PHILADELPHIA — As a part of its centennial, the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice is sponsoring the 37th annual Association for Research on Non-profit Organizations and Voluntary Action, or ARNOVA, conference in conjunction with the Benjamin Franklin Leadership Symposium and a reception marking 100 years of social-work education at Penn.

The conference brings together nearly 1,000 non-profit leaders and researchers from around the globe at the Sheraton Center City Hotel, 17th and Race streets on Nov. 21 from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m.

The conference, “Leading in Building Civil Society: Obligations and Privileges,” will include a session featuring Michael Useem, a professor from Penn’s Wharton School, as the keynote speaker. Useem will speak about leadership development and succession issues among non-profit and non-governmental organizations.

“This is only part of our efforts to advance leadership in the non-profit sector,” Richard Gelles, dean of the School of Social Policy and Practice, said. “These efforts are also reflected in our signature degree program, the Masters of Science in Non-Profit/Non-Governmental Organizations Leadership.”

ARNOVA is an international organization that promotes understanding of the non-profit sector, philanthropy and volunteerism.