Although some other universities have similar programs, GenEd Director Terry Halbert says Temple's cultural passport stands out for the breadth of its offerings and its integration into the university's undergraduate curriculum.

"Philadelphia's cultural landscape has been burgeoning," Halbert said. "The PEX Passport gives you bite size chunks of all flavors — not just mainstream, established organizations like the Philadelphia Museum of Art or the Philadelphia Orchestra, but smaller, emerging, alternative groups like Theater Exile or Pasion y Arte, a Flamenco dance company. No matter how students choose to wet their feet, this is a great way to explore the city and begin a life-long exploration of art and culture."

Halbert says the PEX passport is a natural extension of GenEd's Philadelphia Experience theme. About half of Temple's GenEd courses include out-of-the-classroom experiences in Greater Philadelphia.

"Our GenEd faculty have learned about these destinations and are embedding them in their work," Halbert said. To help Temple instructors incorporate the passport into their courses, the GenEd program is running a series of workshops led by Philadelphia arts and culture expert Kenneth Finkel, an American studies faculty member who has taught several GenEd courses, and Deborah Block, director, performer and founder of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival — a PEX passport participant.

About half of Temple's entering freshmen will have received their PEX passport at orientation. Freshmen who do not receive a passport at orientation can claim one at the information desk in the Howard Gittis Student Center by showing their OWLcard (limit of one per student).

To use the PEX passport, Halbert recommends starting by visiting the
Temple GenEd web site at www.temple.edu/gened and clicking on the passport image. Visitors will find an interactive map of arts and culture destinations, descriptions of participating organizations and information on public transit. To gain admission at a participating destination, students simply show their passport and their OWLcard, after which a coupon stub will be torn from the passport. Each coupon can only be used once.

The PEX passport is valid for one year, starting on Sept. 1, 2009 — a date that can't come soon enough for the delighted students who’ve received passports so far.

"I wanted to go to school in a city that had a lot going on in the arts," said Owen Pelesh, a freshman in the School of Communications and Theater. "The edgier stuff is exciting. I'll get to experience some cool things that I've never even heard of before. I'm going to go to every one of the places that's in [the PEX passport]."

That's good news for Philadelphia's arts and culture outlets, many of whom are eager to build new audiences.

"What's great about this program is it gives students a chance to try something new at low risk that will resonate with them for them for the rest of their lives," said Tobin Rothlein, producing artistic director of Miro Dance Theatre, a PEX Passport participant. "That's important to us, because we want audiences who are passionate."