Welcome to Despair
Through his unorthodox courses, religious studies professor Justin McDaniel is training Penn students how to immerse themselves in literature, disconnect from their phones, build lifelong bonds with classmates … and prepare for the inevitable emotional pain life will bring.
Rules of Engagement
Following a stint advising the US Department of Defense on warfare’s AI-inflected future, political science professor and Perry World House director Michael C. Horowitz is back at the helm of Penn’s “home for global policy engagement.”
Stewarding The Simpsons
In 1997, 25-year-old Matt Selman landed his dream job writing for The Simpsons. He’s still there today as head showrunner, striving to keep the 35-year-old animated series vital and surprising while also hanging on to its humor and heart. But how long will the show go on?
Building Blocks
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia is repairing homes one at a time to strengthen neighborhoods and build generational wealth.
On Highway 67 (and Beyond)
In a varied and decades-long career as a photographer and videographer Charlie Steiner C’68 has traveled around the world. But he still keeps coming back to the 1960s on Penn’s campus, where he got his start.
The New World of Organ Transplantation
Penn’s latest advances and future hopes for saving and improving lives through transplant technologies build on a foundation laid down by pioneering surgeons and scientists going back to the 1960s.
Course Corrections
On the 65th anniversary of the Penn Course Guide, a deep dive into what contemporary Penn undergraduates actually study—and how their choices have changed over time.
Every Bite, Every Day
What one Penn family is doing to raise awareness and research funds for celiac disease—and pursue a cure using mRNA technology pioneered by Drew Weissman.
Homecoming 2024
Our annual photo gallery. Plus: Alumni Awards of Merit and citations.
The Art of Mothering
In her debut book, The Mother Artist, Catherine Ricketts C’09 explores the limitations and creative benefits for mothers who make art. A mother herself, she faced many of the same hurdles as she wrote the book—and she’s not the only alumna (or alumnus) finding both challenge and success navigating the balance between art and caregiving.
The Price They Paid
The last of Penn football’s “Mungermen” recall the painful transition from big-time football to the Ivy League 70 years ago—including a University president’s short-lived “Victory with Honor” campaign, a not-so-harmonious “harmony dinner,” and the unceremonious exits of a legendary football coach and controversial athletic director.
Sculpting a Life Story
From legendary athletes to historical luminaries, sculptor Zenos Frudakis FA’82 GFA’83 has created some monumental works of art.
The Unexpected Entrepreneurs
For 10 years, the President’s Engagement and Innovation Prizes have equipped a select few graduating Penn seniors with a large cash award and faculty mentorship for post-graduation projects designed to make a “positive, lasting difference in the world.” The prizes, unlike anything else in higher education, have catapulted new social entrepreneurs into the world—and created a “community of changemakers” who are leaning on each other (and other alumni) to take their organizations to the next level.
The Instrument Is Yourself
Harvey Finkle SW’61 and the photography of social justice.
Life Hacks
How to beat burnout, get your way, and become a “Perennial.”
The Newcomer Dividend
Wharton’s Zeke Hernandez hopes to bend the immigration debate toward a question rooted in his own research on capital investment and business formation: What do natives stand to gain?
Alumni Weekend 2024
Our annual photo essay.
Making Things Happen
Over the decade since it was launched as a “one-stop shop” for Penn faculty and programs seeking to translate research into products—and with a big help from two blockbuster discoveries—the Penn Center for Innovation has achieved record revenues and made the University a leader in forging partnerships “to move ideas from the inside to the outside.”
Our Policies, Our Health
For more than 40 years—from Bill Clinton’s failed healthcare initiative to Barack Obama’s successful (if long contested) one and on into today’s most pressing issues around equity and best practices—Ruth Katz CW’74 has been instrumental in developing public healthcare policies.
Good Grief
Five years after his two teenage children were killed by a drunk driver, Colin Campbell C’91 is finding new ways to grieve—while helping others deal with bereavement through his new book, support groups, and a one-man show he calls the “feel-bad story of the year.”
Creating Civil Citizens
Penn’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program aims to foster dialogue, civic engagement, community service, and wellness—and both students and faculty are enthusiastically signing on. But the program’s contours can be murky, and its role in bridging campus divisions remains a work in progress.
The Making of Things
Over a decade-long photographic journey, Christopher Payne GAr’96 has explored the world of American manufacturing, from pianos to jet engines, pencils to 3D-printed rockets.
We Should Be Friends
For the past 20 years, Aaron Karo W’01 and Matt Ritter L’05 have been part of a unique friendship tradition called “Man of the Year” with their childhood buddies. Now, the fellow comedians and writers have launched a podcast of the same name to encourage other men to create, maintain, and grow their own friendships.
Admissions in Transition
From test-optional applications, to questions about ChatGPT, to the Supreme Court’s new limitations on considering race and ethnicity, college admissions are in flux. Admissions Dean Whitney Soule dissects the current state of play and how prospective applicants can navigate it.