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Penn’s 2024 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients Announced

Physician, researcher, and best-selling author Siddhartha Mukherjee will be the speaker at the 2024 University of Pennsylvania Commencement on Monday, May 20, 2024. He and five other individuals will each receive an honorary degree from Penn.

Medha Narvekar, Penn’s Vice President and University Secretary, has announced the 2024 honorary degree recipients and the commencement speaker for the University of Pennsylvania. The Office of the University Secretary manages the honorary degree selection process and University Commencement.

The 268th Commencement begins at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, May 20, and will be preceded by student and academic processions through campus. The ceremony will feature the conferral of degrees, the awarding of honorary degrees, greetings by University officials, and remarks by the Commencement speaker. It will be streamed live on the Penn website. For University of Pennsylvania Commencement information, including historical information about the ceremony, academic regalia, prior speakers and honorary degree recipients, see https://commencement.upenn.edu/.

Siddhartha Mukherjee

caption: Siddhartha MukherjeeSiddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil, is a physician, researcher, and author who serves as an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University and as an oncologist at the university’s medical center. Dr. Mukherjee’s trilogy of books has made a vast contribution to the public discourse on human health, medicine, and science.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer earned the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, and The Gene: An Intimate History won international awards and was recognized by The Washington Post and The New York Times as one of the most influential books of 2016. Both books have been adapted into PBS documentaries by the renowned filmmaker Ken Burns. The Emperor of All Maladies was included among TIME magazine’s 100 best nonfiction books of the past century. 

As a medical scholar, Dr. Mukherjee has conducted groundbreaking innovative research that signals a paradigm shift in cancer pathology and has enabled the development of treatments that disrupt current pharmaceutical models toward new biological and cellular therapies. He was among the first to make cellular therapies available in India. His groundbreaking research is now being translated into a record number of concurrent clinical trials across the globe, spanning novel therapies for ovarian, breast and endometrial cancer, leukemias and lymphomas, and a variety of other diseases. Only a select few medical scholars have been able to translate their work into human trials of such depth and breadth. 

Dr. Mukherjee writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. He has received numerous awards for his scientific work and has published his original research and opinions in journals such as Nature, Cell, and The New England Journal of Medicine. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

A native of India, Dr. Mukherjee received his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, University of Oxford.  After graduating from Harvard Medical School, he completed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and his hematology-oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Dr. Mukherjee will receive an honorary Doctor of Sciences.

Ingrid Daubechies

caption: Ingrid DaubechiesIngrid Daubechies, PhD, is the James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering at Duke University. Dr. Daubechies’ academic work focuses on mathematical methods for the analysis of signals, images, and data.

Early in her career, she constructed particularly convenient families of wavelets, mathematical tools that enable the compression of images without loss of the crisp detail; their use has become commonplace on today’s electronic screens. The New York Times called her the “godmother of the digital image.” Over the years, Dr. Daubechies has expanded the application of wavelets. She frequently collaborates with experts in a wide range of fields, such as geophysics, neuroscience, biological morphology, medical imaging, and in art conservation.

Dr. Daubechies has received numerous awards. She was the first woman to receive the Wolf Prize, one of the most prestigious in mathematics. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Science, as well as a fellow of the American Mathematical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the MacArthur Foundation, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

An advocate for the field of mathematics, Dr. Daubechies recently collaborated on a mixed media art installation, titled “Mathemalchemy,” that celebrates the beauty, creativity, and fun of mathematics. The project is currently touring the United States.

A native of Belgium, Dr. Daubechies earned her PhD in theoretical physics from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels).

Dr. Daubechies will receive an honorary Doctor of Sciences.

Karl Deisseroth

caption: Karl DeisserothKarl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, is the D.H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Dr. Deisseroth is a practicing psychiatrist at Stanford with specialization in major depression and autism-spectrum disease, employing medications along with neural stimulation. His laboratory has developed groundbreaking technologies to better understand brain circuitry and improve mental health care, including optogenetics, which engineers individual brain cells to be controlled by light, and CLARITY, which allows for the investigation of intact biological systems.

Dr. Deisseroth received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and both his PhD and MD from Stanford. He also completed his postdoctoral training, medical internship, and adult psychiatry residency at Stanford, and is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

In 2021, he published his highly acclaimed first book, Projections: A Story of Human Emotions, a work of literary nonfiction in which he shares perspectives on his patients with psychiatric disorders.

Among many other honors, Dr. Deisseroth was the sole recipient for optogenetics of the Koetser Prize (2010), the Nakasone Prize (2010), the W. Alden Spencer Prize (2011), the Richard Lounsbery Prize (2013), the Dickson Prize in Science (2014), the Keio Medical Science Prize (2015), the Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2015), the Albany Prize (2015), the Dickson Prize in Medicine (2015), the Redelsheimer Prize (2017), the Else Kröner Fresenius Prize (2017), the NOMIS Distinguished Scientist Award (2017), the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Translational Research Prize (2018), the Kyoto Prize (2018), the Heineken Prize in Medicine from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020), and the Japan Prize (2023).

He was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in 2013 and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine in 2010, to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2012, and to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 2019.

Dr. Deisseroth will receive an honorary Doctor of Sciences.

Kenny Gamble

caption: Kenneth GambleBorn in Philadelphia, Kenneth Gamble grew up surrounded by music and spent much of his youth working in the music industry. He cut his first records at local penny arcade recording booths, brought coffee to WDAS morning radio personalities Georgie Woods and Jimmy Bishop, and operated his own record store in South Philadelphia.

In the mid-1960s, Mr. Gamble met Camden native and pianist Leon Huff and the two quickly discovered their shared love of songwriting and composing. After some early successes with their own homemade labels, Mr. Gamble and Mr. Huff created “Philadelphia International Records” (PIR) in 1971, giving birth to what would become widely known as “the Philly Sound.” Through then-CBS Records president Clive Davis, PIR secured a distribution deal through America’s largest record label. Within a year of PIR opening its doors, the O’Jays had #1 R&B and pop hits, including “Backstabbers” and “Love Train”, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes were riding high with “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”, and Billy Paul earned the label’s first Grammy with “Me and Mrs. Jones.” During the early 1970s, PIR was a dominant force in the R&B and pop music industries. Two years after its creation, PIR was the second largest African American-owned music company in the United States, just behind Motown. CBS Records was now distributing more soul music than at any time in the company’s history. In 2008, forty-five years after the duo’s first collaborations, Mr. Gamble and Mr. Huff were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the inaugural Ahmet Ertegun Award, one of many honors they have received over the years. In 2015, Mr. Gamble and Mr. Huff served as the first African American chairmen of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Currently, Mr. Gamble serves as an honorary member of the Board of Directors of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, which honors the legacies and accomplishments of songwriters globally. He also continues to advise local singers, producers, and musicians on building their music careers. 

Mr. Gamble will be receiving an honorary Doctor of Music.

Leon Huff

caption: Leon HuffBorn in Camden, New Jersey, Leon Huff was first exposed to music through his mother, who taught her son the basics on the family’s piano, the only one on the block. He went on to receive formal training and as a young man, performed as a session musician with his musical idols, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, and many others.

When Mr. Huff met fellow musician Kenneth Gamble in the mid-1960s, the duo discovered they had a common interest in songwriting and production. They began a songwriting partnership that exists to this day. Along with Mr. Gamble, Mr. Huff has written or co-written more than 3,500 songs over 60 years, including R&B #1 hits, pop #1 hits, gold and platinum records, Grammy winners, and more.

By 1971, Mr. Huff and Mr. Gamble had formed their own label, Philadelphia International Records (PIR), and secured a distribution deal with CBS. With a stable core of artists – the O’Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Billy Paul, and others, PIR generated hit after hit almost from day one.

