A $10 million gift from the Abramson Family Foundation will help ensure Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center remains on the leading edge of cancer research and care. In recognition of the gift, the lobby of the new Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania will be named in memory of the late Emeritus Trustee Madlyn K. Abramson, ED’57, GED’60, who passed away in 2020 (Almanac April 28, 2020).
“Madlyn Abramson’s impact on Penn Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania simply cannot be overstated,” said J. Larry Jameson, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine. “The Abramson family’s dedication to our institution, our research and care teams, and—most importantly—our patients, has led to the day when we can speak the word, ‘cure.’ This additional commitment means the Abramson Cancer Center will continue to transform care for generations to come, and we are honored to be able to celebrate Madlyn’s enduring vision in such a meaningful way.”
The Abramson Family has a long legacy of championing cancer care and research at Penn Medicine. Over the past several decades, they have given more than $163 million to the Abramson Cancer Center, moved by a vision to support the bold ideas and patient-centered approaches that have propelled the center to its global reputation as a leader in cancer care and research. The Abramsons were also steadfast, early partners in support of Penn’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing $1 million in support of COVID-19 research driven by the Abramson Cancer Center.
“Thanks to passionate leaders and partners like the late Madlyn Abramson, our dear friend and champion, we are even better equipped to galvanize our commitment to preventing, detecting, and treating cancer,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “This generous new gift from the Abramson family inspires us to build on Madlyn’s legacy as a longstanding supporter of Penn Medicine, a believer in the power of our faculty and staff’s bold ideas and compassion that brings hope to patients and their families. Inside the Pavilion and across every part of our health system, we are working together to build on the momentum she helped launch.”
“The Pavilion’s Madlyn K. Abramson Lobby truly reflects the vision of compassionate care held by its beloved namesake, and generations of Penn Medicine patients will now be inspired with the same hope and compassionate healing that Madlyn imbued upon our community,” added Robert H. Vonderheide, director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and John H. Glick Abramson Cancer Center Professor. “By investing in the innovation pipeline, the family’s gift will also fuel scientific discovery at the Abramson Cancer Center.”
The 17-story Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which opened in October 2021, is a 1.5 million-square-foot, future-ready facility featuring 504 private patient rooms and 47 operating rooms. The adaptable building helps accelerate bench-to-bedside research, allowing Penn Medicine to continue driving advanced care and research, including clinical trials for the next generation of personalized cell and gene therapies for cancer and a host of other diseases. The Pavilion also has a dedicated oncology ICU adjacent to the inpatient oncology unit on the same floor—a rarity in the country—which ensures patients receive the right level of care at every moment.
The Stuart Weitzman School of Design has received a new gift from Aedas, a global architecture and design firm, to establish a fellowship for students who are interested in working in Asia.
The gift was spearheaded by Andy Wen, a 1990 graduate of the Weitzman School and current global design principal for Aedas in China. It is the first fellowship at the Weitzman School sponsored by a firm office from Asia. In addition to support for educational costs, the selected fellows will be offered a summer internship at Aedas to gain practical experience alongside their academic preparation.
“Fellowships and internships are essential to giving our graduates abundant choices when they enter the professions,” said Fritz Steiner, Dean and Paley Professor at the Weitzman School of Design. “We are grateful to Andy Wen and Aedas for their generosity, and we hope that this type of partnership serves as a model for other firms who want to support the next generation of leaders across the design fields.”
The Aedas Fellowship will be available on a competitive basis for graduate students entering their second or third year in the Weitzman School’s department of architecture. After the academic year, fellowship recipients will embark on an eight-week internship at an Aedas office in China, reflecting the school’s commitment to providing formative professional opportunities for an increasing number of students, including externships facilitated through the school’s Office of Professional Development and Career Resources.
“Our students greatly benefit from the ability to work with talented professionals and to put their learning into practice, especially when that practice includes exposure to the diverse perspectives of architects and designers across the globe,” said Winka Dubbeldam, chair and Miller Professor of Architecture at the Weitzman School of Design and founder/principal of the firm Archi-Tectonics. “The experiential benefits of this partnership with Aedas brilliantly complement the world-class education students receive at the Weitzman School.”
Since the 1920s, Penn’s undergraduate and graduate architecture programs have attracted successive generations of Chinese students who went on to become influential in Chinese architecture. Mr. Wen, who received his master of architecture degree from the Weitzman School and currently serves on its Dean’s Council, can trace his Penn history to a design competition he won as an undergraduate student at Penn State University. Aedas has regularly recruited graduates from the Weitzman School, with over 25 alumni currently working at offices all over the world.
