On March 20, Penn President Amy Gutmann welcomed members of the Friars Senior Society for a luncheon in her home.
Founded in 1899, the organization recognizes a diverse group of seniors who have made a significant contribution to Penn as outstanding leaders who embody the Friar Creed of service, friendship, and community but whose paths may not have crossed otherwise.
The Friars have made their mark on the culture at Penn and are credited with introducing the tradition of straw hats to Hey Day back in 1949 and launching Spring Fling in 1975. They’ve also created more than 60 student-run organizations on campus.
More recently, the Friars Society has raised thousands of dollars for non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, The Philadelphia Education Fund, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and Relay for Life.
Its 15 original members, all male, founded the organization “to protest cliques and strive against caddishness and snobbery, and to firmly establish uncompromising democracy in all class, college and university activities.” Women were first admitted in 1971.
Penn’s Friars Society alumni number nearly 2,100 and live across the United States and in 25 other countries.
