Jameson emphasizes value of higher education, Penn's achievements in welcome email

Interim Penn President Larry Jameson emphasized the value of higher education in an email to the Penn community Thursday morning.

Jameson’s email welcomed the Penn community back to campus for the new year and reflected on the achievements of the University over the past quarter century. The message also focused on addressing the public’s growing skepticism about the value of higher education in tackling global challenges.

In the message, Jameson described Penn’s emergence “as a leader in innovation in multiple fields,” noting the infrastructural development of Penn’s campus and the expansion of Penn’s financial aid policy through the Quaker Commitment. He also described the challenges he anticipates Penn tackling in 2025, pulling from the University’s strategic framework, “In Principle and Practice,” which references climate change, sustainability, and the impact of artificial intelligence, among other developing fields. 

"Globally, public confidence in all sorts of institutions has diminished," he wrote. "While it is tempting to be defensive, it is more constructive to listen to criticisms, be reflective, and chart a course that will restore trust and support and advance our missions."

In discussing the ways Penn contributes to society, Jameson listed three main areas as evidence. 

First, he expressed that Penn fuels "individual success" and provided the example of the recognition of College and Engineering senior Om Gandhi as a 2025 Rhodes Scholar. 

Jameson also stated that Penn drives "societal progress" and detailed the University's legacy of academic and scientific distinctions, including the MacArthur Fellowship, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, and the Nobel Prize in Medicine, all of which were awarded to students and faculty at the University in recent years.

Thirdly, Jameson wrote that the University works "to ensure that humanity and the planet thrive,” emphasizing Penn's voice in academic discourse around the world as a result of the University "investing broadly, building innovatively, and marshaling the best of [its] interdisciplinary strength for broad impact."

Calling Penn an “imperfect but always self-improving” institution, Jameson urged the Penn community to continue recognizing personal steps toward progress.

“As we return to campus and to class, I encourage you to see and celebrate all the essential ways you contribute to Penn’s academic missions,” he concluded. “Never doubt that your learning, teaching, research, care, and service together compose a powerful force for good in the world.”

In a welcome message during the fall semester, Jameson welcomed students, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral researchers back to campus. In the wake of a semester marked by protests in response to the Israel-Hamas war, his August email described the importance of finding balance that supports "open expression and peaceful demonstrations while ensuring safety and a respectful, inclusive culture, that allows all to thrive."