Celebrate a new beginning for Fisher-Bennett Hall

Friday, January 20
2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Fisher–Bennett Hall
34th and Walnut Streets

Click here for a listing of the day's events.

The School of Arts and Sciences invites students, faculty, and staff for an afternoon of food, entertainment, and a chance to experience the restoration of a campus landmark. Highlights include:

• Readings of fiction and poetry from students and faculty in the Department of English and the Creative Writing Program in the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing
• Jazz and chamber performances by students in the Department of Music
• Screenings of short features from the Cinema Studies Program
• A chance to learn about the Conversation Partners program from English Language Programs
• Demos of wireless access, now available in Fisher-Bennett and other SAS buildings
• An exceptional array of refreshments, from sushi to hot cider

Fisher Bennett Hall is covered throughout by the AirSAS wireless network. SAS Computing staff will be on hand to provide information about AirSAS, and help you get your computer configured to use the
system. More information can be found at
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/computing/wireless.

A campus crossroads since 1924, Fisher–Bennett Hall now combines historic character with the modern features that best support teaching and learning.

• The renovation preserved and enhanced the architecturally significant details of the building, including restoring a skylight that floods the grand staircase with natural light.
• The project has uncovered and transformed forgotten and underutilized areas, altering the fourth floor into a series of unusual, beautiful and functional spaces and reconfiguring the former Penniman Library into classrooms and an undergraduate study lounge with a soaring ceiling.
• The project has provided new rehearsal and teaching spaces for music and a home for the School’s new Cinemas Studies program, include screening rooms.
• Improvements throughout the building include technology-equipped classrooms, modernization of the air and heating systems, extensive soundproofing to block out distracting street sounds, and ample lighting in all spaces, from the basement to the dramatic fourth floor.

The renovation of Fisher–Bennett Hall was made possible in part through a leadership gift from Richard L. Fisher. Mr. Fisher, a senior partner of the New York real estate development firm Fisher Brothers, earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in English in 1963 and completed coursework for a doctorate. Before turning to real estate, he was a teaching fellow in the English department and wrote for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and Philadelphia Magazine. He is a former University Trustee and SAS Overseer whose gifts include the Richard L. Fisher Professorship in English.