The Law, The Gospel, and David Skeel
How Penn’s foremost expert on bankruptcy law became one of the most surprising voices in contemporary evangelical Christianity.
Thinking About Ukraine
Penn faculty examine the conflict from multiple perspectives—sometimes clashing, sometimes meshing, and often thought-provoking. Plus: Mike Logsdon C’03’s photographs from Ukraine.
Tim Beck’s Final Brainstorms
Recalling their near-weekly conversations over the two-and-a-half years before mental health pioneer Aaron T. Beck’s death at age 100, the author—possible biographer, irritating interviewer, admiring friend—bears witness to the founder of cognitive therapy’s ceaseless quest to live a “rich full life.”
Squashing the Narrative (and Competition)
Led by a passionate alumnus head coach and an international roster exemplifying the modern University, the Penn men’s squash team enjoyed a historic season while drawing attention—and raucous cheers!—to a sport usually on the fringes of campus life.
The Hunger to End Hunger
As the head of the largest hunger relief organization in the Philadelphia region, George Matysik is passionate about rooting out food insecurity, reducing food waste, and reimagining school lunches. His work ethic and drive were molded during an unorthodox, decade-long journey through Penn.
Rescue Mission
Overstressed, poorly paid, and underappreciated, veterinarians are at increased risk for depression and suicide. Support efforts are underway at peer organizations like Not One More Vet, headed by alumna Carrie Jurney, and at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine.
Covid’s Long Shadow
Beyond the laboratory and bedside, Penn researchers are working to tease out the pandemic’s psychological, economic, and social impacts in areas from childcare to collective memory.
A First-Rate Version of Himself
Loren Eiseley G’35 Gr’37 was associated with no great discoveries in his field of anthropology, “awkwardly shy” and “not very comfortable with students” in the classroom, a disaster as Penn’s provost—and a writer of unmatched brilliance on the natural world and the human condition.
Homecoming 2021
The fall event’s Arts & Culture and other programming—and the Alumni Awards of Merit ceremony—continued to be virtual, but fans were back in the stands at Franklin Field for the football game.
The Timekeeper
As the president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Rachel Bronson oversees its annual exercise in calculating the world’s proximity to annihilation—the Doomsday Clock —and efforts to get the public and political leaders to heed its warning and address the threats of nuclear weapons, climate change, and disruptive technologies.
Compact Fulfilled
As Amy Gutmann enters the final months of her presidency—fresh off her second record-setting fundraising campaign and having steered the University through an unprecedented pandemic—we offer a look at some of the ways Penn has grown and changed as a result of her leadership and the vision she expressed 17 years ago in the Penn Compact. Plus: Rational Exuberance, an interview with the president.
Curtain Up!
After an 18-month hiatus, live theater has returned to the American stage. Alumni active in producing shows on Broadway and elsewhere reflect on the pandemic’s onset, its impact on them and their industry, and what the future holds.
“Things Look Different in Lamplight”
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the publication of The Chaneysville Incident, David Bradley C’72 (aka “The Author Of”) reflects on his acclaimed novel’s genesis and composition—and how the passage of time has made a historical fiction out of a work set in the present looking at the past.
(Re)Introduction to US History
How two Penn professors revamped the entry-level history class for an age of instant information access and endless quarrels over the meaning of America’s past.
Opening Doors
From early education to college prep, three entrepreneurial alumni are forging new paths to support online learning and enrichment.
The Cleveland Comeback
Inspired by his Penn football mentors and his father—a former Quakers’ basketball player—Kevin Stefanski C’04 rocketed through the NFL to become one of the league’s youngest head coaches. Now, after leading the Cleveland Browns to their first playoff win in 26 years, the reigning NFL Coach of the Year hopes to turn the long-tortured franchise into a perennial contender.