Penn kicked off its 284th academic year on Franklin Field, welcoming the Class of 2027 with a series of speeches and performances. President Liz Magill advocated for students to adopt a “fisheye” lens as they embark on their time at Penn. “That’s the wide view; it sees the periphery, it engages panoramically,” said Magill. “So today, you are embarking on what’s among the most important times in your life to cultivate the skills of the broad view—of the fisheye lens, if you will. And I encourage you to spend at least part of your time at Penn with a fisheye lens.”
Two-thousand, four hundred and sixteen first-year students from 96 countries moved into College Houses across campus. In a short video, President Liz Magill asked students what they brought to campus to make it “feel like home.”
President Liz Magill and Provost John L. Jackson Jr. hosted the annual New Family Welcome on College Green, enlivened by hundreds of first-year and transfer students and their families. “I have one core message for the students here that I hope you’ll take to heart. I think you are in the right place at precisely the right time,” said President Liz Magill, standing in front of College Hall, flanked by towers of red and blue balloons.
Students offered advice to first-years bracing for Move-In and about to embark on their time at Penn. “Don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t do everything—try every opportunity out, find what works for you, and learn how to say no when an opportunity is not the best fit for you,” says rising fourth-year Megan Laubacher.
Penn Today compiled resources and statistics about the campus Move-In experience, ahead of the 2023-24 academic year. The effort was made possible with the help of 234 New Student Orientation and Second-Year Orientation student leaders and volunteers, 1,200 Move-In carts, and 44 Student Move-In Coordinators.
Over six weeks, 12 students from the William L. Sayre High School met experts in food, nutrition, urban gardening, museum research, and art. They gardened, distributed produce to the community, and learned from dieticians and museum experts, all while photographing their experience. The internship program was a partnership between Sayre, the Penn Museum, the Netter Center, and The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation.
Thirty-four undergraduates from six Philadelphia colleges and universities displayed artwork at the Charles Addams Gallery for the exhibition “Let Me Know You Are Alright.” “The goal of the show was to connect the schools in Philadelphia and create a creative network between students so they can exchange ideas and hopefully do collaborations,” says Kay Seohyung Lee, a lecturer in the Weitzman School of Design.
In a profile, Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor Desmond Upton Patton discusses how he fell “in love with the study of human beings.” He also talks about working with four researchers to bring SAFELab to Penn, which uses machine learning for violence intervention.
Penn Farm welcomed farming interns this summer to learn about environmental and food justice. Five undergraduates learned regenerative agricultural techniques including composting, how to build raised beds, and how to organically bolster soil health. “I’ve always had an affinity for gardening, but my gardening experience at home was very much creative, whereas there’s more of a goal here: to feed people who need it,” says Beaue Bernstein, a second-year majoring in environmental studies.
Following a recently published paper by University of Ottawa’s Rajendra Gupta claiming that the universe may actually be 26.7 billion years old, Penn’s Vijay Balasubramanian and Mark Devlin discussed the findings and put them into context, including how calculations take a “line of best fit” to create consensus models about the universe’s age. (Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI)
In July, 14 veterinary students journeyed to Thailand to spay and neuter cats and dogs for owners otherwise unable to afford the procedures. “Our main goals are to stop more stray animals from ending up on the streets and to help these pets stay with their owners for the longest amount of time they can,” says Kara Anderson, a rising fourth-year at the School of Veterinary Medicine. (Image: Bruce Freedman)
In a preview, Penn Today rounds up the reigning champions among Penn sports teams for the 2022-23 seasons and when their new seasons begin. (Image: Penn Athletics)
The New Student Resources Fair, co-hosted by New Student Orientation & Academic Initiatives, the Division of Business Services, and the Graduate Student Center, provided a one-stop shop for information about central resources on campus. Tables were set up with info about various cultural centers, the Netter Center, Penn Libraries, and much more.
The Division of Human Resources engaged with PeopleJoy in September 2022 as a service to help Penn faculty, staff, and postdoctoral researchers navigate the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Twenty-nine employees enrolled in the program have saved more than $2 million. “I was at home at the time, and it just felt like an unbelievable reality,” says Chambral Jones about receiving an email stating her loans had been forgiven. “It still is amazing to think about it.”
University Architect Mark Kocent and Executive Director of Construction Chris Kern detailed summer progress on projects around campus, ranging from the topping off of Amy Gutmann Hall to the installation of sunshades at the Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology.
