Administration
Penn students, community raise over $56,000 for 2021 graduate struck by car near campus
Dennis Ronel's accident prompted an outpouring of support from family, friends, and Penn alumni, and reignited criticisms of pedestrian safety on Penn's campus.
Penn’s Gene Therapy Program expands operations with lease from Discovery Labs
Penn's Gene Therapy Program signed a lease with Discovery Labs, a company that leases biopharma space for life science research, on May 25, significantly expanding its life science research capacity.
Penn reappoints Vijay Kumar as Engineering Dean through June 2027
“The world needs more engineers, and I am proud to be Dean of a school that graduates outstanding engineers who are poised to have a tremendous impact on the world,” Kumar wrote in an emailed statement to the DP.
Penn will require faculty, staff, postdocs to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Aug. 1
Penn is the fourth Ivy League institution — following Brown, Columbia, and Yale — to require that its employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Penn eases summer COVID-19 campus and travel restrictions, upholds testing requirements
The updated guidelines remove restrictions on Penn-affiliated travel, allow departments to host visitors on campus, and permit the use of on-campus spaces.
Ten Penn seniors receive $100,000 in funding for community and social impact projects
The prizes are awarded annually to graduating seniors to encourage them to design engagement projects that will make a positive difference in the world in their first year after college.
Penn’s required sophomore housing policy causes off-campus landlords to drop rent prices
Some off-campus housing locations are struggling to fill vacancies as Penn's policy requiring sophomores to live in campus housing takes effect for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Philosophy professor Karen Detlefsen to serve as vice provost for education
The vice provost for education oversees undergraduate and graduate education at Penn, designing and implementing policies that promote academic excellence, innovation, and interdisciplinary knowledge.
West Philadelphians protest on campus for Penn to return MOVE victim remains to family
The protest was organized by Black liberation advocacy group MOVE, in collaboration with Black Lives Matter Philadelphia, following the discovery that the Penn Museum stored the remains of at least one child killed in the bombing.
All eight Ivy League student governments sign resolution calling for fossil fuel divestment
The resolution considers full divestment to be an end to new investments by Fiscal Year 2021, and complete divestment by Fiscal Year 2025.
Penn issues second apology for housing remains of MOVE bombing victims
Following nationwide coverage and uproar, the University committed to a "respectful, consultative resolution" with the goal of reuniting the remains with the Africa family, according to an email sent Wednesday afternoon to undergraduates from Provost Wendell Pritchett and Penn Museum Director Christopher Woods.
Penn Museum apologizes for housing remains of children killed in MOVE bombing after backlash
Penn Museum apologized for using the remains for research and teaching purposes, rather than returning the remains to the Africa family.
Faculty advocacy group outlines recommendations to govern course end times with new block schedule
Penn's chapter of the American Association of University Professors urged the administration to refrain from encouraging professors to teach through the 10-minute passing time at the end of class meetings.
Suspension of this year’s dean’s list leaves some students disappointed
Some students said that the timing of the announcement, which was made less than two weeks before the end of spring classes, blindsided them, given how hard they worked to receive the award.
Penn received 389% more foreign donations in 2019 than in 2018, DP analysis finds
Penn attributed the increase to the addition of an international development department to The Power of Penn, the University’s most ambitious fundraising campaign which ran for the first time in the fiscal year 2019.
Penn affirms commitment to racial equity as Derek Chauvin trial approaches verdict
Forty-five members of University leadership — including Penn President Amy Gutmann, Board of Trustees Chair David L. Cohen, and Division of Public Safety Vice President Maureen Rush — signed the email affirming Penn's commitment to advancing racial equity.
Penn suspends dean's list for 2020-2021 academic year
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University suspended dean's list awards to keep academic policies consistent with the previous year, in which Penn also adopted an extended pass/fail grading system.
Penn clarifies instructors won’t have to teach for 10 extra minutes under new block schedule
Several faculty members reported unclear communication from administrators about whether they would be required to teach for extra time, and if so, whether they would be compensated.
Penn extends terms of Graduate School of Education and Penn Law deans through 2023
Pam Grossman, dean of the Graduate School of Education, and Ted Ruger, dean of Penn Law School, will now hold their positions until June 30, 2023.