The Wistar Institute Celebrates Ten Years of The Robert and Penny Fox Tower
On September 14th, 2014, The Robert and Penny Fox Tower at The Wistar Institute was opened, marking a monumental change in the look and biomedical research capacity of the Institute. This September, we celebrate 10 years of the Fox Tower made possible by Robert and Penny Fox — a reminder of philanthropy’s role in empowering foundational biomedical research.
As the nation’s first nonprofit biomedical research institute, The Wistar Institute has stood resolute at 36th and Spruce Streets since 1894 — but the building West Philadelphia sees today is a far cry from its historic brick-and-mortar origins. The modern, all-glass, seven-story structure that expanded Wistar’s place on the Philadelphia skyline has a name and a birthday: ten years ago today, the ribbon was cut, and the Robert and Penny Fox Tower was opened to advance Wistar biomedical research. In the decade since, The Wistar Institute has stretched the horizons of discovery, with the track record in biomedical research advances to prove it.
In 2011, Wistar began the $100 million Tower’s construction under the direction of the late Robert A. Fox, one of Institute’s most ardent and long-standing supporters. Fox led the building committee responsible for overseeing construction projects, and he also led the capital campaign responsible for raising a significant portion of the funds that made the expansion possible. Fox’s legacy at Wistar goes beyond the Tower that bears his name; Wistar president and CEO Dario Altieri, M.D., holds the Robert and Penny Fox Distinguished Professorship in the Genome Regulation and Cell Signaling Program.
Upon Fox’s passing in 2021, Dr. Altieri said, “It is [Robert’s] vision and commitment that brought Wistar to where it is today — to the pinnacle of research organizations worldwide. There is no greater honor and no greater distinction for me, personally and professionally, than to have my name indissolubly linked to Bob’s in the Robert and Penny Fox Professorship.”
As the chair of the “Building Wistar, Changing the World” committee, Fox helped Wistar raise $35 million, $25 million of which was contributed to the Tower’s construction. Standing at seven stories, the Tower includes 90,000 square feet in laboratory and office space and upon its completion, The Wistar Institute had added space for up to 15 additional labs — a 50% increase from the Institute’s previous biomedical research capacity.
The additional space also revitalized the main atrium, which brings together the old and the new as exposed brick from the original building’s walls joins with the open air, glass, and steel of the modern Tower’s edifice — creating one of the truly unique interiors in Philadelphia architecture. At the base of the Tower sits the 200-person-capacity Sarah and Matthew Caplan Auditorium, which has hosted countless scientific seminars & special events in the intervening decade.
As Robert Fox said, “There is no greater investment than saving lives through science.” The Robert and Penny Fox Tower made an indelible change on the Philadelphia landscape and biomedical research.
“In marking Wistar’s success, over the last ten years, accomplished in the labs & corridors of the Robert and Penny Fox Tower, I am optimistic on what the next ten years will bring,” said Dr. Altieri. “With our new HIV Cure and Viral Diseases Center & our soon-to-come Center for Advanced Therapeutics — Wistar science has an exciting path forward with many new fundamental biomedical research milestones to come.”