Mr. Huff and Mr. Gamble have received countless honors, including their 1995 induction into the National Academy of Songwriters’ Hall of Fame. They received the 1999 Trustees Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, as well as induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2010, they were honored by the City of Philadelphia in a special ceremony to rename the block of South Broad Street they made famous to “people all over the world” as “Gamble & Huff Walk.”

Today, Mr. Huff continues to produce and write songs, and is never far from a piano or keyboard when the inspiration arises.

Mr. Huff will receive an honorary Doctor of Music.

Maya Lin

caption: Maya LinArtist, designer, and environmentalist Maya Lin interprets the natural world through science, history, and culture to create works that have a profound impact on how we view our history and how we relate to the natural world. Since her very first work, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Ms. Lin has gone on to a remarkable and highly acclaimed career in both art and architecture, while still being committed to memory works that focus on some of the critical historical issues of our time.

Ms. Lin has been recognized around the world for her distinct aesthetic vision with groundbreaking site-specific art installations such as the recent Madison Square Park installation, Ghost Forest, and the recently completed Decoding the Tree of Life for Penn Medicine’s Pavilion. Her celebrated architectural projects range from the Nielsen Library for Smith College to Novartis’ campus headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with buildings in progress for a performing arts lab space at Bard College, to the new design for the Museum of Chinese in America in downtown Manhattan. She is deeply committed to sustainable and site sensitive design methods in all her projects.

Ms. Lin is a member of the Bloomberg Foundation, the What is Missing? Foundation, and she is a National Geographic Explorer-at-Large. She has been profiled in TIME magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and The New Yorker, among others. In 2009, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded Ms. Lin the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, praising her for a celebrated career in both art and architecture and for creating a sacred place of healing in the nation’s capital.

Ms. Lin earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at Yale University.

Ms. Lin will receive an honorary Doctor of Arts.

Sarah E. Light: Inaugural Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Professor

caption: Sarah LightPenn Interim President J. Larry Jameson and Wharton Dean Erika H. James have announced the appointment of Sarah E. Light as the inaugural recipient of the Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Professorship at the Wharton School, which is one of three Presidential Professorships that Mitchell J. Blutt, C’78, M’82, WG’87 and Margo Blutt have established at the University of Pennsylvania. The three Presidential Professorships are at the Wharton School, Penn Arts & Sciences, and the Perelman School of Medicine, the three Penn schools Dr. Blutt attended.

Presidential professorships allow the University to recruit and retain exceptional faculty. The Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Presidential Professorship was established in 2017 and is dedicated to a Wharton faculty appointment. This professorship enables the school to recognize the academic achievements of Wharton professor Sarah E. Light in a way that befits her meaningful contributions.

“The Presidential professorship recognizes and supports Sarah Light’s pathbreaking research and teaching, which explores critical connections between business and law and addressing climate change—an area of focus for Penn’s strategic framework In Principle and Practice,” said Interim President Jameson. “I am grateful for Mitchell and Margo Blutt and their ongoing, generous support for boosting Penn and its academic enterprise.”

Dr. Light has been a member of the Wharton faculty since 2013, when she joined as an assistant professor. She rose to become an associate professor with tenure in 2019 and was promoted to a full professor of legal studies and business ethics in 2023. Dr. Light’s research focuses on climate and environmental law and policy and private environmental governance. Also serving as the faculty co-director of Wharton’s Climate Center, Dr. Light’s research and other academic activities advance the study and dialogue of issues that sit at the intersection of corporate sustainability and business innovation.

“Mitchell and Margo Blutt are stalwart members of the Penn community, giving their time and resources to myriad important causes across the University,” said Dean James. “I am immensely grateful for their longstanding support of the Wharton School, including their most recent Presidential Professorship.”

“Professor Light’s research examines critical aspects of environmental policy, governance, and business practices, and will undoubtedly influence how corporations address sustainability issues in the 21st century. This professorship is an investment in our exceptional faculty and supports our students in their exploration and understanding of the role of business in addressing climate challenges.”

caption: Margo and Michell BluttThe Blutts have supported a breadth of initiatives across Penn, giving to the Wharton School, the Perelman School of Medicine, Penn Athletics, Penn Engineering, Penn Arts & Sciences, and the School of Social Policy and Practice. In addition to their three named Presidential professorships, they further support teaching and research through their contributions to the Jean-Marie Kneeley President’s Distinguished Professorship, the Mitchell Blutt, MD Visiting Professorship in Entrepreneurism and Medicine Endowed Fund, and the Penn National Clinician Scholars Program Endowment Fund.

Extending their generosity to students, Mitchell and Margo Blutt have established an MD/MBA scholarship for medical students who have studied business as well as a scholarship for students at Penn Arts & Sciences. They have given to the Alumni Association Fellowship Fund in honor of June Kinney, for Wharton MBA students in healthcare management, and the Blutt Endowed Internship, for business and research internships in the Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management.

In addition to their contributions to Penn students, faculty, and research, the Blutts have enriched arts and cultural opportunities at Penn through the Blutt Singer-Songwriter Symposium, the Blutt Band Slam, and the Blutt College House Music Program.

Dr. Blutt said, “It has been a joy for us to be able to create, fortify, and enhance worthy causes across Penn, from formative student experiences to backing faculty and, through them, their research. It is an honor and privilege for us to help advance the careers of exceptional Wharton professors, especially those who make significant contributions to the most important issues we face as a society.”

Dr. Blutt is the CEO of Consonance Capital, an investment firm focused in healthcare. In addition to his multiple Penn degrees, he and Margo Blutt are proud Penn parents, with their son having graduated in 2023. Rounding out the family’s generosity with service, Dr. Blutt is a former Penn Trustee and past Penn Medicine Board member. He currently serves as a member of the Wharton Board of Advisors and an emeritus member of the School of Arts & Sciences Board of Advisors. The University has honored his many contributions through Penn’s Alumni Award of Merit in 2018 and the School of Medicine’s Alumni Service Award in 2007.

Catherine McDonald: Chair of the Department of Family and Community Health in Penn Nursing

caption: Catherine McDonaldCatherine C. McDonald has been appointed chair of Penn Nursing’s department of family and community health (FCH), effective July 1, 2024. Currently, she is the vice-chair of the department and the Dr. Hildegarde Reynolds Endowed Term Chair of Primary Care Nursing.

“Dr. McDonald is an accomplished and well-respected researcher in injury science who has demonstrated strong leadership abilities both within and outside of Penn Nursing,” said Penn Nursing dean Antonia M. Villarruel. “As vice chair of FCH, she has excelled at providing mentoring and support to faculty teaching in the undergraduate program and she supports and provides direction for innovative teaching and curricular approaches. Her service and leadership also extend beyond our school and have been impactful at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and as secretary of the University Faculty Senate. She is ideally qualified to take on this key leadership role.”

Dr. McDonald is a pediatric nurse scientist with a focused program of research aimed at promoting health and reducing injury in youth. She leads a strong portfolio of research on adolescent injury prevention funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC). She has published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles on injury prevention for children and adolescents in the topics of driving behaviors, motor vehicle crashes, child passenger safety, concussion, and community violence exposure. Dr. McDonald is co-director of the Penn Injury Science Center (PISC)—a Centers for Disease Control-funded Injury Control Research Center. She has led research initiatives in the development of interventions for young drivers, as well as randomized controlled trial design, novel assessment of adolescent driver behavior, and recruitment and long-term retention of adolescent drivers. She is also the nursing discipline director for the Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

As one of the few nurse scientists with a program of research in injury science, Dr. McDonald has collaborated with researchers at CHOP to research adolescent driving behaviors and concussion. As a nurse scientist, she has expertise in driving simulation to rigorously assess adolescent driving behaviors in a safe, controlled environment, while also being able to draw on the public health and clinical implications. In her collaboration with the Minds Matter Concussion Program at CHOP, she contributes to the advances related to school health and identifying implications for returning to driving after concussion.

Dr. McDonald’s research seeks to help improve the health of adolescents, where injury is the leading cause of death. When children and adolescents have the opportunity to attain their highest level of health and wellness, their health outcomes as adults can be improved. In identifying factors that contribute to adolescent injury morbidity and mortality, she seeks to help support policies and structures that can provide equitable opportunities for positive adolescent health outcomes. In her teaching and research training with mentees, she works to instill the foundational tenets of how nurses can play a key role in reducing factors that disadvantage or harm vulnerable groups.

Julia Hartmann: Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor in Mathematics in SAS

caption: Julia HartmannJulia Hartmann has been named the Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor in Mathematics in the School of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Hartmann specializes in algebra and arithmetic geometry, a new field that applies techniques from algebraic geometry to solve problems in number theory. With colleague David Harbater, the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor in the department of mathematics, Dr. Hartmann developed the method of field patching, which has expanded the ways mathematicians can analyze the relationships between local and global behaviors of mathematical objects. Moreover, field patching has recently led to the solution of a longstanding conjecture concerning the symmetry groups of differential equations.

Dr. Hartmann serves as the faculty sponsor of Penn’s chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics and co-organizes Gender Minorities in Mathematics and Statistics (GeMs), a group of grad students, postdocs, faculty, and visitors in Penn’s math department who identify as gender minorities, along with allies.

The Langberg Professorships were established through the bequest of Eugene L. Langberg, CCC’42, G’45. The late Mr. Langberg was an electrical physicist who held positions at the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., and at the Franklin Institute. He also served as a commissioner of Upper Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania. Mr. Langberg’s wife, the late Fay Ruth Moses Langberg, was a member of the College for Women Class of 1947.

Sherry (Xue) Gao: Presidential Penn Compact Associate Professor in CBE in Penn Engineering

caption: Sherry (Xue) GaoSherry (Xue) Gao has joined the School of Engineering and Applied Science as a Presidential Penn Compact Associate Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE), effective January 1, 2024. As the newest faculty member in CBE, Dr. Gao is prepared to support the next generation of chemical engineers while also conducting groundbreaking research in the development of small molecules to edit genes.

The Presidential Penn Compact Professorships were created by Penn President Emerita Amy Gutmann to recruit and support faculty like Dr. Gao: transformative leaders working at the intersection of multiple fields with “a yen for collaboration,” as Dr. Gutmann told The Pennsylvania Gazette in 2021.

Dr. Gao joins Penn Engineering from Rice University, where she received numerous accolades, including the 2024 BMES-CMBE Rising Star Award, a 2022 NSF CAREER Award, the 2022 Outstanding Young Faculty at Rice School of Engineering Award, and the 2020 NIH MIRA R35 Award.

As a member of Penn’s Center for Precision Engineering for Health (CPE4H), Dr. Gao will partner with colleagues from across the School of Engineering & Applied Science to develop technologies that bridge disciplines, all in the interest of advancing healthcare.

“We are very excited to have Sherry as a new member of the center,” said Daniel Hammer, the Alfred G. and Meta A. Ennis Professor of Bioengineering and inaugural director of CPE4H. “Gene editing is an important new tool that can precisely alter cell behavior by deleting or redirecting cell pathways, as well as enhancing and suppressing gene expression. She will have significant interactions with other members of the center, such as Mike Mitchell and myself, as well as the broader Penn community, especially with the CAR therapists.”

One of Dr. Gao’s primary goals is to make gene-editing tools more accurate. As Dr. Gao has discovered, CRISPR, the revolutionary technology developed by Nobel-prize winners Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, doesn’t always work perfectly. More generally, Dr. Gao is fascinated by enzymes, the class of molecules to which CRISPR belongs, which enable chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy required for a reaction to take place.

This fall, Dr. Gao will teach a course on genetic engineering, which will be open to both graduate and undergraduate students. She is also developing a course within CBE to focus on biomolecules, with a particular interest in enzymes.

Progress of the Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community

The Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community was convened and charged on December 20, 2023 by Interim President J. Larry Jameson. The commission, which consists of faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, and two ex-officio members, was tasked to address bias, discrimination, and hate on campus as Penn strives to be a community that leads with care and compassion. The commission met with Interim President Jameson last month to share the progress that has been made.

To read the executive summary in its entirety, visit https://president.upenn.edu/initiatives/presidential-commission/progress-update.

The commission has encouraged community input via a dedicated email address since January, and recently unveiled a series of in-person and virtual small group listening sessions and a new survey for students, faculty, staff, and postdocs.

Governance

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions

The following is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments to Patrick Walsh, executive assistant to the Faculty Senate, by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Report from the Tri-Chairs. Faculty Senate chair Tulia Falleti offered a report regarding the vacancy on the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility (SCAFR), upon which nominations were solicited during the previous meeting.  SEC members agreed that it would be best not to fill the interim vacancy through the current term, which expires on June 30, 2024.  

Update from the Office of the Senior Executive Vice President.  Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli offered updates across four areas: University leadership, finances, operational progress, and strategic relationships.    

New Business. A SEC member raised new business about the role of shared governance with the Center for Community Standards and Accountability (CSA, formerly the Office of Student Conduct).  

Adjournment to Roundtable, “Free Speech on Campus: Questions for Challenging Times.”  Following the meeting’s adjournment, SEC members were invited to join a “roundtable” sponsored by the Faculty Senate that included guests Barbara A. Lee (Distinguished Professor of Human Resources Management at Rutgers University, New Brunswick) and Robert C. Post, Sterling Professor of Law and dean (2009-2017) of the Yale Law School, moderated by Sigal R. Ben-Porath, MRMJJ Presidential Professor at Penn GSE.  A recording of the roundtable is available here:  https://button.provost.upenn.edu/senate/free-speech-campus-questions-challenging-times.

Features

Penn Hosts Ribbon Cutting for Pennsylvania’s Largest Solar Power Project

On 1,600 acres in Fulton and Franklin counties in central Pennsylvania sit two solar arrays. Comprising more than 485,000 panels, these make up the largest solar project in the Commonwealth, with a capacity of 220 megawatts. As of December, the Great Cove I and II facilities are operational, putting the University of Pennsylvania one massive step closer toward its goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2042.

Penn will purchase all electricity produced at the facilities, the equivalent of 70% of the demand of its campus and University of Pennsylvania Health System facilities in the Philadelphia area. This stems from a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) the University signed in February of 2020 with Community Energy, since acquired by Virginia-based global energy company the AES Corporation. Construction on the project began in April of 2022.

“I couldn’t be prouder that we’ve made such rapid, milestone progress toward carbon neutrality, not only for Penn but for the city of Philadelphia,” Interim President J. Larry Jameson said at a ceremonial ribbon-cutting celebrating the PPA and the solar facilities operation during Energy Week. He added that with Penn’s strategic framework, In Principle and Practice, “We’re taking on the greatest challenges of our time, and at the top of that list is climate change and sustainability.”

The partnership with AES “has been essential in meeting Penn’s goal to accelerate its adoption of renewable energy, and doing it in a way that serves the mission of our institution,” said Anne Papageorge, senior vice president of Facilities & Real Estate Services (FRES) at the ribbon-cutting, held at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. “This agreement not only provides competitive pricing on electricity but also allows the University of Pennsylvania to continue to demonstrate strong leadership on climate action.”

The company, said Walter Crenshaw, senior director of origination at AES, “is one of the largest owner-operators and developers of renewable energy facilities in the country, but none of that really works unless we have a customer who is committed and shows leadership, like Penn.”

Years in the Making

In 2007, Penn President Emerita Amy Gutmann signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment to develop a plan for climate neutrality. The University then formed the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee (ESAC) to make recommendations for accomplishing carbon reduction goals. Penn released its first Climate Action Plan in 2009 and is now operating under the Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0, which laid out the pledge for carbon neutrality by 2042.

William Braham, a professor of architecture in the Weitzman School of Design and co-chair of ESAC’s utilities & operations subcommittee, said the committee realized that investing in buildings alone was not going to be sufficient; they needed to look at the power supply. Penn had been purchasing wind energy from a farm in Pennsylvania, but ESAC examined what it would take to expand Penn’s portfolio of renewable energy, Dr. Braham said.

“The University gets a lot of credit, because when we started to do it, it was mostly for climate reasons: We made this pledge; we have to keep up to it,” Dr. Braham said. Then it also became apparent that Penn could save money over time as the cost of solar development decreased. 

Penn considered purchasing 50% of its electric load but later increased the amount to 70%, said Faramarz Vakili, executive director of operations and maintenance at FRES. In 2019, after receiving plans from 30 developers, Ben Suplick, Penn’s director of engineering and energy planning and co-chair of ESAC’s utilities and operations subcommittee, said FRES narrowed it down to three companies, eventually landing on Community Energy, now AES. “The main drivers were location, cost, and our confidence in the project being able to be built,” Mr. Suplick said.

Pre-panel construction occurred from April 2022 to May 2023, ahead of solar panel installation from May to December 2023, and then the substation interconnection and testing occurred in November. Mr. Vakili said AES installed more than 50 miles of medium-voltage cabling underground to connect all modules and units to the substation. He credited AES for its creative and flexible approach: The company changed its methodology and completed processes in a different order than usual because of supply chain complexities. 

Mr. Vakili said AES’ commercial operations were at 80% capacity in December and the project will reach 100% by the end of March.

Addressing Penn’s Trustees Committee on Facilities and Campus Planning in late February, Mr. Vakili said the community impact of the project included 1.1 million hours of construction work using mostly local workers. Mr. Vakili also explained how the PPA works: Penn pays AES for electricity produced by the project and the University receives Solar Renewable Energy Credits. AES then sells the generated solar power to PJM, a regional transmission organization that coordinates the transfer of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states, and Penn receives a credit based on those sales.

Land of Purpose

Mr. Vakili said the land parcels that are now home to Great Cove I and II were previously used for dairy and crop production and were leased by AES from their owners, who were ready to retire from agriculture but wanted to retain ownership of their land.

“The farmer just likes to create something, whether it’s something that grows out of the ground or something that shines from the sky, and there’s excitement in that,” said Glenn Dice Jr., who owns some of the land that now houses the solar facilities, in a video for AES. He noted, “You can plan for 20 to 50 years with this. That’s significant.” Kenneth Lee Glazier, another Great Cove Solar landowner, commented with a laugh, “Makes you sleep at night, to keep your bills paid.”

AES will offer three summer internships for Penn students along with two full-time positions for graduates, Mr. Vakili told the Penn Trustees. In addition, AES will provide funding to Penn for education and training associated with various aspects of renewable energy and sustainability. “It’s not very often that you get to work hand-in-hand with your PPA off-taker and be able to perform studies that are going to help us with insuring that the dirt that we’re building upon is safe and clean,” Riley Shea, a senior project manager at AES, said in a video. “To be able to enhance that for future work is also something that we’re extremely lucky to have in working with Penn.”

Adapted from a Penn Today article by Erica Moser, March 18, 2024.

AT PENN

April AT PENN 2024

The April AT PENN calendar is now available! Click here to read the calendar online, or click here to download a printable PDF of the calendar.

To submit an event for a future calendar or update, send the relevant details to almanac@upenn.edu.

Events

Take Our Children to Work Day: April 25

Since 2019, Heather Isbell Schumacher, an architectural archivist in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, has collaborated with her colleagues at the Materials Library in Fisher Fine Arts to create exciting and memorable activities for Penn’s annual Take Our Children to Work Day event. She started bringing her daughter Lena to the event five years ago; this year, she looks forward to having her youngest daughter Hazel come to campus as well. 

“I think it’s interesting for my kids to see a variety of things that people do here at Penn, and that they could do,” Ms. Schumacher said. “What I do is kind of abstract to them and they don’t really get it. This event makes my job visible and tangible to them and it brings us closer together.”   

This year, Take Our Children to Work Day will be held on April 25. The event is an opportunity for children to receive enriching hands-on experiences in Penn’s innovative, diverse working environments through an array of activities and programs. The event is geared towards children ages 9-15, offering age-appropriate academic learning activities, although children of any age are welcome to attend. 

You can see all of this year’s activities on the Division of Human Resources Take Our Children to Work Day webpage. Participants can sample a variety of fields from athletics to robotics. Plus, each child can get a souvenir PennCard with their photo. Reflecting on last year’s event, Ms. Schumacher said, “Lena loved going to get her PennCard made and the kite flying and engineering activities. We also did ice skating and took the art and architecture tour in the Fisher Fine Arts Library.” 

Paula Leahy, a research assistant phlebotomist in Penn Medicine’s department of dermatology, said that her daughters Mackenzie and Haley took a special interest in the Nursing School’s “Hands-on Fun with Simulated Patients” activity when they attend last year’s event. “They absolutely loved it. We also did the walk at the BioPond, Boba Tea Making, and had lunch at Franklin Square. There are just so many fun activities for these kids to see and learn. It’s just a wonderful experience, so I asked them, if they had the opportunity to do it again this year, would they, and they said absolutely.”   

Schools, departments, and groups across Penn are collaborating to offer dozens of developmental activities for your children this year. Advanced registration is required and opens on Monday, April 1 at 9 a.m. Here are just a few of the activities that can be enjoyed: 

  • Play homemade carnival games at the Penn Libraries with booths based on famous literature. 
  • Meet a registered dietitian to learn about how they turn the science of nutrition into easy-to-understand information and experience a no-cook cooking demo. 
  • Play 9-square and lawn games, participate in a fitness obstacle course, and shoot baskets with the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics. 
  • Participate in an interactive session and explore the use of task trainers and manikins with the School of Nursing.  
  • Explore physical phenomena at David Rittenhouse Laboratory—from rainbows to telescopes, and so much more, the physics and astronomy department will host hands-on activities.
  • Learn about earning, saving, spending, and giving money with the Division of Finance.
  • Attend sessions at the Pennovation Works complex featuring robots, a demo from the Penn Vet Working Dogs, and other fun activities. 

During this entertaining day, participants can also enjoy the Penn Relays, explore the Penn Museum, go backstage at Penn Live Arts, skate at Penn’s Ice Rink, enjoy expanded offerings from Penn Engineering such as learning about chemical and biomolecular engineering through ice cream making, and much more.

Sessions include activities in three different categories. Get to Know Penn’s Campus and Wellness Activities are both primarily open registration, unless otherwise indicated, and you and your children may attend as many as you like. Youth and their sponsors may attend one Special Topic activity only. Mark your calendar to register on April 1, because space is limited for certain events.

Supervisor approval is required for staff, faculty, and postdocs to attend activities. Participating staff must accompany children to all activities, so be sure to work with your supervisor to ensure coverage for operational needs. 

Erica Lu, head of global studies technical services at Van Pelt-Dietrich Library, said she looks forward to bringing her daughter Serena back again this year. “Take Our Children to Work Day is a fun experience for the kids, and they can feel proud about where we work, but it also increases the integrity of the University and incorporates the University’s core values of inclusiveness because it shows Penn values not just us, but our family members as well.” 

—Division of Human Resources

Update: March AT PENN

Conferences

27        Women in Higher Education Summit; a transformative day designed exclusively for Penn GSE students, staff, faculty, and alumni identifying as women and non-binary; this year’s theme is prioritizing self-care and professional development — a day dedicated to your growth, well-being, and success; 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel; register: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/event/women-higher-education-summit (Graduate School of Education).

 

Films

28        Sankofa; a 1993 Ethiopian-produced drama film directed by Haile Gerima centered on the Atlantic slave trade; 5:30 p.m.; room F55, Huntsman Hall (Cinema & Media Studies).

