third term and enlisted in the Navy.[^16] - February 13, 1945: the White House announced that the President would invite "Commander Harold Stassen" to join the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference, opening at San Francisco on April 25, 1945.[^17] - 1948: Stassen lost the Republican nomination to Dewey and became Penn's president.[^4][^3] - Spring 1952: while president, Stassen sought the Republican presidential nomination, which went to Dwight D. Eisenhower.[^6][^4] - January 27, 1953: Stassen was appointed Director of the Mutual Security Agency. He entered on duty January 28.[^7] - August 1, 1953: the President authorized Stassen to occupy the new Foreign Operations Administration directorship, pending Senate confirmation.[^7] - August 3, 1953: Stassen was appointed to that post. The Office of the Historian lists March 19, 1955 as the date the appointment terminated.[^7] - March 19, 1955: Eisenhower announced Stassen's appointment as Special Assistant to the President on disarmament, a position announced as one of Cabinet rank.[^18] - 1957: Stassen was chief U.S. negotiator at the London Arms Control Negotiations.[^19] - February 18, 1958: Stassen resigned his cabinet position.[^19] ## Where Penn's main campus, about 299 acres, lies in West Philadelphia's University City neighborhood.[^20] After leaving the Eisenhower administration in 1958, Stassen moved to Philadelphia and practiced law. He ran unsuccessfully for governor of Pennsylvania in 1958 and 1966 and for mayor of Philadelphia in 1959.[^19] He moved back to Minnesota in 1978.[^21] ## Why The record documents a sequence of events, not the trustees' reasons. Penn's archives state that the board chose Stassen after his failed 1948 bid to fill the vacancy left by George McClelland's sudden retirement.[^3] For the disarmament post, the Office of the Historian's editorial note gives a reason. It attributes the appointment to the inability of government agencies, especially State, Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission, to agree on new proposals. It also records that none of the names those agencies put forward was Stassen's.[^18] ## How Penn's board of trustees selected its president.[^3] Stassen's move from the Mutual Security Agency to the Foreign Operations Administration was made by presidential authorization, pending Senate confirmation.[^7] For the disarmament appointment, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles first revised Eisenhower's message. Eisenhower then cabled Stassen in Karachi on March 1. The two met at the White House on March 14. The March 19 announcement stated that Stassen would continue as Director of the Foreign Operations Administration for the time being.[^18] ## How much - $200,000: the ABC television contract Stassen signed in defiance of the NCAA's restriction on televised games.[^5] - $2.172 billion: Penn's reported research expenditures in fiscal year 2024, second among U.S. universities in the NSF's HERD survey. Wikipedia's research section separately gives more than $1.9 billion for 2023, ranked third that year.[^22] - $31.1 billion: Penn's endowment as of June 30, 2026.[^22] - $582.3 million: National Institutes of Health funding Penn received in fiscal year 2019.[^22] ## How many - Delegates: the February 13, 1945 White House announcement names eight members of the U.S. delegation to San Francisco, Stassen among them. The Legislative Reference Library biography describes him as one of seven.[^17][^21] - Presidential campaigns: Penn's archives count nine campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination between 1948 and 1992.[^23] The Historical Society states that he campaigned for the presidency in every election except 1956, 1960 and 1972.[^19] - Governor campaigns: Penn's archives count four runs for governor of Minnesota, "winning his first two attempts."[^23] The Legislative Reference Library and the Historical Society record three gubernatorial wins, in 1938, 1940 and 1942.[^2][^10] - Athletics: Penn sponsors 33 varsity sports.[^24] - Police: Penn's 117-member police department is the largest private police force in Pennsylvania.[^8] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - [[Harold Stassen]], Republican, 25th Governor of Minnesota, of South St. Paul, assumed office January 2, 1939.[^2] ### What - The Legislative Reference Library biography names the [[Minnesota Labor Relations Act]] (1939) as his major achievement as governor. The act created a structure for mediation between unions and employers.[^25] - His papers are held by the [[Minnesota Historical Society]]. They total 212.8 cubic feet, with the bulk dated 1938–1980.[^26] ### When - After his 1978 return, Stassen ran in Minnesota for U.S. Senate (1978), governor (1982) and the fourth-district congressional seat (1986). At 87, he sought the Republican U.S. Senate nomination (1994).[^21] - Penn's archives add that he filed for the gubernatorial race that [[Jesse Ventura]] won.[^23] - He died in Bloomington, Minnesota, on March 4, 2001.[^21][^2] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead — private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia; chartered 1755 by first president Benjamin Franklin; one of nine colonial colleges. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^2]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor Harold Stassen* (governor biography) — 25th governor; Republican; residence South St. Paul; assumed office January 2, 1939; elected 1938, re-elected 1940 and 1942; born on a Dakota County farm; dates April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=14 [^3]: University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center, *Harold Edward Stassen* (Penn People) — trustees chose Stassen after the 1948 nomination loss to fill the vacancy left by George McClelland's sudden retirement; officials questioned the selection. https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/harold-edward-stassen/ [^4]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society* (finding aid) — after the 1948 campaign, president of the University of Pennsylvania 1948–1953; 1952 nomination went to Eisenhower. