Our Mission & Values
The College Houses are residential communities for Penn undergraduates that:
- Connect the academic life of the University with the residential experience.
- Develop smaller, intimate communities that students call home and from which they can more comfortably navigate the complexities of a large university.
- Provide academic and personal support to residents.
- Promote social interaction, engagement, accountability and leadership within a setting that honors the diverse needs and backgrounds of the population.
Our Commitment to Respectful and Welcoming Communities
The College Houses are committed to uplifting individuals and communities and challenging one another to understand and value what both binds and distinguishes us. We believe that our residential communities thrive when we consider, acknowledge, and honor all residents. We ask that each community member (resident, staff, or visitor) commit to doing this through the following steps:
- Actively listen to experiences different from your own
- Seek educational opportunities about issues and current events while embracing all intellectual perspectives
- Speak up when you witness or hear something disrespectful even when it is not convenient
- Engage with your community through joining organizations, attending programs, and participating in service and/or advocacy
What Our Houses Offer
Here's all our Houses with a little information about each. Click on any of the arrows to take a deeper dive!
Our Team
The College Houses are each staffed by a hard-working team of professionals who care deeply about their community and how the CHAS mission can help Penn students thrive. They collaborate with the members of Penn's faculty who live alongside undergraduates in the College Houses to create communities that support residents throughout their University experience.
The History of CHAS
Penn has been fostering a vigorous on-campus community since it was first founded more than two centuries ago. In 1998, Penn decided to extend the successful faculty-in-residence model it had created at Van Pelt College House and Du Bois College House across all of its undergraduate residences. Today, with its newest College Houses less than a decade old, Penn's College House system is meeting the challenges of today with adaptable, dynamic communities that bring the University home to almost 6000 undergradutes every year.
Upcoming events in the College Houses
Melissa's Legacy: Awareness and Action
Stouffer College House is hosting a fundraiser at El Taco to honor the memory of Melissa Sengbusch, a former Stouffer resident and Penn Nursing student who passed away from leukemia before completing her studies. When you mention Melissa's name while checking out, 20% of register sales go directly to the Penn School of Nursing's Melissa Sengbusch Inspirational Scholarship Fund.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Health: Reflections on Healthcare and the American Experiment at 250
Harnwell is pleased to invite you to a very special campus talk: “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Health” Penn alumnus Glenn Ellis C '75 will offer his insights on the history and evolution of the American healthcare system as the nation marks its 250th anniversary. Ellis will be releasing a book on this subject in December 2026. This work draws on more than ten years of dedicated research exploring Philadelphia’s Role in Healthcare History. By the time of the 1876 World’s Expo, Philadelphia had earned recognition as the world’s leading center for modern health care. As the country celebrates the history of the American experiment, Ellis observes that “health and health care” were not explicitly included in America’s founding documents or early principles. However, some of the earliest civic and public health institutions were established in Philadelphia and then spread across the nation. Through this talk, Ellis will ask us to explore ongoing questions for society. This history prompts important questions: What impact did these developments have on the people of Philadelphia and the broader American public? How have laws and policies shaped the role of health in our society? In what ways does our medical past continue to influence healthcare today? Glenn Ellis, MPH, CHCE, DSc (h.c .), FCPP is a distinguished medical ethicist and serves as president of Strategies for Well-Being, LLC. His consultancy focuses on health education, equity, advocacy, policy, and communication, with a strong emphasis on the ethical protection of patient rights. His talk has been shared nationwide, most recently as the keynote address for Research Day at Meharry Medical College in Tennessee.
Meditation Class
Iftar Dinner w/ RA DJ
Join community as we have Iftar in the MPR at 8pm on the 19th of March! We'll be having catering from Zahid's Kitchen's Halal Food!
News & Announcements
Stouffer Fellow named William T. Grant Scholar
Finding Common Ground in KCECH
Benjamin Franklin Scholars receives $8M endowment
