In September of 2014, Brandeis announced the closure of Brandeis House, an alumni center on the Upper East Side in New York City. While it was bittersweet to put the brownstone on the market, Brandeis’ new affiliation with the Penn Club of New York City, associated with the University of Pennsylvania, provides Brandeis students, alumni and friends with an excellent location to host events, dine, work out and more.
The first Penn Club opened in October of 1900. It consisted of four rooms on the first floor of the Royalton Hotel in Manhattan. Since then, the Penn Club moved six times, and in 1994, construction of the current Club was completed just 200 feet down the street from the initial four hotel rooms.
Today, the Penn Club shares its facilities with 19 other organizations, including Brandeis, the University of Chicago, John Hopkins University and the Canadian Association of New York. Because so many organizations share the Penn Club, “it provides an opportunity for Brandeis alumni, parents, friends and students to just meet and mingle with other Brandeis alumni, Penn alumni and other alumni from universities who are also affiliated with the Penn Club,” said Patricia Fisher, vice president of alumni relations at Brandeis, in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot.
In addition to serving as a place to socialize, the Penn Club provides a host of resources to the Brandeis community. For those who choose to join the club, access to a fitness center, dining halls, conference rooms, overnight guest rooms, squash courts and much more are available. Additionally, members will receive discounts on Brooks Brothers clothing, Hertz car rentals, test preparation courses, golf course fees at over 50 resorts and many other services. “It’s a full-service club in midtown Manhattan much like the Yale Club, the Harvard Club and the Cornell Club,” said Fisher.
Because the Brandeis House was located on the Upper East Side, it was difficult to access for many New York residents. According to Fisher, last spring the trustees voted to put Brandeis House on the market. When the sale became public, the Penn Club approached Brandeis and offered affiliation. “There had been some alumni surveys, and we knew that alumni were interested in certainly a place to gather in Midtown, which is a lot more convenient than the Upper East Side, and we thought having this affiliation would fill a particular niche and a particular desire among our alumni.”
While it is understood that most Brandeis alumni in New York will not join the club, it will still be a resource in that many Brandeis events, such as those for networking, faculty and local speakers, will be hosted there. “I hope the Penn Club will serve as a home for Brandeis alumni, parents, friends and students in New York,” said Fisher.
The first Brandeis event to be hosted at the Penn Club is the Penn Club Open House Tour and Reception on Feb. 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. It will include a 15-minute Club House tour and a cocktail reception. All Brandeis alumni, parents and friends are welcome to attend. To RSVP, register online on the Brandeis Alumni and Friends page.