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^5]: University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center, *Harold Edward Stassen* (Penn People) — financial crisis, fundraising and cost-cutting, resource channeling, campus expansion, Ivy League athletics reform, NCAA television dispute and $200,000 ABC contract. https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/harold-edward-stassen/ [^6]: University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center, *Harold Edward Stassen* (Penn People) — frequent absences including spring 1952; extended Asia speaking tour; tenure "brief and relatively unproductive"; acceptance of Eisenhower's offer. https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/harold-edward-stassen/ [^7]: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, *Harold E. Stassen (1907–2001)* (Department History, People) — Director of the Mutual Security Agency appointed January 27, 1953, entry on duty January 28, 1953; authorized August 1, 1953 and appointed August 3, 1953 Director of the Foreign Operations Administration; termination March 19, 1955. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/stassen-harold-e [^8]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), Organization section — Trustees' seal; J. Larry Jameson as 10th president; police department of 117 members. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^9]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead and People sections — James Wilson as first law professor; William J. Brennan Jr. among alumni. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^10]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers* (finding aid), biographical note — born April 13, 1907 on a Dakota County farm; law degree 1929; law office November 1929; county attorney a year later, two terms; elected governor 1938 at 31, re-elected 1940 and 1942. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^11]: University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center, *Harold Edward Stassen* (Penn People) — born April 13, 1907, in West St. Paul, Minnesota. https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/harold-edward-stassen/ [^12]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor Harold Stassen* (governor biography) — elected Dakota County attorney in 1929; served two terms. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=14 [^13]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead and Academics sections — school counts as stated in each; undergraduate schools. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^14]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers* (finding aid) — president of the International Council on Religious Education into his Penn presidency; 1950 merger with the National Council of the Churches of Christ. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^15]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), History section — 1740 preaching hall; 1749 pamphlet; June 16, 1755 charter; 1765 medical school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^16]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers* (finding aid) — resigned and enlisted in the Navy April 27, 1943, four months into his third term. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^17]: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1945, General: The United Nations, Volume I*, Document 17 (February 13, 1945) — White House announcement of the eight-member U.S. delegation, including Commander Harold Stassen, to the April 25, 1945 San Francisco conference. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1945v01/d17 [^18]: Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Regulation of Armaments; Atomic Energy, Volume XX*, Document 16 (Editorial Note) — March 19 announcement at Cabinet rank; agency impasse; March 1 cable to Karachi; March 14 meeting; continuation as FOA Director. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v20/d16 [^19]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers* (finding aid) — 1957 London negotiations; resignation February 18, 1958; Philadelphia law practice; Pennsylvania campaigns 1958, 1959, 1966; presidential campaigns in every election except 1956, 1960, 1972. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html [^20]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), Campus section — main campus of about 299 acres in University City, West Philadelphia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^21]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor Harold Stassen* (governor biography) — one of seven U.S. delegates to the UN founding meeting; 1978 return to Minnesota and later campaigns; died 2001 in Bloomington. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=14 [^22]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), lead and Research sections — research expenditures for 2023 and fiscal year 2024; endowment as of June 30, 2026; fiscal year 2019 NIH funding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^23]: University of Pennsylvania University Archives and Records Center, *Harold Edward Stassen* (Penn People) — nine nomination campaigns 1948–1992; four Minnesota gubernatorial runs; filing in the race Jesse Ventura won; death March 4, 2001. https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-people/biography/harold-edward-stassen/ [^24]: Wikipedia, *University of Pennsylvania* (rev. 1381922287, retrieved 2026-10-27), Athletics section — 33 intercollegiate NCAA varsity sports. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania [^25]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Governor Harold Stassen* (governor biography) — Minnesota Labor Relations Act (1939) and its mediation structure. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/govbio?govid=14 [^26]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Harold E. Stassen: An Inventory of His Papers* (finding aid) — collection overview: 212.8 cubic feet, bulk 1938–1980. http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html