Twenty-four Penn professors joined a group of researchers urging Vice President Joe Biden to increase funding for gun violence research.

Chester County Hospital and Health System will join the University of Pennsylvania Health System. It has been seeking a corporate partner due to fiscal difficulties.

Seven freshmen founded a new group, Penn Non-Cis, for students whose biological gender and sexual identity do not match.

A weekly roundup of news from around the Ivy League and the higher-education community.

The Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification was derived in part from the work of Richard Zorowitz, who used to serve as medical director of Inpatient Rehabilitation and director of Stroke Rehabilitation at HUP.

The startup Textbook Friend, which allows Penn students to communicate easily to buy or sell used textbooks, launched Nov. 25. It was founded by Wharton freshman Karan Parekh and College freshman Joshua Haghani, who began their Penn experience as roommates but became business partners by the end of the semester.

Despite Career Services’ recent social media push, only about 85 responses to their assessment surveys have been recorded. The surveys are part of a larger process that began in October.

The University City Science Center announced earlier this month that it will begin construction of a new 27-story apartment building at 3601 Market Street in Fall 2013.

Beginning this May, students in the new Global Program at the Lauder Institute will focus on developing broader skills as global entrepreneurs. The program combines a Wharton MBA and a master’s degree from the School of Arts and Sciences and includes a summer immersion program along with four semesters of classes at Penn.

Every second Thursday of the month, Andrew’s Video Vault screens films that are nearly impossible to encounter elsewhere.

Hub Bub, owned by 2005 College graduate Drew Crockett, is a coffee truck that is expanding to a non-mobile location in Center City scheduled to open Jan.

Last semester, Penn College Republicans elected College junior Arielle Klepach as its president. The Daily Pennsylvanian sat down with her to chat about this year’s plans and conservatives on campus.

Due to low funding and attendance, six parishes in West Philadelphia will merge to become three later this month. Catholic organizations at Penn, however, manage to maintain membership by straying from a strictly worship-based community model.

Saigon Cuisine opened on 40th and Chestnut streets to replace the French-Thai restaurant Nan. Nan’s owner, Kamol Phutlek, fell ill and closed the restaurant in October. Joey Sang opened Saigon Cuisine in December as a Vietnamese BYOB, yet he moved in without receiving a permit or a certificate of occupancy.

The Career Plans Survey, released by Career Services, reveals that 75 percent of School of Nursing graduates obtained full-time employment, a major increase from 59 percent full-time employment for graduates of the class of 2011.

Penn President Amy Gutmann’s salary of $1,462,742 in 2010 made her the 12th-highest-paid private university president in the nation.

On the heels of a series of broad changes to Penn’s practices governing alcohol use, the University announced Wednesday afternoon that it will be forming a new commission to study the impact of alcohol on student safety.