Admission Denied
Naomi Nakano had already experienced discrimination at Penn when she was restricted to the basement of Houston Hall because she was a woman—then she found herself at the center of a storm of protest over the University’s wartime policy of excluding Japanese Americans from admission.
Rebirth on the River
When the Fairmount Water Works was born in the 19th century, its cutting-edge technology and pleasing gardens drew hordes of tourists. Penn alumni working on a $26 million restoration and environmental-education project at the site hope to create a new life for this half-forgotten landmark that helped a city grow.
Homecoming 1999
Homecoming 1999
Award of Merit Recipients
Homecoming 1999
Crowns and Confidences
Thomas Evans was the trusted friend of royalty and a secret diplomat with an eye for beauty. Such are the rewards of dentistry.
Setting the Record Straight
An Interview with Elijah Anderson
High Noon in the ‘hood
Penn sociologist Elijah Anderson writes about life at "ground zero," in the inner city's most blighted areas. In this excerpt from his new book, a reformed drug-dealer turned small-businessman attempts to take back a neighborhood corner from his successor in the drug trade.
From Zip to X
How would-be experimental physicist became a cyber-mogul instead.
Justice in the Bones
When a 15-year-old Philadelphia boy was wrongly accused of rape in a case of mistaken identity, public defender Glenn Gilman C’69 and two Penn anthropologists, Dr. Alan Mann and Dr. Janet Monge Gr’80, combined their expertise to ensure that justice was served.
Work in Progress
From the banks of the Schuylkill River out to 40th Street, a mix of renovation projects and new construction is reshaping the University's academic, residential and commercial spaces.
Asian Notebook
Last summer a Penn English professor and his wife, a University administrator, visited some of the world's saddest places— and made two families very happy.
The Dorm Transformed
From the Quad to the high-rises, Penn undergraduates who live on campus have the opportunity to mingle with professors, get help on math homework, attend concerts—and even classes—without stepping outside their residences.
Treasures & Travesties
Two experts on Penn's architecture talk about the evolution of its West Philadelphia campus—the delights, the dinosaurs and the duds.
Making Their Voices Heard
Heard An Annenberg School-sponsored program designed to use the Internet to help public high-school students learn about the Philadelphia mayoral primary surprised everyone—including the program’s creator.
Squeeze Play
Can the Philadelphia Phillies build a winning team the old-fashioned way? David Montgomery is betting the franchise on it.
Of Things Evil
A century ago, the brutal killing of Law School favorite Roy Wilson White in Powelton Village horrified Philadelphia. But what happened after his death was even crueler.
The Vision Thing
As the National Science Foundation's new director of Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Dr. Ruzena Bacsjy—a Penn computer-science professor noted for her work on robotic perception—must get Congress to see its way to creating greater support for basic research in information technology.
Alumni Weekend 1999
Slideshow
In the Valley of the Shadow of Death 101
Two instructors and 14 students took a literary tour of duty through our bloody century.
The Children’s Crusaders
The child-welfare system in the United States is broken. A group at Penn aims to give it a complete overhaul.
The True Summit
A professor of education and "middle-aged woman mountain climber" reflects on some lessons common to summiting and scholarship.
Resetting the Circadian Clock
The 24-hour circadian clock embedded in our genes is fundamental to life on this planet, says leading sleep researcher Dr. David Dinges—who has spent the past two decades trying to understand how it works and come up with ways to beat it.
Penn & Ink
A reading series at Kelly Writers House is bringing in a stream of alumni poets, fiction writers, journalists, screenwriters, editors, and literary agents back to campus—many for their first time since graduation.
Travels with Tarzan: A Documentary Odyssey
Two filmmakers went on the road with a family-owned circus and found enough human drama outside the ring to rival the snarling tigers, horse-riding bears, and aerial acrobatics within.