Author: Eric Jacobs

Nearly 250 DP alumni, students and guests gathered in Philadelphia last month to celebrate the DP’s rich history, re-live fond memories, honor fellow alumni, and look forward to a strong future for the organization. Ten years after the first alumni reunion, this year’s event was, by all accounts, a resounding success.  An informal Friday evening cocktail party opened the weekend, followed by a series of popular alumni panel discussions on Saturday. Mel Goldstein ’62 and Michael Brown ’62 began the day by regaling the crowd with stories about the University’s ill-fated shutdown of the DP in 1962.

The next session featured the five inaugural inductees into the new DP Alumni Hall of Fame — Bob Frost ’60, Michael Silver ’75, Lee Levine ’76, Eric Jacobs ’80 and Jean Chatzky ’86 — sharing their memories and discussing the DP’s impact on their lives.

A panel on the state of political journalism today featured an impressive roster of DP journalists: Peter Canellos ’84 (Politico), Matt Flegenheimer ’11 (New York Times), Rebecca Kaplan ’10 (CBS News), Catherine Lucey ’01 (The Wall Street Journal), Ashley Parker ’05 (Washington Post), and Dick Stevenson ’81 (New York Times).

The final panel featured a video on the history of the DP, Executive Editor Sarah Fortinsky ’20 and President Julia Schorr ’20 discussing student life at the DP today, General Manager Eric Jacobs ’80 discussing the changes in the DP’s business model and state of its finances, and DP Board Lead Alumni Director Chuck Cohen ’89 talking about the need for increased philanthropic giving to support the DP in the decades to come.

The closing dinner gala was emceed by outgoing DP Alumni Association President Marty Siegel ’77, who presented the first Young Alumni Award to Ashley Parker ’05 and then introduced each of the five Hall of Fame inductees. “The greatest thing I ever did in my career was work at the DP,” said Bob Frost ’60, a former New York Times reporter and investment manager. Philadelphia City Councilperson Helen Gym ’93 presented a resolution passed by City Council — and read aloud by student and alumni members of the DP Board of Directors — honoring the DP on its anniversary and Eric Jacobs ’80 on his impending retirement after 40 years of employment at the DP. (Read the full resolution here.)

If you joined us in Philadelphia, thank you for coming. If you weren’t able to come this time, we hope you’ll join us for the next such anniversary event. We don’t know how we’ll top this year’s event — but it’s only a question of “when,” not “if.”

The DP was honored as one of the top college newspapers in the country when it received the Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press. The award was presented at a national college media conference in Washington, DC on November 2, 2019.

The Pacemaker is often referred to as “the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism.” It is the third consecutive year the DP has received the award, and only the second time the DP has achieved that feat. (The DP won four consecutive Pacemaker awards from 2001-2004.)

Last year’s senior sports editor William Snow ’19 also won the Reporter of the Year award for multiple groundbreaking investigations into issues on several Penn sports teams.

You can read more about this year’s awards in a DP story here.

It’s the event that took 135 years to create. (Or at least 10 years, since the last one.) “It” is a celebration of The Daily Pennsylvanian, its students and its alumni to celebrate the newspaper’s 135th anniversary this fall.

The DP Alumni Association is excited to invite alumni back to campus for the 135th Anniversary Reunion weekend. Make plans now to join us October 18-19, for the biggest DP party in history! You will not want to miss it.

Enjoy food, drink, and fun with friends old and new, hear from some of the DP’s accomplished alumni, and celebrate the DP’s rich history and bright future.

Part of the weekend’s events will feature the induction of the inaugural honorees into the new DP Alumni Hall of Fame.

Tickets are $135 per person, which includes a welcoming reception on Friday night, a formal dinner reception on Saturday night, and daytime Saturday programming which will feature DP alumni speaking on a number of different topics related to the history of the DP, journalism, business, politics, and more.

You can register for the event and find more information on the official 135th Anniversary website here. The deadline to register is August 31.

Beyond the cost of the event, the DP Board of Directors and the DPAA Board Board encourage alumni to support independent student journalism and the continuing world-class student experiences at the DP by making a donation to the DP Development Fund. Contributions from DP alumni are now a crucial pillar for our long-term sustainability.

If you’re traveling to Philadelphia for the reunion, lodging options abound. The closest hotel to the center of campus is the Hilton Inn at Penn (between 36th & 37th on Walnut). Three other hotels adjoining campus are the Sheraton University City (at 36th & Chestnut) and the Homewood Suites (on Walnut between 41st and 42nd), and The Study at University City (33rd & Chestnut). Of course, there are dozens of hotels just across the Schuylkill River in Center City Philadelphia.

If you have any questions about the event, you can email Taylor Culliver at culliver.taylor@gmail.com or call the DP at 215-422-4640 ext. 1.