Edward G. Rendell, C'65, Hon'00
Edward G. Rendell, C'65, Hon'00, served for two terms as the 121st mayor of Philadelphia. When he took office in 1992, the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. With novel revenue-generating initiatives, inventive management and productivity strategies, and innovative public-private partnerships, Mayor Rendell pulled the city back from the brink of financial ruin. Coupled with dramatic improvements in city services, his achievement was widely lauded as one giving new meaning to the expression "reinventing government." Vice President Gore crowned him "America's Mayor."
After studying political science at Penn, Mr. Rendell entered Villanova Law School, earning a J.D. in 1968. He joined the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, eventually becoming the city's youngest DA. During the last presidential election, he served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and was the Party's spokesman during the 2000 Presidential Election Campaign. Besides teaching two courses at Penn, he currently is a partner in the Philadelphia law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP