Penn President Liz Magill unveiled her strategic framework In Principle and Practice: Penn’s Focus on Tomorrow, guided by recommendations from the Red and Blue Committee and shaped further by new University initiatives launched earlier this fall. “Just as we are launching urgent University-wide efforts to combat antisemitism and interconnected forms of hate, including Islamophobia, and identifying ways to strengthen our bonds with one another, this strategic framework emphasizes strengthening community, deepening connections, cultivating service-minded leadership, and collaborating across divisions and divides,” Magill wrote in a message. Faculty, staff, students, and alumni will be engaged with the framework’s implementation in the months ahead.
At the Nov. 3 Stated Meeting of the Trustees, Penn President Liz Magill said that she is a president “for all people in this community,” and encouraged finding common ground to support and protect each other and the University’s mission. “I condemn personally these hateful—hateful—antisemitic acts and words, which are nothing but inhumane. And I assure you that Penn has and will investigate any act of hate on our campus and take full action in accordance with the policies and the laws,” Magill said.
Penn President Liz Magill launched Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism, a whole-University approach centering on Safety and Security, Engagement, and Education. “I believe that in times of such pain and anger, we must act, guided by our common values and Penn’s founding mission of creating knowledge, sharing it for good, and educating the next generation,” said Magill. “We must bring our research, teaching, and service mission to bear on urgent challenges in the world. We must find and build common ground and be a community that sees, hears, and supports all its members.”
Penn President Liz Magill announced the members of the University Task Force on Antisemitism, in support of the Penn Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism. The work of the task force, chaired by Dean Mark S. Wolff of the School of Dental Medicine, is guided by the “U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism” and will work in close consultation with campus leaders, as well as local, regional, and national subject matter experts to identify best practices for countering antisemitism.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, President Liz Magill, and others from the University community—including Nobel Prize winners Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó—celebrated the new home of the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation. “It is my hope, and it is my expectation, that the research that is done here will lead to even more groundbreaking discoveries, more treatments, more cures, more opportunity for happiness and good health, not just here in the great city of Philadelphia, or in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but across the globe,” remarked Shapiro.
Nina Morris, director of Penn Sustainability, shared progress on meeting the goals of the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0, spanning 2019-24. The University has achieved a 46 percent reduction in carbon emissions since 2009, replaced 92 inefficient ultra-low temperature freezers in labs, added four electric vans to Penn Transit’s fleet, enrolled 4,886 students in environment-related courses for the 2022-23 academic year, and more.
Harun Küçük, an associate professor of history and sociology of science, and Joshua Teplitsky, director of the Jewish Studies Program, made a habit of taking weekly half-hour walks together to bridge differences as an act of campus diplomacy. “When we run into people, we say ‘hi’ and introduce each other,” says Küçük. “It is our belief that if we can talk and get along, maybe everyone else can, too.”
In a Nov. 9 event, the University honored living veterans and service members with a lunch coordinated by Lynn Manuel of the Veteran and Military Affiliated Students program at Student Registration and Financial Services (SRFS) and attended by President Liz Magill. Veterans Day was also commemorated by a Nov. 10 flag raising ceremony on College Green.
A slew of new hires in the Department of Africana Studies bolsters Penn’s position as one of the best places to study African American history. “African American history is the field which touches everything we call ‘American,’ and which continues to have a global reach, an often-overlooked aspect of the centrality of Black Americans in the worldwide African diaspora,” says Barbara Savage, the Geraldine R. Segal Professor Emerita of American Social Thought. “And here at Penn, the field is in very good hands.”
Penn Leads the Vote was present at Houston Hall for Election Day to greet voters—including President Liz Magill—and hand out T-shirts and refreshments.
A Project for Progress recipient from 2022, a team in the Abramson Cancer Center has worked steadfastly to bring screenings for colon cancer and HPV, along with other health resources, to the West Philadelphia community by partnering with local organizations. Carmen Guerra, a professor of medicine involved with the project, says an unusually large number of colonoscopy screenings have turned up pre-cancerous polyps, reaffirming that their efforts are reaching a high-risk population. “It showed how important it was for us to devote resources to early detection and prevention,” she says.
The Office of Social Equity & Community hosted its first of four events in collaboration with Penn Libraries to honor “the life, artistry, activism, and legacy of the great contralto, Marian Anderson.” “We really want to empower the broader community to identify areas of justice, but also feel like they have some steps to move forward,” says Tia Gaines of the Office of SEC.
With 240 tree species, campus was brimming with fall colors. For the 14th consecutive year, Penn earned the Tree Campus Higher Education recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation, honoring colleges and universities that promote healthy trees and conservation.
Mikel Elam, a Germantown-based artist whose mixed-media art engages with themes of Afrofuturism, debuted the exhibit “Bliss Consciousness” at the Arts Lounge in the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. “We were drawn to Mikel’s paintings that reflect music and performance, given the exhibition’s location at Penn Live Arts,” says Heather Moqtaderi, who curated the show, noting how the work’s dynamism fits with the atmosphere of Penn Live Arts.
The windows of Fisher Fine Arts Library were explored as part of Penn Today’s “What’s That?” series, highlighting noteworthy items, iconic objects, and hidden treasures on Penn’s campus. Library specialist Ed Deegan explained that the leaded glass windows full of aphorisms, first installed in the building in 1891, are all original.
The women’s and men’s squash teams competed in the Pennsylvania State Championships; both were victorious and are undefeated for the season. The men’s team is ranked No. 1 and the women’s team is ranked No. 8.
