At the beginning of the new year, Annenberg School for Communication Dean Sarah Banet-Weiser said one of her goals for 2026 was working toward the school’s first strategic vision.
Four months later, on April 13, Banet-Weiser announced “Connected Futures,” a plan to guide the school over the next five years. The Daily Pennsylvanian followed up with Banet-Weiser to discuss the school’s mission across research, education, infrastructure, and public engagement.
The plan is intended to better articulate the school’s mission to the public. Recalling conversations from the start of her tenure in July 2023, she said many peers were aware of the school’s reputation but unclear on the specifics of its work.
“Almost without exception, people would say, ‘Oh, I know that people do incredible work there, but we don’t really know what you do,’” Banet-Weiser said. “Part of what I wanted to do with my vision as a dean was to tell the story of what Annenberg does, and tell it to a wider audience.”
According to Banet-Weiser, that disconnect partly prompted a two-year process of meeting with students, faculty, and staff through “informal” encounters in an effort to understand what defines the Annenberg School and identify areas of potential improvement.
Those conversations informed the strategic vision’s structure. The first pillar — titled “A Vibrant Intellectual Ecosystem” — includes four “research networks”: health communication; politics, policy, and institutions; cultural inquiry; and computational social science.
Vice Dean Emily Falk wrote in the announcement that these networks are intended to provide “structure, community, and support” for scholars working across disciplines. Banet-Weiser told the DP that the networks reflect the breadth of the research conducted at the Annenberg School.
“Lots of communication programs do health communication and social science,” she said. “Other ones do film and media studies. Other ones do political communication. We do all of that.”
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The second pillar focuses on the school’s physical and organizational resources.
Banet-Weiser said this section includes a plan to renovate the Annenberg School building — including changes to shared spaces and classrooms — to “reflect the dynamic and cutting-edge research and teaching.”
She also described the school’s curriculum and academic programming — the vision’s third pillar. Banet-Weiser highlighted that the school is continuing to update its undergraduate curriculum and recently launched a new Master of Communication and Media Industries program, which will admit its inaugural class this fall.
The dean added that the school is “constantly updating our classes and figuring out how they fit into our concentrations.” She stated that the framework is not intended to impose changes directly on students’ academic experiences.
“Our hope is that our students will just feel the vision,” Banet-Weiser said.
The fourth pillar, which involves collaboration and connection, emphasizes partnerships beyond the University. According to the announcement, the Annenberg School’s research addresses issues including public health, misinformation, media production, and social justice.
“One of the things that we’re trying to do — not just here at Annenberg, but all of Penn — is to remind people why they should have trust in higher education,” she said.
Looking ahead, Banet-Weiser said that the vision is intended to serve as a flexible approach to an evolving technological landscape.
“We want to be nimble with this vision,” Banet-Weiser told the DP.
She noted that the school hopes to remain responsive to developments such as artificial intelligence and climate communication, which she said “undergirds all the things that we do.”
“What is the work that we want this vision to do?” she asked. “It is to create a better environment in which people live. We really believe that clear and equitable and trustworthy communication is a way to do that.”
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Senior reporter Ananya Karthik covers central administration and can be reached at karthik@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies communication and economics. Follow her on X @ananyaakarthik.
