Jul | Aug 2019
Volume 117, No. 6
FEATURES
Penn Relays at 125
The country’s oldest and largest track meet continues to draw world-class athletes, big crowds, an army of loyal volunteers, and a whole lot of Jamaicans.
By Dave Zeitlin
Running the Show
Nkechi Okoro Carroll C’98 worked as an economist for 14 years before making her mark as a writer in Hollywood. Now she has the top job on the CW network’s All American. One of the very few women of color to hold the title showrunner, she’s determined to broaden opportunities for others and to diversify the medium’s characters and messages—while building her own TV empire along the way.
By Molly Petrilla
Native Pride
For 25 years, Penn’s small Native American community has tried to grow its presence on campus, through lively powwows, Ivy League conferences, and student and faculty outreach. But trying to shed the “feeling of being invisible” has been a perennial struggle.
By Dave Zeitlin
College Admissions in Crisis
Admissions Dean Eric Furda C’87 on the Varsity Blues scandal, civil litigation, and rising disgruntlement over the way elite universities select their students.
Interview by Trey Popp
Alumni Weekend 2019
Photos from the festivities.
By Addison Geary
DEPARTMENTS
From the Editor | Milestones and more.
Letters | Cover story controversy continued.
Views
Notes from the Undergrad | “I’m their part-time Indian.”
Alumni Voices | One of the 41,615.
Elsewhere | Buildings under a big sky.
Expert Opinion | Proposed: an algorithmic bill of rights.
Gazetteer
Commencement | “Hopelessness is the enemy of justice.”
Money Matters | NFL’s Brandon Copeland W’13 tackles financial literacy.
Campus | Preview of entrepreneurial center Tangen Hall.
Heard on Campus | Bret Stephens and Peter Beinart on Israel’s future.
Leadership | Morris Arboretum’s Paul Meyer steps down.
Gift | $30 million to Kleinman Center for sustainable energy transition.
Awards | 2019 President’s Engagement and Innovation Prize winners.
Heard on Campus | Silfen Forum focuses on opioid crisis.
Gift | $15 million for Analytics at Wharton to coordinate big data initiatives.
Sports | Lacrosse’s historic season; crew’s surprise championship.
Arts
Books | Manic erudition. Figuring.
Literary History | Penn Libraries’ Whitman at 200 contains multitudes.
Architecture | CAC explores preservation in a changing climate.
Film | Documentary editor Nancy Novack C’87’s wide-ranging career.
Alumni
Alumni couple’s Power of Faces project highlights refugees’ humanity.
Miranda Wang C’16 has a plan to make plastics recycling pay.
Nicole George-Middleton C’97 champions women in music.
Old Penn | Gladys Tantaquidgeon CTT’29