Realizing Penn’s Civic Mission in Practice: Perspectives from Netter Center Alumni

Following opening remarks from Rev. Charles (Chaz) Howard (C00, PAR26, PAR28), University Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity and Community, the founder and Barbara and Edward Netter director of the Netter Center, Ira Harkavy (C70, GR79, PAR01, PAR06), will be in discussion with Netter associate director Rita A. Hodges (C05, GED15, GRD24) about the Netter Center’s roots from the 1960s to present and thoughts on the future of higher education’s civic mission. 

Other alumni speakers include Ken Shillingford (C90), who has spent his career in the public service and nonprofit sector and currently serves as Director of Finance for Building for the Arts NY, Inc.; Andrew Zitcer (C00 GCP04 CGS07 WEV07 WEV08) who serves as director of the Urban Strategy graduate program and associate professor at Drexel’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and whose engaged scholarship in Harkavy’s seminar led to founding of the Rotunda on 40th and Walnut Street; and Joyce Kim (C15, PhD candidate in Sociology and Higher Education), who will share her experience on how Penn and Netter have shaped her trajectory, including as a Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement Fellow at the Netter Center.

Pre-release copies of a new book, Community-Engaged Scholarship: Reflections from Netter Center Alumni (Penn Press, 2025), will be distributed to attendees at the program. Community-Engaged Scholarship, edited by Hodges and professor emeritus Mike Zuckerman (C61), is a collection of stories told by Penn alumni—including Zitcer—whose lives were profoundly shaped by engaging with the West Philadelphia community as students. Their reflections trace the linear relationship between their involvement in democratic community partnerships through Penn’s Netter Center and their current professional activities, primarily in academia, where they remain actively engaged in the struggle to build a more democratic and equitable society. The stories are testimony to the Netter Center’s and Ira Harkavy’s enduring influence on the next generation of community-engaged scholars and practitioners.

Light reception to follow program.

We hope you can join us! Registration (on the Penn Alumni Weekend webpage) is encouraged but not required.

Co-sponsored by the Class of 1970 and Class of 2000