About

Get to know SNF Paideia.

Started as a five-year pilot program in 2019, SNF Paideia is designed to provide all Penn undergraduates with the knowledge, skills, and ethical frameworks necessary to be informed, engaged, and effective community members, and to lead fulfilling and integrated personal, professional, and civic lives. We do so through a combination of curricular and co-curricular programming, a university-wide network of dedicated students, faculty, and staff, collaborations with other Penn programs and organizations, and the generous support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

How do I pronounce Paideia?

Education for personal, professional, and civic development.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Paideia Program creates and supports opportunities for the Penn community to learn about dialogue, from dialogue, and how to dialogue, towards a goal of individual and societal wellness. Through SNF Paideia-designated courses, a Fellows program, resources, events, and initiatives, the program contributes to the diverse dialogue landscape at Penn.

Encompassing a wide range of practices, SNF Paideia’s dialogue work emphasizes intentionality, curiosity, humility, and community as its core values. We encourage meaningful exchange across identities, ideologies, experiences, and histories, and collaborate with many partners across campus and beyond to promote opportunities for students to practice this exchange.

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Our People

Integrating academic study and democratic citizenship.

The SNF Paideia Program is a diverse community comprised of dedicated and talented students, faculty, staff, and administrators, working together to foster the exchange of ideas and to promote knowledge and action for the public good.

Meet Our People
Dr. Leah Anderson, Executive Director, SNF Paideia Program
Our Partners

We love to collaborate.

The civic mission of higher education has been part of Penn’s DNA since its founding by Benjamin Franklin. Today there are numerous centers, programs, and organizations across the University dedicated to various aspects of this mission. The SNF Paideia Program builds on, collaborates with, networks, and leverages these existing entities to make the Penn undergraduate experience greater, and more meaningful, than the sum of its individual parts.

Meet Our Partners
Our Funder

Grateful for the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is one of the world’s leading private, international philanthropic organizations, making grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. SNF funds organizations and projects worldwide that aim to achieve a broad, lasting, and positive impact for the greater society, and exhibit strong leadership and sound management.

Meet Our Funder
SNF logo with tagline

A Note From SNF

We’re very proud that the SNF has been able to offer its support to this amazing Penn Paideia Program.

Andreas Dracopoulos headshot
Andreas Dracopoulos
Co-President, Stavros Niarchos
Foundation (SNF), Wharton ‘86