Fels Institute of Government Director Larry Sherman will step down from his post this summer, ending his six-year tenure as head of Penn's graduate program in government administration.
The Fels Institute held a reception at the Inn at Penn to honor the outgoing director on May 6.
Officials from Fels and the School of Arts and Sciences spoke at the event, praising Sherman for bringing new energy to the institute and greatly increasing its prestige. Under Sherman's leadership, Fels' enrollment doubled, with three times as many applicants annually.
"You can't underestimate the way he built the program," said Don Kettl, who will replace Sherman at the helm of the small school which focuses on government administration.
From the moment he took control of Fels in 1999, Sherman was determined to make public administration a priority at Penn. He was inspired by the work of former Penn sociologist Digby Baltzell, who had traced the cultural legacy left by Philadelphia's and the University's Quaker founders.
The anti-authority Quakers had fostered a culture of individualism and limited government, and many were pros-perous businessmen.
According to Baltzell, this libertarian bias is the reason why Penn developed a strong business school, whereas Puritan-founded Harvard University became a center of governance.
So when Sherman came to Penn, he immediately began working to foster the culture of government that he believed the University lacked. He shared Baltzell's belief that the problem could be fixed by accurate diagnosis.
One of his most important goals was to "plant strong roots in the soil," creating strong ties with government organizations in Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Washington. He convinced SAS officials to allot Fels more funds for attracting high-profile faculty. Officials in the College joined his crusade to improve governmental studies at Penn.
"We're going to be outstanding in government as well," said Jack Nagel, associate dean of graduate studies for SAS.
Many students also expressed their appreciation for Sherman.
"He can envision the biggest things out of what doesn't seem possible," said Ethan Byler, who just completed his first year of graduate studies in the Fels Institute.
Kettl hopes to continue moving Fels in the same direction. He came to Penn last year after spending 15 years as the head of the Robert La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin.
He said he is a strong advocate of pragmatic government, downplaying ideology.
"Figure out what works, and then figure out how to implement the results. We have a distinctive contribution we can make by putting the two together," Kettl said.
Sherman decided to step down as director in order to focus on his position as chairman of the two-year-old Department of Criminology. He is considered one of the premier criminologists in the world.
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