 

Fitness & Learning

26        Fulbright U.S. Student Program Kick-Off Event for 2024 Penn Applicants and Future Applicants; an interactive introduction to Fulbright U.S. Student Program award opportunities for U.S. citizens to pursue graduate study, conduct research, or teach English around the world; 4 p.m.; online webinar; register: https://apply.iie.org/register/GPS6 (Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships).

27        Black Lunch Table Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon; edit-a-thon focusing on important but underrepresented visual artists, curators and art workers of the African Diaspora; training session will be held at the beginning but help is available throughout the event; 12:30-4 p.m.; lobby, Fisher Fine Arts Library (Penn Libraries).

            Transgender-Affirming Pedagogy for Graduate Students; will offer applicable strategies for graduate instructors across disciplines to make their classrooms more inclusive of gender expansive students; 3:30 p.m.; room 134, Van Pelt Library; register: https://tinyurl.com/cetli-workshop-mar-27 (Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Innovation).

 

Music

Music Department

In-person events. Info: https://music.sas.upenn.edu/events.

29        Penn Flutes: Music in the Stacks Concert Series; one of the largest active flute choirs in the United States, delivers a melodic study break; 1:30 p.m.; classroom G16, Holman Biotech Commons.

 

On Stage

28        Wharton Dance Studio: Showcase 2024: World Tour; a show presenting various forms of dance, including hip-hop, lyrical, jazz, tango, swing, salsa, belly dance, and much more; 8 p.m.; Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center; tickets: $30; register: https://tickets.pennlivearts.org/0/89438 (Penn Live Arts).

 

Readings & Signings

Kelly Writers House

In-person events at Arts Café, Kelly Writers House. Info: https://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0324.php.

27        Poetry and Global Justice; Khaled Mattawa, University of Michigan; 5:30 p.m.

 

Special Events

29        2024 Celebration of Diversity; gathering is intended to showcase students, staff, and faculty from Penn Engineering in their cultural richness and heterogeneity; includes guest speakers, special performances, presentations from student affinity groups, and a variety of cuisines for all to enjoy in the final hour; 3-6 p.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Penn Engineering Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).

 

Talks

26        Revisiting the French Canon: Beauty and the Beast and the Intersectional Gaze; 5 p.m.; room 543, Williams Hall; (Francophone, Italian, and Germanic Studies).

            Difficulties and Rewards of Paving a Leadership Career in Academia as a Women; Magda Feres, Guarulhos University; 5:15 p.m.; Arthur E. Corby Auditorium, Penn Dental Medicine (Penn Dental Medicine).

27        Microbiome Transmission: A New Era of Molecular Epidemiology and Microbial Therapeutics; Brendan Kelly, medicine; 9 a.m.; room 701, Blockley Hall; join: https://pennmedicine.zoom.us/j/96442998641 (Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics).

            Antibiotic Biosynthesis by Pathogenic Bacteria; Bo Li, University of North Carolina; noon; location TBA (Chemistry).

            Our Bodies, Ourselves: Power and Expertise in the Women’s Health Movement; Matty Hemming, English; noon; Lea Library, 6th floor, Van Pelt Library (English).

            Penn Libraries and Artificial Intelligence; Emily Morton-Owens, Associate Vice Provost for Technology and Digital Initiatives; noon; room 241, Van Pelt Library; register: https://libcal.library.upenn.edu/event/12214269 (Penn Libraries).

            Status, Power, and Peers: The Construction of Elite Femininities in Historically White Greek Life; Simone Ispa-Landa, Northwestern University; noon; room 403, McNeil Building (Sociology).

            The Black Pacific: U.S. Empire, the Colored American Magazine, and José Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere in Translation; Edlie Wong, University of Maryland; 1 p.m.; room 330, Fisher-Bennett Hall (English).  

            Multiplexed Synthetic Immunology: Scaling the Design and Measurement of Engineered Immune Cells for New Biological Insights and Therapies; Daniel Goodman, University of California, San Francisco; 2 p.m.; Class of 1962 Auditorium, John Morgan Building, and Zoom webinar; join: https://tinyurl.com/goodman-talk-mar-27 (Cancer Biology).

            Post-Minority Ruptures: Democratic Deepening and Anti-Cas Pasmanda Muslim Politics in India; 4:30 p.m.; Khalid Anis Ansari, Azim Premji University; 4:30 p.m.; Kozloff Center (South Asia Studies).

            The Conflict Over the Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate While Finding Common Ground; Kenneth S. Stern, Bard Center for the Study of Hate; 5 p.m.; Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Van Pelt Library; register: https://tinyurl.com/stern-talk-mar-27 (Paideia Program).

            Seemingly Simple; Marcello Galiotto and Alessandra Rampazzo, AMAA; 6:30 p.m.; Plaza Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

            Yepes’s Late Night Television; Alexander Kellarokos, Saturday Night Live; 7 p.m.; room 401, Fisher-Bennett Hall (Cinema & Media Studies).

28        Physics and Engineering of Moisture-Capturing Hydrogels for Freshwater and Heat Harvesting; Carlos Diaz-Marin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 10 a.m. room 319, Towne Building (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics).

            Special Briefing: America’s Hot Growth States; Alex Adams, budget and regulatory director for Idaho Governor Brad Little; Tom Doe, Municipal Market Analytics; Torsten Slok, Apollo Global Management; 11 a.m.; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/iur-talk-mar-28 (Penn Institute for Urban Research).

            Debt, Fraud and the Making of Countries; Damian Clavel, University of Zurich; Maria Christina Chatziioannou, Institute of Historical Research, NHRF; Anna Gelpern, Georgetown University; Nathaniel Millett, Saint Louis University; noon; Zoom webinar; register: https://www.haiti-seminar.com/ (History).

            Multimodal Spectroscopy and Microscopy without Abbe’s Diffraction Limit; Xiaoji Xu, Lehigh University; noon; Carolyn Hoff Lynch Lecture Hall, Chemistry Complex (Chemistry).

            Sweeping Section Three Under the Rug: A Comment on Trump vs. Anderson; Michael Stokes Paulsen, University of St. Thomas; noon; room 240B, Silverman Hall; register: https://forms.gle/dZxbVtN92hZosUjeA (Federalist Society).

            “Swiping” in South Korea: Tinder and Generation MZ’s Attitudes and Strategies about Dating and Sex; Seung-Kyung Kim, Indiana University Bloomington; noon; suite 310, 3600 Market Street, and Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/kim-talk-mar-28 (Korean Studies).

            Perfidy: Assessing the Legality of the Israeli Raid on a West Bank Hospital; Geoffrey S. Corn, Texas Tech University; Shalom Ben Hanan, Reichman University; Ido Rosenzweig, University of Haifa; 1 p.m.; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/cerl-talk-mar-28 (Center for Ethics & the Rule of Law).

            Black Athena/Black Athenians; Maghan Keita, Villanova University; 4:45 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (Classical Studies).

29        Environmental Contexts of Childhood in China; Kai Feng, sociology; Sukie Yang, sociology; Jia Miao, New York University, Shanghai; 10 a.m.; room 403, McNeil Building (Population Studies Center).

            The Rise and Fall of the Teaching Profession: Prestige, Interest, Preparation, and Satisfaction over the Last Half Century; Matthew Kraft, Brown University; noon; room 259, Stiteler Hall, and Zoom webinar; info: adiperes@upenn.edu (Graduate School of Education).

            “They Had Baby Faces Just Like Me”: How East Asian Women Construct Racialized Masculinities; Olivia Hu, sociology; noon; room 367, McNeil Building (Sociology).

            Model Hierarchies for Fluid Process Modeling; Daniel Lecoanet, Northwestern University; 3 p.m.; room 358, Hayden Hall 9Earth & Environmental Science).

            Relevant TV and the Institutions of Social Reproduction; Sam Samore, English; 5 p.m.; room 330, Fisher-Bennett Hall; RSVP: elombard@sas.upenn.edu (English).

