University of Pennsylvania, a research university. Penn’s 302-acre Philadelphia campus reflects its rich heritage—a heritage closely bound with the birth of the United States—boasting more than 200 buildings and many notable landmarks. The 165 research centers and institutes on campus also reflect the University’s innovative, civic-minded and pragmatic creator, Benjamin Franklin.  More than 250 years after Franklin broke new ground in founding Penn, its faculty, students, and alumni continue to make breakthroughs in research, scholarship, and education.