Organizational Dynamics Programs
Celebrating our 50th anniversary
For half a century, the Organizational Dynamics Programs at Penn have prioritized innovative thinking, professional diversity, and interdisciplinary, experiential learning. Explore our milestones—from our founding to our new hybrid format:
1976: Program founding
Dr. Nancy Bauer, a historian and scholar with a doctorate in education, submits a proposal in answer to a call from the National Science Foundation (NSF): "Is the intellectual life of adults, particularly teachers, in the Philadelphia area better because of Penn? If you can design a program to explore this, we would be interested in a proposal.” She received a grant for $39,000 from the NSF and began formulating what would become the Organizational Dynamics Programs.
1977: First course offered
Dr. Bauer introduces a course at Penn for experienced teachers in the Philadelphia area called Interpreting America. At the conclusion of the course, the leadership of the Graduate School of Education (GSE) agrees to offer a Master of Science degree. The teachers in the first class argued that the program should be open to business and government leaders. The program was named Liberal Studies. Promotional materials stated, “Business and professional people are broadening their perspectives through the Liberal Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania.”
1980: Marketing materials advertising the program
1982: The program is renamed the Graduate Professional Development Seminars
This new name is chosen to better reflect the career-level experience of its students.
1985: Earliest record of student research project (capstone) submissions
Project titles include:
1985: Professional diversity takes center stage
The program limited the number of participants from any one organization in any one seminar to ensure professional diversity in the classroom, thereby encouraging innovative thinking on organizational challenges.
Classroom photo from 1980 marketing brochure.
1985: Dr. Jean-Marc Choukroun describes his research
When I first started to work in planning, my background in mathematics and my interest in decision analysis led me to concentrate on quantitative methods and approaches. For several years, my work focused on the development and applications of mathematical models, first in regional and transportation planning, and subsequently in corporate planning. The realization that, no matter how sophisticated, quantitative methods are only parts of a broader decision-making framework led me to gradually expand my research focus to the planning frameworks themselves. This expanded agenda led to a series of critical questions concerning planning and decision-making:
1985: Self-study excerpts
“Our participants have always been people for whom work is the center of their intellectual lives.”
1986: Program renamed Dynamics of Organization
1986: Future program director Dr. Alan Barstow teaches his first class in the program
Dr. Alan Barstow teaches his first class in the program under the tutelage of Penn professor and systems-thinking pioneer Russell Ackoff. Dr. Barstow will be named program director in 2013.
Photo: Russell Ackoff in his office
1989: Dr. Stephen Gale, associate professor of regional science, named director
The program moves to Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences. Students take 10 courses over 4 years to complete their Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics degree.
1990: Gaining traction on campus
“For participants in one graduate program, the advice ‘Don’t quit your day job’ has taken on new meaning.” The program begins to be featured in The Daily Pennsylvanian: “Grad program uses students’ work experiences as basis.” The article focuses on Program Director Stephen Gale, associate professor of regional science.
Image: The Daily Pennsylvanian, December 6, 1990
1990: First international course travels to France
The course took place in La Napoule under the leadership of then-director Anthony Tomazinis. Dr. Syd Havely, MSOD graduate and long-time faculty in the program, recalls, “It was two weeks long and offered guest speakers from international companies based in Europe. For our final paper, we were required to travel to another European city that had ties to the company we worked for. In my case, it was the European headquarters for Subaru, in Brussels.” Two years later, students travel to Japan. The trip included “personal interviews with Japanese marketers, tours of Japanese health care facilities and speeches by leaders in Japanese corporations.”
1991: Program builds bridges to larger University community
A day-long seminar called Chess as a Model for Management, led by Dr. Aron Katsenelinboigen, professor of decision sciences at Wharton and Dr. Murray Campbell, researcher at IBM, is open to the University community and held at the Faculty Club.
Image: The Daily Pennsylvanian, October 1991
1993: Program builds bridges with larger Philadelphia community
An Organizational Dynamics Programs course titled Housing Rebuilding is offered in which students gain “hands-on experience in rebuilding two abandoned houses in University City. Students will participate in all phases of the acquisition, planning, construction, and sales.” (The Daily Pennsylvanian, September 1993). The course, taught by professors William Zucker and Hanley Bodek, continues for several semesters. Neighborhood residents provided input, merging urban studies, business, and anthropology. They renovate a total of five houses.
Image: The Daily Pennsylvanian, September 1993
1996: The Master of Philosophy in Organizational Dynamics is introduced
1996: Dr. Anthony (Tony) Tomazinis, professor of city and regional planning at Penn’s Graduate School of Fine Arts, named program director
1996: Program renamed Organizational Dynamics
2002: Sociologist Dr. Larry Starr is named director of the Organizational Dynamics Programs
2006: Program establishes cross-professional networking
The Organizational Dynamics Exchange Network (ODEN) is founded to connect alumni, students, and outside industry colleagues to discuss the organizational world. ODEN offers multiple programs, such as dinner lectures, networking meetings, speakers, training workshops, and seminars on then-modern organizational topics.
Photo: ODEN Advisory Board Members, including Dr. Alan Barstow, far right
2007: Rasheeda Hubert, long-time Organizational Dynamics Programs administrative specialist, is hired
2008: Anthropologist Dr. Alan Barstow named director of academics and collaboration within the Organizational Dynamics Programs
2009: The Organizational Consulting and Executive Coaching concentration is established by Dr. Rod Napier, Dr. Ruth Orenstein, and Dr. Charline Russo
2009: Dr. Russell Ackoff, Anheuser-Busch Professor of Management Science at the University of Pennsylvania, donates his library to the Organizational Dynamics Programs
Dr. Ackoff was a pioneer in the field of systems thinking, which is inherently multidisciplinary and a key way to diagnose and address organizational challenges. While a professor, he was dedicated to the mission of the Organizational Dynamics Programs due to its foregrounding of multidisciplinary approaches to understanding the workplace.
2013: Anthropologist Dr. Alan Barstow is named director of the Organizational Dynamics Programs
2014: Meredith Methlie, MLA, is hired as administrative director of Organizational Dynamics Programs
2017: Nancy Bauer reflects on the program during its 40th anniversary
She states, “No one is allowed to lecture—that’s still true today.” (LPS News)
2022: Cultural historian Dr. Amy Ware becomes the program director
2025: Organizational Dynamics Alumni Council (ODAC) is formed
The Organizational Dynamics Alumni Council (ODAC) exists to foster a strong, engaged community of alumni from the Organizational Dynamics Programs. The group aims to provide a platform for professional development, networking, mentorship, and collaboration, while also supporting the advancement of the program through feedback and participation in initiatives. As an entity comprised primarily of individuals not officially affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, ODAC has no legislative, administrative, or programmatic authority and is advisory only.
Front row, left to right: David Palmieri, MSOD ’25; Melaiya Overton, MSOD ’24; Jesse Gemberling-Johnson, MSOD ’22; Program director Dr. Amy Ware; Yumi Zhu, MSOD ’23; Andrea Patton, MSOD ‘22
Second row, left to right: Jacqui Fanelli, MSOD ’23; Josh Levine, MSOD ‘18
Top to bottom on screen: Ryan Goodrich, MSOD ’23; Ed Lubowicki, MSOD ’26