 

Economics

In-person events. Info: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/events.

27        Microentrepreneurship as Insurance Against Unemployment; Daniel Jaar, economics; noon; room 100, PCPSE.

29        Introducing Undergraduates to the Research Process; Aislinn Bohren, economics; 1:30 p.m.; room 200, PCPSE.

 

Mathematics

In-person events. Info: https://www.math.upenn.edu/events.

26        Combinatorial Expansions for Macdonald and LLT Polynomials; Alex Vetter, mathematics; 10:15 a.m.; room 4C8, DRL. Also March 28, 10:15 a.m.

27        K-Theory and Motivic Filtrations; Matthew Morrow, CNRS Orsay & IAS Princeton; 3:45 p.m.; room A2, DRL.

28        Scattering for Wave Equations with Sources and Slowly Decaying Data; Hans Lindblad, Johns Hopkins University; 3:30 p.m.; room 4E19, DRL.

 

This is an update to the March AT PENN calendar. The April AT PENN calendar is online now. Submit events for future AT PENN calendars or weekly updates at almanac@upenn.edu.

Human Resources: Upcoming April Programs

Professional and Personal Development Programs

Virtual Resilience and Well-Being Workshop 5: Joy Multiplier, 4/3; 12:30-2 p.m.; online; free. Explore how we can build trust and strengthen our relationships by responding with authentic engagement to other people’s positive experiences. This session’s attendance will be marked individually and not as a part of the series.

Models of Excellence Awards Ceremony and Reception, 4/9; 4-5 p.m.; Harrison Auditorium, Penn Museum, 3260 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19104; reception starts at 5 p.m. in the Penn Museum’s Chinese Rotunda; free. Don’t miss Penn’s premiere campus-wide staff recognition event featuring 12 individual staff member honorees, four staff team honorees, Interim President J. Larry Jameson, Provost John L. Jackson, Jr., Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, Senior Vice President for Human Resources Jack Heuer, and musical guests the Penny Loafers. Details and registration available at www.hr.upenn.edu/models.

Participating In Performance Appraisals for Staff, 4/10; 12:30-1:30 p.m.; online; free. Join this workshop to understand the performance appraisal process and learn how you can prepare to have a productive review session.

Virtual Training 101, 4/11; 12:30-1:30 p.m.; online; free. Using our training structure road map, we will take a look at how to prepare and execute virtual training. We will examine the phases of training and how those are structured for a virtual training, how to reformat course activities and communication to participants, tips for using video platforms, and best practices for facilitating your course.

Conducting Performance Appraisals for Supervisors, 4/12; online; free. If you are supervising or managing other employees and feel the need to learn more about how to prepare for and conduct performance appraisals, this is the course you’ve been looking for. Join us to learn about best practices for this important annual procedure.

Compassion Fatigue: Helping Those Who Help Others, 4/16; 12:30-1:30 pm; online; free. Compassion fatigue is an extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of the person being helped, resulting in secondary traumatic stress for the caregiver. This workshop will help those who care for others learn how to avoid burnout, recharge and re-energize, and practice effective self-care skills.

Virtual Resilience and Well-Being Workshop 6: Positive Emotions and Resilience Symbols, 4/17; 12:30-2 p.m.; online; free. Learn how positive emotions and savoring increase resilience, consolidate what we learned in this series, and reflect on our experiences. This session’s attendance will be marked individually and not as a part of the series.

Health Advocate Presents: Caring for Caregivers, 4/18; 10-11 a.m. and 4-5 p.m.; online; free. Caring for loved ones for extended periods of time can take a toll on your health and well-being, and it is important to take care of yourself in order to prevent burnout and stay energized for the long-term. During this webinar, we will discuss coping mechanisms and other strategies designed to promote optimal well-being while engaged in caregiving.

Time and Energy Management: Ideas for Sustainable Life Balance, 4/25; 12:30-1:30 p.m.; online; free. As part of our Ideas for Sustainable Life Balance series, this interactive workshop defines energy management in terms of its relationship to work-life balance asserting that time is finite but energy is not. Individuals will be asked to do a personal energy assessment and to consider a habit that will serve them.

Work-Life Workshops

Virtual Workshop: Considering Home Ownership with PNC, 4/4; noon-1 p.m.; online; free. Explore the pros and cons of home ownership and what you need to do to be financially ready to buy your first house. Participants will learn what home ownership really costs, what to expect when applying for a mortgage, and which government programs can make home ownership more affordable.

2024-2025 Carrot Fertility Information Session, 4/10, 4/22; 11 a.m.-noon; online; free. Penn has partnered with Carrot Fertility to bring you inclusive, comprehensive fertility health and family-forming benefits that support wherever you are on your journey. This benefit provides you with exclusive resources designed to make fertility care more accessible and affordable.

The Science of Happiness: How to Make Each Day More Satisfying with the 5 Drivers of Living The Good Life, 4/10; noon-1 p.m.; online; free. Join this presentation by positive psychology expert and executive coach Stella Grizont, for simple and practical ways to be the most engaged, energized, and on purpose at work by following the science of happiness and the 5 drivers of living the good life, experiencing more meaning and purpose to your life.

Alcohol and Substance Abuse: Challenges and Opportunities for Support, 4/12; online; free. Substance use, notably alcohol consumption, can have detrimental effects on individuals and families across various backgrounds. It undermines relationships, job productivity, and overall health, among other aspects of life. This webinar will outline resources available to those struggling with substance abuse. 

2024-2025 Open Enrollment Benefits Information Session, 4/16, 4/23; 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; virtual; free. Human Resources Benefits Department will conduct a presentation on what’s new and what’s changing for 2024-2025.

2024-2025 Open Enrollment Benefits Information Session, 4/18; noon-1:30 p.m.; virtual; free. Human Resources Benefits Department will conduct a presentation on what’s new and what’s changing for 2024-2025.

VP Live Wellness Webinar: Thriving With Nature, 4/18; virtual; free. Participants will discover how spending time in nature can reduce feelings of anger, fear and stress. Nature doesn’t just make us feel better; it can improve our physical and mental health.

Penn Healthy You Workshops

Virtual 30-Minute Guided Meditation, 4/5, 4/12, 4/19; noon-12:30 p.m.; online; free. Meditation, quite simply, is training your attention. In an age of distraction, this becomes a very important skill to maintain focus and mental acuity and develop emotional intelligence and fitness. This meditation is guided to encourage spaciousness and stability in your life.

Virtual 30-Minute Chair Yoga Plus Core, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29; noon-12:30 p.m.; online; free. The Chair Yoga + Core program consists of moves to tone your abdominals, lengthen your spine, and strengthen your entire torso region. Many activities depend on a strong core, from the simple act of bending to put on shoes to the most athletic endeavors. Chair yoga for the core helps you learn to engage your abdominals correctly. With the abdominals engaged, you’ll find a natural lift and length without having to force anything. In just 30 minutes, beginners and those who regularly exercise can learn what to do without leaving their desks.

Virtual Workshop: Deskercize, 4/17; noon-12:30 p.m.; online; free. This class will take you through a variety of movements that can be done at your desk. Be prepared to work through a 30-minute low impact strength and flexibility workout.

Virtual Guided Mindful Meditation, 4/18; noon-1 p.m.; online; free. This workshop is for participants to practice present moment awareness with kindness and compassion. Our practice will include guided meditation focusing on the breath, body awareness, mindful movement, and other practices to cultivate well-being for yourself and others. The workshop is appropriate for people new to mindfulness practice as well as more experienced practitioners. No experience is necessary; all are welcome.

Spin Class, 4/23; noon – 12:45 pm; studio 306, Pottruck Gym; free. Free HR-sponsored spin class in partnership with Campus Recreation: Pedal your way to a fantastic workout indoors. With the use of stationary cycles, each class is led on a virtual outdoor road, complete with a variety of exercises. This class will give you an energizing, calorie-burning, fun workout and it is great for all fitness levels because you can ride at a self-directed pace.

