Penn President Amy Gutmann, Provost Wendell Pritchett, and Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli announced the University’s plans for the fall semester in a message distributed community-wide. The plan calls for a hybrid model that will include online sessions for large lectures and some graduate and professional programs, and a return to campus and classrooms based on the latest medical guidance.
Penn President Amy Gutmann delivered a keynote address as part of the International Association of Bioethics’ World Congress of Bioethics, hosted virtually by Penn and convening more than 600 bioethicists across the globe. “I’d say that while this pandemic has cast into high relief so many issues, it’s also cast into high relief how important your work is,” Gutmann said. “The world has never needed you more than it needs you now. These are enormously challenging times.”
Penn announced Charles “Chaz” L. Howard as the first vice president for social equity and community. He will start Aug. 1. Said Gutmann: “Where some see division, Chaz sees common ground; where some see despair, he sees hope; where some see hate, he sees love. As our campus, our community, and our country resolve to find better ways forward to understand and address systemic racism, social inequity, and justice, I can think of no one better suited than Chaz Howard to fill this critically important and impactful new leadership role.”
Provost Wendell Pritchett announced the appointment of Beth Winkelstein as deputy provost; Winkelstein has taught in the Bioengineering Department in the School of Engineering and Applied Science since 2002. “Beth Winkelstein has become one of our most essential leaders of teaching, learning, and student life,” said Pritchett, and she will “continue this invaluable work while working closely with me to better integrate and expand our educational initiatives …”
Penn began to safely resume research on campus as part of a three-phased reopening. Research that needs to be initiated before others can work was prioritized—including research related to COVID-19. “Each School has a plan for determining what research will come back first and when,” explains Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell.
Sarah Jackson of the Annenberg School for Communication was quoted in a New York Times report about the real effects of fake accounts on social media. “Even if there are a lot of bots in a network, it is misleading to suggest they are leading the conversation or influencing real people who are tweeting in those same networks,” she says.
Research that requires field surveys and travel have been especially challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul Schmidt of the Department of Biology and his lab are involved in insect research that is largely seasonal, but has—as one example of resilience—worked to set in place detailed goals for when research can resume. “That way, we can get ourselves in position so that, when we do come back, everybody feels like they know what it is they need to do and we have a plan in place,” says Schmidt.
In recognition of outstanding Penn staff, the Division of Human Resources awarded the 2020 Models of Excellence prizes. Those staff members are ones who reflect initiative, leadership, increased efficiency, and a deep commitment to service.
Penn professors weighed in on the mental health impacts of Black people being subjected to videos of African Americans being killed by the police. Atheendar S. Venkataramani of the Perelman School of Medicine co-led a study in 2018 that found exposure to these videos have adverse effects on Black American adults not directly affected by incidents. “More broadly, I think that the conversation should shift to not just about policing, but also criminal justice, the way we design and implement social programs, the way we invest in early education, and the way we make it easier or harder for people to participate in democracy,” he says.
In Time magazine, PIK Professor Philip Tetlock spoke about “superforecaster” teams that, with less-than-scientific trainings, have had unusual success with predicting world events like the 2020 Brexit vote and the early case total of COVID-19. Tetlock explained possible reasons for that accuracy while cautioning the limits of these forecasters. “Talented amateurs who pay attention to both the science and the news seem to be better at putting accurate probabilities on key outcomes in this phase of the crisis,” he says. “The experts were really good at warning us about the fundamental danger, but they may be less adept at adapting nimbly to the dynamics about this phase of the crisis.”
This summer, the Office of the Provost will launch an innovative educational program online for rising seniors in high schools throughout the city—at no cost, based solely on interest and a drive to study. “It’s not just a professional privilege to run such a program,” says Valarie E. Swain-Cade McCoullum, vice provost for student engagement, “it’s a personal imperative. Universities have a sure and certain mandate to be a valued and respectful partner to our communities.”
Fulbright grants were awarded to nine undergraduates and one graduate from the Class of 2020. They will conduct research or teach English in Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Malaysia, Russia, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and Ukraine. “Fulbright students from Penn represent not only our country abroad, but they also serve as outstanding ambassadors for Penn,” says Jane Morris, executive director of Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.
In a segment in WHYY, Maggie Blackhawk of the Law School commented on the recent decisions by the Supreme Court that bar job discrimination against LGBTQ people and uphold DACA. “Justices Alito and Kavanaugh describe in their dissent—they’re looking for norms of the time to be codified into that statute, and Justice Gorsuch waves that away and says, ‘No, we don’t actually codify the norms and values of the time in the text,’” she says.