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
Meet Your House Director & Residential Services Manager
Come meet your House Director and Ms. Jane Pablos, our Residential Services Manager! Learn about their roles, how to submit maintenance requests for your space, and how to follow up on requests. Plus—enjoy Cupcakes & Cookies while you connect and ask questions!
Friday Night Writes - Training
This is the live training session for Friday Night Writes for all undergraduates who want to learn to provide writing coaching to Philadelphia writers ages 8-18. In partnership with the Philadelphia Writing Project and Cosmic Writers, we will provide a framework for how to work with young writers working on both fiction and school writing assignments, including helping writers to submit to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. We will also discuss the role of AI in current writing instruction. Friday Night Write drop in hours will be 9/19, 10/3, and 10/24 this semester. We will also hold a judging panel on 12/11 you are invited to join as a juror. If you want to participate in this program but cannot attend this training, please send an email to faculty director Amy Stornaiuolo - amystorn@upenn.edu
Roundtrip to Reading Terminal
Swag and Burritos! Meet the Ware House Director!
Come grab a burrito and a Ware College House T-shirt if you didn't get one during move-in! You will also get a chance to meet the Ware House Director and House Coordinator!
News & Announcements
Stouffer Fellow named William T. Grant Scholar
Finding Common Ground in KCECH
Benjamin Franklin Scholars receives $8M endowment
