FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

PENN TRUSTEES FACE PUBLIC CHALLENGE OVER FAILURE TO PAY PILOTs TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

68 Faculty and Staff Request Meetings, Urge Trustees to Take Responsibility

PHILADELPHIA, PA—Calls for the University of Pennsylvania to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) to the Philadelphia public schools escalated this week—reaching the university’s highest governing board.  Following on the heels of a petition signed by over 800 faculty and staff, 68 signatories have publicly requested meetings with members of the Penn Board of Trustees, who have been silent for weeks despite growing outcry that Penn is failing to fulfill its responsibility to the school system.

“The decision to pay PILOTs lies in the hands of the Trustees,” explains Gerald Campano, Professor and Chair of the Literacy, Culture, and International Education Division at the Graduate School of Education.  “These 56 people bear responsibility for the fact that Penn—the largest landowner in Philadelphia—is denying our city’s children, teachers, and staff millions of dollars they need and deserve.”

The meeting request comes nearly three weeks after 523 Penn faculty and staff formed Penn for PILOTs and released a public statement calling on the university to pay its fair share to the Philadelphia public schools—as every other Ivy League institution already does.  The trustees received this unprecedented statement on July 8 but have issued no response.  “Their silence speaks volumes,” says Justin McDaniel, Professor of Religious Studies.  In the interim, faculty and staff signatures have continued to pour in from across the university and Penn Medicine: today, the number of signatories stands at 856.

The only trustee to have spoken publicly is board chair David L. Cohen, Senior Executive Vice President of Comcast, who reiterated his opposition to PILOTs in the Inquirer.  “David Cohen has for years been the public face of Penn’s refusal to pay its fair share to the public schools,” explains Amy C. Offner, Associate Professor of History.  “The problem with these old arguments isn’t just that they have been refuted one by one.  It’s that they are fundamentally diversions from the fact that public education is funded by property taxes, and Philadelphia’s largest private property owner is refusing to pay its fair share.  David Cohen must stop trying to change the subject, and ensure that Penn fulfills its basic civic responsibility.”

“Given their silence, we wonder what the other trustees think.  We want to ask them directly,” says Mary Summers, Senior Fellow in the Fox Leadership Program and Lecturer in Political Science.  “Does David Cohen speak for them?  Are they satisfied with arguments that have failed to convince over 800 Penn faculty and staff members?”

Faculty and staff delivered meeting requests to Cohen as well as the members of the board’s National, Global, and Local Engagement Committee and Budget & Finance Committee. They are: Laura J. Alber, President, CEO, and Director of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.; Michael L. Barrett, Senior Managing Director at Wells Fargo; David S. Blitzer, Senior Managing Director and Head of Tactical Opportunities of the Blackstone Group LP; James G. Dinan, CEO and Managing Partner of York Capital Management Advisors, L.P.; Michael F. Gerber, Senior Executive Vice President of Franklin Square Capital Partners;  Perry Golkin, Esq., CEO of PPC Enterprises LLC; James H. Greene, Jr., Co-CEO of True Wind Capital Management, L.P.; Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania; Lloyd W. Howell, Jr., CFO and Treasurer of Booz Allen Hamilton; Osagie O. Imasogie, Esq., Senior Managing Partner at PIPV Capital; Charles B. Leitner III, Global Chief Executive Officer of CBRE Global Investors; Marc F. McMorris, Managing Director of Carrick Capital Partners; Michael J. Price, Senior Managing Director of Evercore Partners; Andrew S. Rachleff, Chair and CEO of Wealthfront Corporation; Ann Reese, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Adoption Policy; Theodore E. Schlein, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Richard W. Vague, Managing Partner at Gabriel Investments; and Mark B. Werner, Consultant at Cerberus Capital Management.

The request for meetings forms part of a city-wide week of action for PILOTs organized by Philadelphia Jobs with Justice.

About Penn for PILOTs

Penn for PILOTs is an organization of over 800 faculty and staff at the University of Pennsylvania formed in July 2020 on the belief that Penn has a responsibility to ensure adequate funding for the Philadelphia public schools.  Visit our website to read our statement and list of signatories, read our FAQ, and find recent press coverage.

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