Promise and Politics
While the bioethical debate over stem-cell research rages on, Penn scientists are making progress using adult-human and animal stem cells—and hoping for broader future support for studies using embryonic stem cells.
Betting Their Hedges
Hedge funds are risky—and sometimes highly lucrative. A growing number of Penn alumni find that combination irresistible.
Alumni Weekend 2006
Alumni Weekend 2006
Something about Barbaro
After the Kentucky Derby winner’s shocking injury in the second leg of the Triple Crown, his owners—alumni Roy and Gretchen Jackson—turned to Penn’s New Bolton Center to save their beloved horse’s life.
The House that Writers Built
The Kelly Writers House celebrates 10 years as an experimental learning community and literary “sandbox.”
The Reverse Engineer
Forget nature versus nurture. From cooperation to social stigma, morality to mating, evolutionary adaptation is the key to understanding human behavior, says Penn psychologist Robert Kurzban.
“Heaven is a Mixed Neighborhood”
In this excerpt from his new book, Metropolitan Philadelphia, the author describes “the closest thing I have known to a peaceable kingdom.”
Passion Plays
After a long string of smash hits and artistic triumphs in film, Marc Platt C’79 is back with his first love—theater—with the Broadway phenomenon Wicked.
Understanding Pashto
Benedicte Grima Santry spent years in the remote reaches of Afghanistan and Pakistan. What she learned—and now teaches—is invaluable, especially in the wake of 9/11.
Quiet Goes the Don
The late Alan Halpern was more than just a brilliant, groundbreaking editor.
Continental Drift
In his latest work, an atlas of North American English, Penn sociolinguist Bill Labov shows that we are talking more differently from one another.
Intelligent Demise
As the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the Dover school-board case, law alumnus Eric Rothschild demolished the arguments of intelligent design’s proponents—including one fellow Penn grad.
Feet and Faith
A century before intelligent design’s claims to science status wilted under close scrutiny, a Penn commission debunked another popular—and fraudulent—religious movement.
Whence the Money
Penn's ambitions have always strained its (relatively) modest resources. How the University keeps up with the Joneses—and the Harvards, Stanfords, and Yales—in a very expensive neighborhood.
Failing Grades
Two Penn sociologists say higher education is not what it appears, or promises.
The Passion of Paul
The writer once known as Brother Garrett brings a compassionate fervor to his creative-writing classes.
Exile From the Land of Dreams
New Orleans after the storm.
Red & Blue City
A new generation of Penn alumni is shaping New York's political landscape.
Homecoming 2005
Homecoming 2005: Photos from fall’s big weekend. Plus: Alumni Award of Merit citations.
Stuff of Legend
An exhibition at the National Constitution Center celebrates the multifarious personae of Penn’s Founder with objects ranging from the Constitution of the United States to a pair of cufflinks.
Talking Back, Getting Hitched, Speaking Out
In an excerpt from her new memoir, alumna Andrea Mitchell recounts her dustups with power—and love in the time of politics.
The Power of Her Choices
eLIT founder Safia Rizvi defied expectations when she moved to the U.S., earned a Ph.D., and broke off an arranged marriage. Now she’s helping other women overcome barriers.
Is Nothing Profane?
Director/Producer Paul Provenza finds out how far he can take a joke in The Aristocrats.
The Cowbird Variations
Animal behaviorist David White is teasing out the mysteries of cowbirds at the junction of Heredity and Environment.