Lessons from Hull House for the Contemporary Urban University

This article presents a rationale for reinventing the American university to become once again a mission-oriented institution. With particular attention to social work and the social sciences, we trace the origins of that rationale to Jane Addams and her colleagues in Chicago. Historical analysis not only indicates that progressive change can occur, but it also is useful in revealing and clarifying deeply embedded impediments to change. We also describe a general strategy of organizational structures, activities, and mechanisms being developed at the University of Pennsylvania to help enable the "neo-Progressive" reconstruction of the university through academically based community service.