Cultivating Community and Advancing the Social Good

An intrinsic commitment to nondiscrimination; diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives; social well-being and the social good.

At the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), we’re preparing the next generation of changemakers to work tirelessly for social innovation, social good, and impact. 

Throughout its history, SP2 has dedicated itself to understanding and embracing differences. Today, our historic commitment to community engagement, nondiscrimination, and the social good intersects with a deep commitment to supporting marginalized individuals, families, and communities.

SP2 strives to be a space of principled community, valuing differences of opinion, background, and experience and working to foster an institutional environment where we all think openly, honestly, reflectively, and deeply about questions and ideas that both unite and divide us. The topics that we grapple with every day—from homelessness and discrimination to prisoner re-entry and poverty, responsible philanthropy to economic mobility, aging and child welfare—are some of the biggest facing society. They can sometimes seem intractable, but we believe that addressing them through a truly thoughtful and collaborative lens empowers us to work together to reimagine and rebuild our social world.