Responding to the Supreme Court’s decision on two related cases challenging race-conscious admissions in higher education, President Liz Magill and Provost John L. Jackson Jr. said, “In these first hours following the release of these rulings, we have two messages. First, we are studying the Court’s opinion to ensure that we admit students in compliance with the law. Second, we remain firm in our belief that our academic community is at its best when it is diverse across many dimensions.”
The design of a new $75 million, 37,300-square-foot Student Performing Arts Center was advanced by the Board of Trustees. It includes performance, teaching, rehearsal, and practice spaces. “This exciting project will expand the existing spaces that help Penn’s student performing arts scene thrive,” says Penn President Liz Magill. (Image: Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects)
Nader Engheta, a Penn Engineering professor, is a 2023 Franklin Medal winner. Awarded by the Franklin Institute, it’s one of the world’s most prestigious recognitions for achievements in science and technology—in this case, Engheta’s work “engineering novel materials that interact with electromagnetic waves in unprecedented ways.” In a profile, Engheta discusses his career, beginning with his childhood curiosity about the workings of a transistor radio.
In a video, a monumental year for Penn was documented—one that included a new president, the launch of the Red and Blue Advisory Committee, the appointment of John L. Jackson Jr. as provost, the expansion of Penn's undergraduate financial aid program, a big Ivy title win for the baseball team, and so much more. (Video)
History Ph.D. candidate Kimberly St. Julian Varnon discussed the brief insurrection in Russia and pushed back on commentary that Yevgeny Prigozhin sought to seize power from Vladimir Putin. “First, this was not an attempted coup,” she says. “Prigozhin has not directly called out or disrespected Putin. His anger and frustration were targeted toward Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov, the general leading the Russian forces in Ukraine, because of Russia’s poor performance in Ukraine.” (Image: AP Photo)
Twenty-nine Penn students, recent graduates, and alumni have been offered Fulbright grants for the 2023-24 academic year. They will conduct research, pursue graduate degrees, or teach English abroad. The Fulbright Program is the United States government’s flagship international educational exchange program.
Five members of the men’s heavyweight crew team were honored by the Intercollegiate Rowing Coaches Association (IRCA). They are selected based on the IRCA Board of Directors’ judgment of strength of finish of the institution’s varsity boat, nomination rank within the institution, coach comments, individual achievements, and erg score.
The Office of the Executive Vice President, the Office of Government and Community Affairs, and the Divisions of Business Services and Facilities & Real Estate Services hosted the sixth-annual Supplier Diversity Forum and Expo at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Buyers and suppliers in the Philadelphia community joined for a panel discussion and expo. “Our spending with diverse-owned businesses from six years ago to today has made a lasting impact,” said Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli. “Ripples are turning into waves of local impact across the city of Philadelphia and the region.”
Penn President Liz Magill and Wharton Dean Erika James announced a $10 million gift to establish the Robin S. Wolpow, PAR’14 and Marc B. Wolpow, W’80, PAR’14 Fund for Healthcare Entrepreneurship at Venture Lab. “We are extraordinarily grateful to Robin and Marc Wolpow for sharing in Penn’s goal to ignite innovation across disciplines,” said President Magill. (Image: Jay Kan/Venture Lab)
In a Q&A with Penn Today, historian Kathleen M. Brown of the School of Arts & Sciences discussed her new book, “Undoing Slavery: Bodies, Race and Rights in the Age of Abolition.” “My point of departure is to focus on what we have missed, which is that abolitionists were very focused not on abstract rights claims but on the health and integrity of the human body, the person’s physical being,” says Brown. (Image: Courtesy of Penn Press/Kathleen Brown)
A new Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition, “Songs for Ritual and Remembrance,” features works by four artists whose pieces uplift histories that have been repressed and underrepresented. “Each of the artworks has stories to tell, stories that carry the weight of lives that are known and unknown,” says Emily Zimmerman, assistant director and curator of the gallery. “These are stories about the way the body holds knowledge and the way that community holds memory.”
Tamir Harper came to Penn when he was 16 for a workshop on the future of education. He recently completed his first year as a master’s student at the Graduate School of Education in the Urban Teaching Residency Program, while teaching full-time at the Lea School; he’s one of many students enrolled in one of three teacher education programs meant to diversify the teaching workforce. “For multiple reasons, it's really important to increase the representation of Black males in the teaching workforce,” says Penn GSE Dean Pam Grossman.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center released a new documentary, “Juneteenth: Exploring Freedom’s Stories,” that explores the history of Juneteenth and how and why freedom and citizenship were intertwined. Kermit Roosevelt of Penn Carey Law and Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts & Sciences are two experts featured; for Penn Today, they discussed the significance of the holiday.
Following the hazardous air quality along the Northeast Corridor in June, Olajumoke O. Fadugba of the Perelman School of Medicine explained why smoke irritates the body. “The particulate matter in the air is so small and light, when it makes contact with mucosal surfaces, like the eyes and the throat upon inhalation, it can cause irritation,” she explains.
