Three Penn professors and a senior critic in the School of Design were awarded fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation last week. Recipients of this year's fellowship - grant money given to artists, scientists and scholars for their research efforts - include English professor David Wallace, Sociology professor Susan Watkins, Music professor Anna Weesner and design critic Alexi Worth.

Recently-elected Penn College Republicans chairman, Wharton junior Peter Devine, spoke to the Daily Pennsylvanian about his plans for the future of the minority political group on campus. Daily Pennsylvanian: How is the hand-over going? PD: I've been passed the baton pretty quickly - I took over on day one.

Robbery April 8 - A male student, 20, reported that two unknown suspects approached him on the 100 block of S. 40th Street at about 12:20 a.m., one of whom displayed a knife and forced him to withdraw cash from his bank account at a nearby ATM. Theft April 3 - Stanley Wisocki, 46, unaffiliated with the University and of the 1200 block of Race Street, was arrested at about 8:30 p.

Though many high-school seniors are still hopeful for waitlist acceptances, their chances of securing a place in Penn's class of 2013 may be diminishing. Though Dean of Admissions Eric Furda initially said he expects "a lot" of waitlist activity, he now says there will likely be fewer waitlist acceptances this year than for the class of 2012.

With the support of various City organizations and elected officials, casino development is well on its way in Philadelphia, casino officials say. Foxwoods Resort Casino has begun exploring a relocation to the Gallery complex on 9th and Market streets, according to a recent press release.

Last month, Penn completed its second year in the RecycleMania competition. While the national competition will release results on Friday, by Business Services' calculations, the school did not reach event organizers' goals. Spanning a 10-week period, the competition works to increase recycling and reduce waste across college campuses nationwide.

With the economy reeling, the cost of a Penn tuition next year before room, board and other expenses - $34,868 - may be hard to come by. Financial-aid experts are examining ways to make the lengthy application process easier. Sandy Baum, a member of the College Board's "Rethinking Student Aid" study group, said different amounts of information are needed from different types of aid applicants.

Last year, after College sophomore Sara Heinze's close family friend, four-year-old Alexa, passed away from complications after being treated for neuroblastoma, she began to think about what she could do to help. As president of her high-school athletic association, Heinze helped organize a "change drive," that raised about $2,000 for a three-day breast-cancer walk by collecting small change from students.

A 22-year-old man unaffiliated with the University was stabbed at around 2:15 a.m. Saturday on the 200 block of South 44th Street, according to Philadelphia Police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore. Responding to a call, Penn Police found that the complainant had been stabbed in the abdomen by a taxi driver.

The total number of crimes in the Penn Patrol Zone in March 2009 decreased 32 percent from the total in the same month last year, dropping from 78 to 53. The total number of crimes in the year 2009 is down 25 percent from this point in time last year, from 212 to 159.

According to two professors at Penn's School of Medicine, more exercise may reduce a woman's risk of developing breast cancer - and, in a new study, they plan to test this hypothesis. Led by Epidemiology professor Kathryn Schmitz and Hematology/Oncology professor Susan Domchek, the study will take about four years to complete.

The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently upheld a 2007 decision by a Philadelphia trial court mandating that Penn pay Mark Helpin, former chairman of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, $4.04 million for breaching their employment contract. The lawsuit has been ongoing since 2005, when Helpin sued the University alleging he was forced to resign in 2004 after he was reassigned to a different position and his salary was reduced, a breach of his contract, he contended.

When Penn students sign up for classes next year, they may have to not only decide which courses to take, but also whether to register to vote in the next election. That is the goal of the Student Voter Opportunity to Encourage Registration (VOTER) Act, introduced into Congress last month by Sen.

Though it was early on a rainy Friday morning, the students piling into Irvine Auditorium were smiling. They were the high school-seniors lucky enough to receive acceptances for Penn's class of 2013 - and on Friday, they came in huge numbers to Penn Previews, hoping to see what the University is all about.

For some potential Penn applicants, dropping the standardized testing requirement may result in the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. A new study conducted by Princeton University sociology professor Thomas Espenshade and statistical programmer Chang Chung suggests that if colleges entirely dropped SAT or ACT testing as application requirements, more Latino, black, working-class or socio-economically disadvantaged students would be admitted into selective universities.

Penn professors' involvement in the Obama administration didn't stop at the transition team, as evidenced by the announcement of several new appointments last week. Psychiatry professor Thomas McLellan will become the deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, according to a press release from the White House.