Virtual Chair Yoga, 4/24; noon-12:45 p.m.; online; free. Plenty of people turn to yoga for exercise, but striking a pose isn’t for everyone. If you’ve been tempted to try it but don’t know where to start, it’s time to try chair yoga. Chair yoga is a more moderate form of yoga that’s done while sitting in or using a chair for support. You get the same benefits of a regular yoga workout (like increased strength, flexibility, and balance) but don’t have to master complex poses. Chair yoga can even better your breathing and teach you how to relax your mind and improve your well-being. This class is open to all levels.

Other

Penn Relays, 4/25; 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; in person; free/$5 per person. Faculty/staff can receive one (1) free adult ticket and one (1) free child ticket by showing a valid staff PennCard at the Franklin Field Ticket Office on the Thursday of the Penn Relays or by ordering online using your upenn.edu email address in advance. Faculty/staff can add additional child tickets for $5 each. The offer is only valid on Thursday, April 25, 2024, and can be redeemed online at this link or in person at the Franklin Field Ticket Office on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Tickets are for general admission seating only. Faculty/staff can purchase up to four reserved seats for children at an additional cost. Suitable for all ages.

Take Our Children to Work Day; 4/25; 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; in person; free. Penn’s annual Take Our Children to Work Day event will return to campus on April 25 with a range of activities and programs to suit young people’s varied interests and career goals. Advanced registration is required and opens on Monday, April 1 at 9 a.m. Visit the Take Our Children to Work Day webpage for details. 

—Division of Human Resources

WXPN Board Meeting: April 3

An open session of the WXPN Policy Board will meet Wednesday, April 3, 2024, from 12-1:30 p.m. at WXPN. For more information, email abby@xpn.org or call (215) 898-0628 during business hours. 

Crimes

Weekly Crime Reports

Division of Public Safety University of Pennsylvania Police Department Crime Report

About the Crime Report: Below are the Crimes Against Persons and/or Crimes Against Property from the campus report for March 11–17, 2024. The Crime Reports are available at: https://almanac.upenn.edu/sections/crimes. Prior weeks’ reports are also online. –Eds.

This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety (DPS) and contains all criminal incidents reported and made known to the Penn Police, including those reported to the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) that occurred within our patrol zone, for the dates of March 11–17, 2024. The Penn Police actively patrol from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and from 30th Street to 43rd Street in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police.

In this effort to provide you with a thorough and accurate report on public safety concerns, we hope that your increased awareness will lessen the opportunity for crime. For any concerns or suggestions regarding this report, please call DPS at (215) 898-7297. You may view the daily crime log on the DPS website.

Penn Police Patrol Zone
Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and from 30th Street to 43rd Street

Crime Category

Date

Time

Location

Description

Aggravated Assault-Gun

03/13/24

3:35 PM

3700 Market St

Shots fired during a physical altercation on the highway

Arson

03/15/24

4:53 AM

3900 Irving St

Offender set dumpster on fire/Arrest

Bike Theft

03/16/24

9:17 PM

3925 Walnut St

Theft of a bicycle

Burglary

03/13/24

9:12 AM

3737 Chesnut St

Various items taken from apartment

Other Assault

03/14/24

9:50 PM

4001 Chestnut St

Offender made threats inside restaurant

 

03/15/24

12:12 PM

3400 Spruce St

Complainant threatened by a known offender

Other Offense

03/11/24

8:21 AM

400 S 40th St

Failure to Appear warrant/Arrest

 

03/11/24

11:36 PM

200 S 34th St

Failure to Appear warrantArrest

Retail Theft

03/13/24

11:52 AM

4233 Chestnut St

Retail theft of alcohol

 

03/14/24

11:25 AM

4001 Walnut St

Retail theft

 

03/16/24

2:23 PM

3621 Walnut St

Retail theft

Sex Offense

03/12/24

11:05 AM

Confidential

Confidential

 

03/14/24

8:32 PM

Confidential

Confidential

Theft from Building

03/13/24

12:08 PM

3925 Walnut St

Secured scooter taken from bike room

 

03/14/24

2:22 PM

3220 Market St

Theft of property from a desk

Theft from Vehicle

03/12/24

6:25 PM

4200 Locust St

Theft of U.S. currency from unsecured vehicle

 

03/14/24

3:18 PM

4200 Pine St

Theft of clothing from secured vehicle

 

03/14/24

9:50 AM

4200 Pine St

Theft of wallet from secured vehicle

 

03/15/24

10:02 AM

3800 Powelton Ave

Theft of firearm from unsecured vehicle

Theft Other

03/11/24

8:41 PM

3901 Locust Walk

Secured scooter taken from bike rack

 

03/13/24

10:37 AM

4047 Locust St

Package taken from porch

 

03/13/24

11:48 AM

4000 Baltimore Ave

Cell phone taken

 

03/13/24

8:46 PM

3700 Locust Walk

Attempted scooter theft

Vandalism

03/14/24

10:31 AM

100 S 42nd St

Rear passenger window broken

 

03/16/24

2:42 PM

3600 Spruce St

Graffiti spray painted on concrete wall

 

Philadelphia Police 18th District
Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 4 incidents were reported for March 11–17, 2024. by the 18th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

Crime Category

Date

Time

Location

Aggravated Assault

03/11/24

2:46 PM

4300 blk of Chestnut Street

 

03/15/24

4:55 PM

1100 blk of S. 45th Street

Assault

03/15/24

11:06 AM

4712 Chester Ave

Indecent Assault

03/14/24

9:35 PM

3400 blk of Spruce St

The Division of Public Safety offers resources and support to the Penn community. DPS developed a few helpful risk reduction strategies outlined below. Know that it is never the fault of the person impacted (victim/survivor) by crime.

  • See something concerning? Connect with Penn Public Safety 24/7 at (215) -573-3333.
  • Worried about a friend’s or colleague’s mental or physical health? Get 24/7 connection to appropriate resources at (215) 898-HELP (4357).
  • Seeking support after experiencing a crime? Call Special Services - Support and Advocacy resources at (215) 898-4481 or email an advocate at specialservices@publicsafety.upenn.edu
  • Use the Walking Escort and Riding services available to you free of charge.
  • Take a moment to update your cellphone information for the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System
  • Download the Penn Guardian App which can help Police better find your location when you call in an emergency.
  • Access free self-empowerment and defense courses through Penn DPS.
  • Stay alert and reduce distractions; using cellphones, ear buds, etc. may limit your awareness.
  • Orient yourself to your surroundings. (Identify your location, nearby exits, etc.)
  • Keep your valuables out of sight and only carry necessary documents.

Bulletins

Nominations Requested from Standing Faculty for Co-Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Innovation

Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. and Deputy Provost Beth A. Winkelstein invite nominations and expressions of interest from standing faculty members to be faculty co-director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Innovation.

Peter Decherney, the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor in the Humanities, who has been the inaugural faculty co-director of the center since its launch and served from 2017 to 2023 as faculty director of the Online Learning Initiative, will step down from this role at the end of June 2024.

“We are enormously grateful for the visionary leadership of Peter Decherney, who has been a pioneer of new methods of teaching and learning at Penn,” said Provost Jackson. “He was integral to establishing online learning across every part of our campus—which was indispensable to sustaining our educational mission during the years of the pandemic—and has been the essential driver of this expanded new center, which will catalyze our work at the forefront of teaching innovation.”

