Sir Henry Thornton, On and Off the Rails
Knighted by Britain for his work as the Allies’ “railroad czar” in World War I, the Penn alumnus and Pennsylvania Railroad veteran went on to remake the Canadian National Railways before the Great Depression, poor health, and scandal brought him low.
And the Band Played On
For 125 years, the Penn Band has been an omnipresent and energetic presence at sporting events, campus ceremonies, and whenever “Penn is out and about in the community.”
The Outsider’s Insider
If there is a crisis (and there have been a few lately), Andy Slavitt C’88 W’88 knows which expert to bring “in the bubble.” When he’s not taping his award-winning podcast, the former insurance executive and federal administrator has a day job:funding innovation in healthcare for those who need help the most. “I have one thing I care about,” he says. “Making this country better for the people who have been ignored for too long.”
Homecoming 2022
Our annual photo gallery. Plus: Alumni Award of Merit winners and citations.
Drawing Down the Lightning, Making the Moment
On her inauguration day as the University’s ninth president, Liz Magill shared a vision of even greater impact and influence for Penn’s next chapter, picnicked on Shoemaker Green with members of the Penn community and some favorite musicians, and hosted a wide-ranging conversation with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan at a critical time for the institution.
Obstacle Course
The Penn Athletics Wharton Leadership Academy aims to turn varsity athletes into lifelong masters of team dynamics. Among the obstacles? Snowplow parenting, youth sports, self-reinforcing gender stereotypes, and the culture of leader-worship itself. Oh, and possibly a rattlesnake or a freak mudslide.
House of Resiliency
Opened in 1972 as a safe haven and a hub for Black students, Du Bois College House has overcome turmoil and undergone evolution over the last half century. Now, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, what will the next 50 years look like for the small dormitory with big ambitions?
Liz Magill Is Listening (in a Good Way)
Penn’s new president says growing up in Fargo, North Dakota, is the most memorable thing about her, but former colleagues and University leaders would rather talk about her warmth, attention to others and their ideas, and ability to bring groups together for a common goal (though the Midwestern thing is interesting, too, and perhaps related).
Getting it Right(er)
PIK Professors Philip Tetlock and Barbara Mellers have figured out a better way to predict the future. Open minds welcome. Experts, not so much.
Professional Contrarian
A longtime journalist’s new memoir recounts an “alternative” journey through the ever-changing print media landscape.
Museum Men
Three Penn alumni amassed three varied and valuable private collections, then bequeathed them to Philadelphia and the world. But what drove Mütter, Barnes, and Rosenbach?
Crossing Borders
For Efrén Olivares, whose childhood was split between Texas and Mexico, the push to reform US immigration policies and practices is both a marathon and a sprint. He shares his story of legal battles and personal struggles in an emotional new memoir, My Boy Will Die of Sorrow.
Alumni Weekend 2022
A sometimes wet—but welcome!—return.
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.