Friday Morning: Faculty at a 'challenging juncture'

Friday, August 30

Good morning, Penn.

I'm Neema, and I'll be your Friday morning newsletter anchor again this fall. Welcome back!

Mark Wolff was reappointed as dean of the Penn School of Dental Medicine after scrutiny of his tenure, and a new club on campus is promoting a space for aspiring Black healthcare professionals — including future doctors, health politicians, pharmacists, nurses, and dentists.

But first, a letter from the chair of Penn's Faculty Senate addressed ongoing tensions on campus and highlighted three values faculty feel are essential to the University’s academic mission entering the new semester.

SHARE TODAY'S DP DAYBREAK

TODAY'S TOP STORY

Photo by Chenyao Liu

Faculty Senate chair addresses campus unrest, warning of 'challenging juncture'

Faculty Senate Chair and law professor Eric Feldman released a welcome letter on Aug. 27 on behalf of Penn's faculty senate that addressed ongoing tensions on campus and described faculty as being at an “extraordinarily complex and challenging juncture.”

He went on to outline three values essential to the University’s academic mission — shared governance, open expression, and academic freedom. He also attached an agenda for the Executive Committee’s meeting next week, which includes finalizing the hearing lists for the 2024-25 Center for Community Standards and Accountability and the Faculty Grievance Commission as well as finalizing faculty membership on the 2024-2025 Committee on Open Expression.

READ THE FULL STORY

FOUR MORE BIG STORIES

Penn reappointed Mark Wolff for a second term as the Morton Amsterdam Dean of the School of Dental Medicine following DP reporting on faculty criticism of his tenure.

Starting this year, Falk Dining Commons at Hillel will now be open on weekends and will no longer have the $2.75 dining surcharge.

The Daily Pennsylvanian compiled the ultimate guide to navigating the various healthcare, medical, engineering, and science opportunities on campus.

A new club at Penn called Future Black Men in White Coats aims to create a space on campus for aspiring Black healthcare professionals.

OPINION

Photo by Derek Wong

COLUMNIST MAX ANNUNZIATA recalls how faculty failed to mount an effective campaign to preserve their freedom and influence, and outlines how they might strike back this fall.

SPORTS

Penn men's basketball recently announced its 2024-2025 slate of opponents.

TODAY IN DP HISTORY

Photo by Jesse Zhang

In 2022, the DP reported that over 100 protestors interrupted former Penn President Liz Magill minutes into her first-ever Convocation speech, bringing the ceremony to an abrupt end. This week, the DP caught up with Magill's career after an onslaught of protests and accusations of anti-semitism on campus last fall prompted her to resign.

THIS WEEK IN PRINT

Missed this week's print issue? Read the DP's weekly paper online here.

TAKE A BREATHER

Click here to play today’s DP mini crossword, which was constructed by Garv Mehdiratta.

FROM 34TH STREET MAGAZINE

Each year, like clockwork, the disorientation guide time releases their annual Disorientation Guide, giving Penn students a crash course in Penn's history in West Philly. The Disorientation Guide has been going since 1972 and over 50 years later, the pamphlet's pages are filled with testimonies of activism. Street sat down this month to talk to the founders of the Disorientation Guide and this year's board to hear all about the decades of student activism on campus and beyond.

Networking at Penn is ubiquitous. Everyone on this campus is hungry — eager to stake their place professionally and socially. But whether your end goal is an internship at Centerview or you just want to be president of your frat, it might be time for a reality check—your peers aren't just another rung on the ladder up to capital "S" success. Yes that kid in your math class might be able to get you into that darty or that girl in your sorority may or may not be the heiress of that investment bank, but it's high time we start seeing beyond the connections we can provide each other—or else the networking bug gets you sick.

Today's newsletter was copy edited by Mariam Kazmi

Subscribe to all of The Daily Pennsylvanian's newsletters to get today's biggest headlines in your inbox every weekday morning.

Are you enjoying DP Daybreak? Please share any ideas or concerns with us by emailing The Daily Pennsylvanian's Editor-in-Chief Jared Mitovich at mitovich@thedp.com.

DP Daybreak is published Monday through Friday. You can update which newsletters you receive or unsubscribe from all newsletters at any time.