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, which opened on November 1, 2023, brings together the long-standing work of the Online Learning Initiative and the Center for Teaching and Learning to advance Penn’s leadership in teaching excellence and innovation, especially by:

Enhancing the quality, reach, and impact of a Penn education and the learning experiences of all Penn students and learners, across the wide range of both in-person and online education in all twelve schools

  • Supporting instructors in all disciplines in realizing their teaching goals and developing as teachers
  • Centering teaching in discussions of new digital initiatives
  • Expanding the reach of programs to advance pedagogy and providing all Penn schools with better access to support for teaching, with or without technology

Masao Sako, the Arifa Hasan Ahmad and Nada Al Shoaibi Presidential Professor of Physics and Astronomy, will serve as one faculty co-director of the center beginning April 1, 2024. The center encourages applications from standing faculty members who have experience in teaching and learning, in person and/or online, and an interest in shaping the future of teaching across Penn’s schools to be a second faculty co-director of the center, beginning on or around July 1, 2024. Inquiries and nominations can be emailed to Deputy Provost Beth A. Winkelstein by May 1, 2024.

One Step Ahead: Never Get Locked Out—Sign Up for PennKey Self-Service Password Reset

One Step Ahead logo

Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Security, Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy.

Sooner or later, you will forget your PennKey password and need a reset. Take five minutes today to protect yourself from frustration and stress while improving Penn’s security posture at the same time.

Every day, the University’s IT service desks and support providers assist users with dozens of PennKey password resets. Each reset requires the user to be “Identity Proofed,” usually by answering personal questions or presenting government-issued IDs before an administrator can issue a new PennKey setup code. It is a time-consuming, expensive, inconvenient, and relatively insecure process for both Penn and the user.

If a PennKey holder happens to be locked out and away from campus outside of business hours, password reset support is only available over email, meaning the reset process can easily take more than a day to complete.

It does not have to be this way.

For the last two years, Penn has offered PennKey Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR), but many PennKey holders still have not signed up to take advantage of the system. Registration takes five minutes or less, and only includes verifying a personal email address and phone number, which can be used to communicate reset codes and change notices to you securely when you get locked out.

With SSPR enabled, performing a password reset for yourself is simple and secure. Click the “forgotten password” link on the PennKey login page and follow the prompts to receive a rescue code via your pre-registered contact information and complete the reset. The entire process takes only a few minutes and is available 24/7, anywhere in the world.

Registering for SSPR protects you from inconvenience and stress, while improving Penn’s overall security posture and dramatically reducing the demand for live support. Please register today at https://pennkeysupport.upenn.edu/recovery-service.

For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/security/news-alerts#One-Step-Ahead.

Talk About Teaching & Learning

Just Change 10 Minutes

LeAnn Dourte

It’s been ten years since “active learning” became a buzzword on Penn’s campus, although the concept certainly was in practice long before that. Formats vary from class to class but center around the idea of students using class time to engage actively with the course content. On one end of the spectrum, an entire class session can be spent doing student-centered activities while traditional lecture content is moved outside of class time through readings or videos. In many of my own courses, I find myself on the other end of the scale—implementing short activities to replace some of my more repetitive lecture content (usually working through engineering examples on the board) without the need for new out-of-class content. I encourage colleagues when they ask about how to get started with active learning to “Just change 10 minutes.”

The effectiveness of these 10-minute activities hinges on their alignment with learning objectives. Students are always on the lookout for anything that they see as busy-work, so articulating the purpose of such activities is paramount to their success. These are some of the goals I think about when I design activities with my learning objectives in mind. While some of these approaches are specific to subjects with quantitative problem solving, many have applications across disciplines.

  • Initiate Thought-Provoking Challenges: Present complex problems to spark curiosity and stimulate discussion, laying the groundwork for deeper exploration of course topics. At the beginning of class, I may ask students to work on a problem that I know they may not fully understand, but I encourage them to work until they get stuck and then write down what information they want or need to know to move forward. This is where we start class.
  • Address Common Challenges: Provide opportunities for students to practice areas where instructor experience suggests they will have difficulty. Every year I make notes to myself throughout the semester on concepts or problems students struggled with. These serve as the inspiration for problems I may have students work on in small groups the following year.
  • Encourage Diverse Perspectives: Foster critical thinking by prompting students to engage in respectful disagreement and explore contrasting viewpoints. For instance, I may assign a short reading that I know will generate different reactions and ask students to talk to students with the opposite viewpoint. Their task is not to convince the other person of their perspective, but rather to agree on how to work together despite their different perspectives.
  • Explore Alternative Problem-Solving Approaches: Present tasks that can be approached using different problem-solving strategies, but that result in the same final answer. Any time I design an activity to emphasize this point, I remind myself of the importance of discussing why both approaches give the same answer. I want the activity to strengthen the conceptual understanding of each theoretical approach by highlighting their relationship.
  • Challenge Assumptions: Design activities to uncover and evaluate underlying assumptions, encouraging students to be deliberate in their reasoning processes. Can I create a problem that changes depending on the assumptions the students make? For example, in biomechanics, you can model the shoulder joint as a ball and socket with a single agonist muscle or as a ball and socket with a reaction moment representing multiple muscles. This shows that both are valid models; it just depends on what you want to know.
  • Facilitate Hands-On Exploration: Integrate tactile experiences to facilitate deeper understanding of abstract concepts. Can a concept be physically “seen”? If so, activities can be designed to help relate the physical to the mathematical concepts.
  • Promote Error Recognition and Correction: Structure tasks that require students to identify and rectify mistakes. When I think about the questions my students most often ask during office hours, many of them are grounded in knowing their answer is wrong but not being able to figure out why. If I present them with a solution with a mistake and have them find it, then I can foster a growth mindset and resilience in the face of challenges.
  • Cultivate Information Literacy: Engage students in evaluating online sources and using technology responsibly. By analyzing the reliability and relevance of digital information, students develop critical thinking and research skills. As a starting point, I may ask students to do a quick search on a topic and evaluate the top five search results. How do they know if they are valid? What do they do if they conflict? Preparing for the activity requires me to do a quick internet search and ensure the topic I chose yields some varied search results.
  • Apply Conceptual Frameworks: Encourage students to apply generic frameworks to specific problem-solving, emphasizing the process of solving a problem rather than the memorization of an example problem. For each major topic in my biomechanics class, I provide students with a generic outline on how to approach problems. It includes questions to ask themselves to find variations and exceptions, but gives them guidance on where to start problems without having them memorize examples (their preferred approach). In-class activities can ask students to apply these outlines to novel problems or even ask students to develop outlines themselves as study tools.

While prioritizing learning outcomes, I also value the significance of changing the type of content delivery during a class to improve student learning. Even within the confines of a 50-minute class session, expecting students to remain seated and focused can pose a challenge to even the most dedicated student. Allowing for short mental breaks gives students a chance to reflect on their own learning and, when you turn back, they can restore focus on the task at hand.

Interspersing short activities also encourages community. Knowing that another student is confused can help combat imposter syndrome and create a sense of connection. Additionally, the process of explaining a concept to another student, can help solidify a concept in a student’s mind. The full range of benefits of group work are too numerous to fully discuss here, but I’ll emphasize that it’s possible to gain many of them in only short interactions in groups.

These short activities help me understand my students’ progress. As I navigate through the classroom, I can gather real-time feedback regarding the areas in which my students encounter the most difficulty. Interestingly, students often feel more comfortable seeking clarification when I walk by their desks, as opposed to when I am at the front of the room. Moreover, in instances where my direct involvement is not immediately required and students are effectively engaged in peer collaboration, I can reinforce student-teacher rapport, acquaint myself with students’ names, extend greetings, and briefly collect my thoughts before transitioning to the next topic.

In summary, the journey from traditional lecture formats to active learning methods doesn’t have to be a large-scale endeavor. I have found that aligning brief 10-minute activities with specific learning goals, can yield significant educational benefits. Embracing a mindset of continual refinement has allowed me to gradually expand and refine my active learning strategies, fostering a dynamic and engaging classroom environment.

LeAnn Dourte is a practice associate professor in the department of bioengineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science. 
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This essay continues the series that began in the fall of 1994 as the joint creation of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Lindback Society for Distinguished Teaching. 

See https://almanac.upenn.edu/talk-about-teaching-and-learning-archive for previous essays.

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