Before her graduation from high school, Tariro Mupombwa had never owned a passport. With a retired mother and a father who passed away in 2000, Mupombwa spent all of her youth in Kadoma, Zimbabwe. And by her senior year, Mupombwa had given little serious thought to studying abroad.

The University announced Tuesday that Marjorie Jeffcoat, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, will step down from her position on July 1. She will be replaced by Interim Dean Thomas Sollecito until a permanent replacement is found. Jeffcoat has served as the dean since 2003 and is credited with strengthening the school's academic and financial standing.

After five months of campaigning in every state and territory in the nation, the race for the Democratic nomination is finally over and Illinois Senator Barack Obama has won the nomination over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton. Clinton will concede the nomination and endorse Obama on Saturday.

Philadelphia's Legendary Blue Horizon boxing arena has hosted the stars of "Rocky" and some of the greatest middle-weight fighters of all-time - but its most recent competitors were amateur boxers from Penn's graduate school community. The latter visitors were not due to an out-of-control rivalry between the various graduate schools.

With temperatures on the rise, the public has begun to swarm local movie theaters - but for some, the onset of the summer movie season means the hard work has just started as filming crews get to work on next summer's blockbusters. This June, Penn is slated to become one of the filming locations for the highly anticipated DreamWorks feature film, "Transformers 2.

This Saturday, the Department of Dermatology and the University's Abramson Cancer Center will conduct free skin screenings to determine the chance of developing skin cancer. From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., dermatology specialists will see patients by appointment only at the Department of Dermatology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

In a press conference yesterday, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter outlined his new initiatives to fight homelessness in the city. Nutter's plan includes a partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority to create 700 new housing units for homeless Philadelphia residents.

Drexel University announced last week that it will begin a graduate studies program in Sacramento, Calif. This program is just the first in what Drexel hopes will be a network of graduate campuses across the country. Other target cities for similar programs - pending the success of the Sacramento program - include Phoenix, Miami, Los Angeles and Dallas or Houston.

Standing before a sea of excited students in black robes in the middle of a sunny Franklin Field, University President Amy Gutmann began the 252nd Commencement Ceremony by warning the graduates that, before receiving their diplomas, "you must prove yourselves worthy of your Penn degrees by performing one last task: Endure our speeches.

From business founders to marathon runners, the Class of 2012 will bring a host of talented students to Penn. And now incoming Nursing freshman Jaclyn Gage can add another skill to the class roster - bird calling. Gage recently won second place in Piedmont High School's 43rd-annual Bird-Calling Contest, a well-known competition in which groups of students imitate birds of their choosing.

For Penn's graduating seniors, stepping out into the real world may be tougher than expected. According to a survey by Vault.com - a leading media company that focuses on inside career information - only 50 percent of graduating seniors have received job offers this year.

University commencement speakers range from public officials to TV celebrities this year, with many colleges seeming intent on procuring big-name speakers to address their graduating classes. But students noticed that their graduation speakers and ceremonies focused on political issues - sometimes excessively - because the country is in the midst of a highly contested election.

A small crowd gathered at the Paul Peck Alumni Center at Drexel University yesterday to hear Melissa Thomas, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, speak about the effectiveness of international debt-relief programs in improving the quality of life in third-world countries.

The recent shooting of Philadelphia police Sergeant Stephen Liczbinski has spurred city residents and legislators alike to take another look at gun control in Philadelphia and across the state. Last week, Mayor Michael Nutter and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell urged members of Congress to vote for the reenactment of the federal assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004.

College students have long been known as some of the most sleep-deprived people in the nation, but one recent study found that sleepiness may be the least of our problems. Sleeping too much or too little is associated with higher rates of obesity, smoking and alcohol use, according to a study released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As hotels see a deluge of demand for lodging at this time of year, visitors may have a hard time squeezing into a room in on-campus hotels. With commencement ceremonies taking place at roughly the same time of year for high schools and universities alike across the city, last-minute bookings may no longer be a viable option.

Former Law student Joseph Cho's latest psychiatric evaluation found him mentally incompetent to face charges of attempted murder. Cho, 32, allegedly fired 15 rounds from a 9 mm handgun into the door of his downstairs neighbors, two male Drexel University students, whom he believed to be spies.