Academics
Penn moves classes online for first two weeks of spring semester, delays campus move-in
On-campus housing move-in, which was previously scheduled to begin on Jan. 8, will begin on Jan. 15 and in-person classes will resume on Jan. 24.
Penn’s Think Tanks and Civil Societies director James McGann dies at 66
McGann dedicated most of his life’s work to the development and interconnection of think tanks on a global scale.
Hundreds petition Penn to move finals online after University bans indoor social gatherings
The petition calls for final exams for large lecture classes to be moved online, citing several grievances with the enforcement of the PennOpen Pass self-reporting system and difficulties with social distancing in classrooms.
Two Penn graduates and one student named Schwarzman Scholars
College senior Daniel Ruiz de la Concha and 2019 Wharton graduates Shuxi (Shirley) Liu and Heather Tang were awarded the scholarship to study at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
Penn community critiques University climate action for stopping short of divestment
Penn's climate-related initiatives ranged from its commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to its second annual Climate Week, and most recently, its decision to halt new investments in fossil fuels.
Students return to in-person, on-campus life
Classes remained largely virtual until fall 2021, when in-person instruction — as well as the on-campus party scene — resumed.
First global seminar to return to in-person travel will visit the Galápagos over winter break
The class will travel to the Galápagos Islands for 10 days after final exams to study the relationship between conservation, tourism, and local communities.
Every Ocean Hughes named School of Design visiting professor for 2021-2022 academic year
EOH will work with graduate students in the School of Design, and in spring 2022, she will give a public lecture and lead a seminar class.
Penn Center for Innovation reports largest number of annual patents in 2021
Founded in 2014 by University President Amy Gutmann, the Penn Center for Innovation supports Penn-affiliated researchers, students, staff, and faculty to commercialize their ideas and inventions.
Thousands petition Penn to fire visiting scholar accused of crimes against humanity
Maria Paula Romo was dismissed by the Ecuadorian Assembly for her oversight of the government's allegedly abusive response to protests.
Penn senior named one of 12 Mitchell Scholars to receive funding for study in Ireland
Wragan, who majors in neuroscience at Penn, plans to continue studying neuroscience and chronic pain at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.
Two Penn students named 2022 Rhodes Scholars
College senior Nicholas Thomas-Lewis from Kimball, Nebraska and Wharton and Engineering senior Raveen Kariyawasam from Colombo, Sri Lanka bring Penn’s total number of Rhodes Scholars to 33.
Penn Wharton Budget Model lays off student workers mid-semester, prompting SRFS to intervene
The student workers, some of whom identify as first generation and low income, were surprised and disappointed after the sudden layoff.
Vast majority of spring 2022 courses will be held in person
The University's emphasis on in-person instruction for spring 2022 applies to all four undergraduate schools.
Engineering professor Cynthia Sung featured in Miranda Cosgrove's TV show
"Mission Unstoppable," which began airing in 2019, is a television series highlighting women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Former Temple business school dean on trial for admissions fraud
Falsified admissions data led the business school’s online MBA program to be ranked No. 1 for four consecutive years.
New Zeke Emanuel course will bring students to Washington to learn about how policy is made
The course, PSCI 398: How Washington Really Works, will include students from Penn and George Mason University, and will be co-taught by Emanuel and George Mason University professor Steve Pearlstein.
Two Ph.D. students warn of corporations’ influence on democracy at graduate workshop
The Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy sponsored the workshop, entitled “Media Diets and Democratic Discourse.”
As temperatures dropped, parts of David Rittenhouse Laboratory were left without heat
The heating in several math professors' offices stopped working on Nov. 3 — as temperatures outside reached a low of 37 degrees.