Monday, June 30

Good morning, Penn.
 

After a week of record-breaking heat, July is almost here. For those in Philadelphia, you can catch Fourth of July Fireworks at 9:30 p.m. above the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Postdoctoral students and research associates at Penn will vote in two weeks on whether to form a union, and the College of Arts and Sciences is rolling out a new pilot curriculum for certain first year students this fall.  

But first, the University has retained BGR Group — a top-ranked D.C. lobbying firm — to assist with its advocacy efforts in Washington as Penn faces multiple government investigations.

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TODAY’S TOP STORY

Photo by Abhiram Juvvadi
Penn retains top D.C. lobbying firm, former Trump advisor amid ongoing federal funding battle

Penn has retained BGR Group — one of Washington's largest lobbying firms — to advocate on its behalf with federal policymakers, according to a recent disclosure filing.

The University’s contract with BGR Group took effect on May 22, according to the disclosure record, and the firm will “provide strategic counsel and advocate on issues related to higher education and research appropriations.”

Penn’s team at BGR Group consists of four high-ranking lobbyists who have served in federal-level government positions within the past two decades — including one former appointee from President and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump’s first administration.

BGR Group currently ranks third out of the nation's top-earning lobbying firms in 2025, according to the campaign finance and lobbying watchdog organization OpenSecrets. The group has experience representing a client portfolio that includes a number of foreign governments, defense contractors, and pharmaceutical corporations. 
 
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FIVE MORE BIG STORIES

 Penn's research associates and postdocs will head to the polls on July 16 and 17 to determine whether they will unionize.  

  The College of Arts and Sciences will pilot a new curriculum for select first-year students in the 2025-26 academic year.

  Provost John Jackson Jr. announced two new vice provost positions for graduate and undergraduate education to assist the University’s administrative leadership and oversight last week. 

  The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with several Penn Fulbright scholars about the resignation of all twelve members of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

 
 In the two weeks since World Cafe Live workers staged a walkout in protest of their new management, nearly a dozen employees have been fired.

MOST READ


Fulbright scholarship board resigns amid 'unlawful' federal funding rollback
 
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OPINION

Design by Mischa Wijesekera

COLUMNIST ANANYA KARTHIK reflects on her excitement to start her time at Penn — and the pressure that comes with it.

SPORTS


 Mike Murphy, the all-time winningest coach of Penn men’s lacrosse, has been let go after 16 seasons.

 Kayla Storrs was named the head of Community Engagement and Wellbeing, a collaboration between Wellness at Penn and the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletes.

TODAY IN DP HISTORY

Photo by Abhiram Juvvadi

This time last year, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit filed against the University by a group of Penn faculty members aiming to prevent the University from submitting documents to an ongoing Congressional investigation. On Monday, a federal judge denied University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor Amy Wax a preliminary injunction in her ongoing lawsuit against Penn.
Today’s newsletter was copy edited by Ava Savino.
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