Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/17/2006 | For Franklin, generosity and prudence were partners

Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/17/2006 | For Franklin, generosity and prudence were partners: "A call to continue his legacy of public service
By Amy Gutmann

Benjamin Franklin's genius harnessed entrepreneurial energy and intellectual creativity in the service of civic improvement. Philadelphians were the lucky beneficiaries; their city became his laboratory for imagining, inventing, and creating a better world.

For example, while other colleges were founded to train a privileged class for the clergy and courts, here Franklin founded an academy to teach practical subjects, discover new knowledge, and prepare great future leaders. Today the academy Franklin founded is Philadelphia's largest private employer and one of the world's great research institutions: the University of Pennsylvania.

By linking higher education to self-improvement and to serving society, Benjamin Franklin created the very framework for American philanthropy and civic-mindedness."