The Wolf Humanities Center is Penn’s main hub for interdisciplinary humanities research and public programming. Established in 2017 by a gift from Noelle and Dick Wolf, the center grew out of the Penn Humanities Forum, founded by Wendy Steiner in 1999. Our goals are to demonstrate how vital the humanities are to the life of the mind and the health of society, and how fundamentally connected they are with many areas of urgent inquiry in medicine, law, business, and the sciences. At the same time, we are mindful that this contemporary relevance rests in large part on the humanities’ commitment to understanding the distant past and to pursuing projects of deep and arduous research which may bear no obvious connection to the here and now. The humanities as we define them are broad and inclusive, and we take pride at the Wolf Center in fostering a lively diversity of perspectives, approaches, and constituencies. 

Whether you are a member of the Penn faculty or staff, an undergraduate or graduate student, a local resident interested in history, art, and culture, or a visitor via the internet, the Wolf Humanities Center has something to offer you. Subscribe to our mailing list, connect with us on social media, send us your ideas and suggestions, or stop by the Center to introduce yourself. We would love to hear from you.