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.

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.

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.

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.

Century Club

As the University celebrates 100 years of women’s sports, a handful of prominent former student-athletes recall their athletic triumphs and hurdles—and the paths they both followed and paved.

The Raven and Rico Worl

When the United States Postal Service tapped him to design a “Forever” stamp, Rico Worl took another step in his metamorphosis from cultural anthropologist to commercial artist.

Choice and Change

We know what we should do when it comes to leading healthier and happier lives. But too often we default to easier, more pleasurable wants. Behavioral scientist and Wharton professor Katy Milkman is determined to help us change for the better—and for good.