Nov | Dec 2021
Volume 120, No. 2
Features
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. By the Gazette Editors
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. By JoAnn Greco
“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. By David Bradley
Departments
From the Editor | Honoring a compact, theater’s return, anniversary reflections.
Letters | History repeated, and more.
Views
Alumni Voices | “I never had a bad experience.”
Rabbit Hole | Kombucha’s kick.
Expert Opinion | A worker’s place may not be in the home.
Gazetteer
Philanthropy | $5.4 billion finish for the Power of Penn.
Student Honors | Three Churchill Scholars from Penn in Cambridge this year
Convocation | “Your collaboration could one day change the world.”
Heard on Campus | Philadelphia’s case of compulsory vaccination (in 1991).
Performing Arts | Marquee Makeover: At 50, Annenberg becomes Penn Live Arts.
Campus | Some new buildings and centers on the way.
Sports | Men’s basketball’s Jelani Williams has been counting the days.
Sports | Steve Dolan named new director of Penn Relays.
Arts
Calendar
Visual Art | Roberto Lugo’s God Complex at Arthur Ross Gallery
Film Review | Morgan Neville C’89 on Anthony Bourdain in Roadrunner.
Exhibition | Martha Rich GFA’11’s It goes by so fast at Annenberg.
Books | The voices in your head have something to say. Chatter.
Briefly Noted
Alumni
Allison Erlikhman C’09 is all about empowering Disney’s princesses.
Mike McElwain C’01 will be holding his breath for 14 days (metaphorically).
Marc Bookman C’78 wants to kill the death penalty.
Old Penn | Medical dissertations online.