Academics
Penn will allow students to opt in to pass/fail grading for all courses by April 13
Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote in an email to Penn undergraduates Friday morning that students must opt in to take their classes pass/fail, and have until April 13 to do so.
As Penn students petition, some schools have already adopted pass/fail grading
Some institutions have implemented mandatory pass/fail grading systems, while others are allowing students to opt-in to pass/fail grading.
Wharton introduces six-week online course on coronavirus and global crisis management
The course, titled “Epidemics, Natural Disasters, and Geopolitics: Managing Global Business and Financial Uncertainty,” will run for six weeks starting March 25.
Live updates — Penn's response to coronavirus outbreak
Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote in an email to all graduate school professors on Sunday evening that researchers must discontinue all non-essential on-campus research activities by March 17 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
SHS alerts over 100 Penn students, faculty, and staff about potential coronavirus exposure
In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn's Director of Campus Health Ashlee Halbritter said out of the over 100 cases of potential exposure Penn identified, none of the cases were high risk.
Penn Abroad urges students studying in Europe to return home immediately
Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote that Penn would provide financial assistance with flight costs and that he would be working to ensure students abroad in Europe receive "as much academic credit as possible" for this semester.
Penn moves spring semester classes online and asks students to move off campus by March 15
Penn will extend spring break by one week and move to remote instruction beginning March 23, President Amy Gutmann Provost Wendell Pritchett announced in an email to Penn faculty.
‘Not everyone has a home to go to’: International, FGLI students await U. coronavirus plan
Global travel bans and the uncertain fate of Penn's classes and dormitory availabilities have left international and first-generation, low-income students unsure of where they will live and how they will pay for housing and meals.
Online classes, travel bans: How the Ivy League is responding to the coronavirus outbreak
A growing number of universities are banning international travel and mandating that classes shift to online platforms to limit the spread of the virus.
Penn cuts off University-related travel and large on-campus events due to coronavirus
A further update on whether Penn is shifting to online classes will come later this week, Provost Wendell Pritchett wrote in an email to the Penn community.
Penn asks teachers to prepare for possible online classes amid coronavirus spread
Vice Provost for Education Beth Winkelstein wrote that as of now, classes are expected to meet as scheduled when Penn returns from spring break on Monday, March 16.
Best-selling author Ottessa Moshfegh discusses her novel and existential despair at KWH
Moshfegh was invited and introduced by Penn professor of Religious Studies Justin McDaniel, who teaches the popular course, Existential Despair.
New Wharton course will teach students ‘financial savvy’ in the fall
The course, Consumer Financial Decision Making, will be open to students from all years and schools and will explain how to make financial decisions relating to mortgages and insurance.
Wharton to introduce its first course on artificial intelligence in 2021
Artificial Intelligence for Business will be the first course to be fully dedicated to studying AI in a business context.
History prof. Walter Licht will step down as Civic House faculty director in June
Licht, who is in his 43rd year at Penn, has served as Civic House's Faculty Director since 2002.
Institutional racism and minimal recognition: Inside Du Bois’ complicated history at Penn
Legendary sociologist and writer W.E.B Du Bois notably worked at Penn over a century ago, and his legacy is celebrated at the University with the dorm that bears his name. But the experience of one of America's foremost Black thinkers at Penn is fraught with more discrimination than is often recognized.
Environmental justice panel discusses impact of climate change on marginalized communities
The panel, held at the LGBT Center by PennFems, Sister Sister, and Fossil Free Penn, featured climate activists discussing the intersections of racial and environmental justice.
Carmen Maria Machado reads excerpts from her memoir ‘In the Dream House’ at KWH
Machado is a writer in residence at Penn and a recipient of the Bard Fiction Prize for her work.
Penn senior wins Churchill Scholarship to study at Cambridge University
The scholarship grants one year of graduate study at University of Cambridge in England and is awarded annually to only fifteen students in the U.S. for “outstanding academic achievement” in science, mathematics, and engineering.