“Amongst our talent, over 70% have received education abroad,” said Aedas chairman and global design principal Keith Griffiths. “The combination of international exposure and local practice gives us a unique perspective to deliver quality designs. This scholarship represents our commitment to nurture talent with a global vision, and help us in shaping a sustainable built environment.”
“It is an honor to collaborate with my alma mater,” said Mr. Wen. “As a student I was able to study and research in China owing to the scholarship I received, and it has deeply influenced my career. I hope the Aedas Scholarship will enable students to use their knowledge in practice and prepare them for future careers in architecture.”
Anna Weesner, a professor of music in the School of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed the Dr. Robert Weiss Professor of Music.
Dr. Weesner is an internationally-renowned composer whose vocal and instrumental works have been performed by such ensembles as Dolce Suono, Winsor Music, the Daedalus Quartet, the Lark Quartet with Romie de Guise-Langlois, the Cygnus Ensemble with Tony Arnold, the Prism Quartet, and the American Composers Orchestra. A member of the Penn faculty since 1997, Dr. Weesner is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the Virgil Thomson Award for Vocal Music and an Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Guggenheim and Pew fellowships. Her unique compositional voice has regularly been sought out for commissions, and she has released a solo album, Small and Mighty Forces, on Albany Records. A second solo album, My Mother in Love, is forthcoming on Bridge Records. At Penn, Dr. Weesner has served as chair and undergraduate chair of the department of music, among other roles.
George A. Weiss, W’65, HON’14, endowed this chair in memory of his father, Robert Weiss, who was both a research chemist and a concert pianist. George Weiss is a University of Pennsylvania Trustee Emeritus and an emeritus member of the Penn Medicine Board. He is a 1985 recipient of the Alumni Award of Merit, the University’s highest alumni honor. In 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2010, he endowed four Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professorships, adding to his extensive philanthropic legacy of support for Penn’s highest priorities.
Lionel Gold, a former faculty member in Penn Dental’s departments of oral pathology and oral surgery, passed away on December 21, 2021 from complications of heart disease. He was 97.
Born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey, Dr. Gold earned his bachelor’s degree in 1944 and his dental medicine degree in 1948, both from New York University. He completed his residency at the American Oncologic Hospital and was awarded a fellowship in oral pathology at Penn Dental Medicine in 1949. Aside from two years as a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps from 1952 to 1954 (during which he served in Texas and Georgia), he stayed at Penn for the next three decades. In 1950, he joined the Penn Dental faculty as an assistant instructor in oral pathology. He rose through the ranks in this department, becoming an assistant professor in 1959 and an associate professor in 1964. In 1962, Dr. Gold accepted a secondary appointment at Penn Dental, in the department of oral surgery. While at Penn, Dr. Gold was recognized for his teaching – in 1957, he won the Teacher of the Year Award from Penn’s School of Medicine.
In 1966, Dr. Gold became an adjunct professor at Penn to concentrate his energies on a new appointment at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (though he would continue to lecture at Penn until 1982). Dr. Gold made his biggest mark at Jefferson, chairing its oral and maxillofacial surgery department from 1980 until 1998 and mentoring dozens of students, many of whom remember him as an engaging, kind, and helpful mentor. “The greatest privilege I had in my life was being selected for the residency at Thomas Jefferson University under the direction of Dr Gold,” said Joseph Arcuri, a former student of Dr. Gold. “His wealth of expertise and knowledge that he imparted on generations of oral and maxillofacial surgeons will never be forgotten. Even after leaving residency, he was just a phone call away to discuss a surgical or pathology question.”
Dr. Gold also held positions at the New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry and the Hahnemann University Hospital and consulted with the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia. In 2000, he won the Presidential Achievement Award from the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery in recognition of his service to the field. Dr. Gold also published and lectured widely and volunteered as a surgeon with Operation Smile, an organization that repairs children’s cleft palates.
Dr. Gold is survived by his children, Nancy, Kathy, and Patti; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and his brother. A memorial service was held on December 23, 2021.
Franz Maximilian Matschinsky, a former professor in the Perelman School of Medicine’s department of biochemistry and biophysics and “the father of glucokinase research,” passed away on March 31. He was 90.
Dr. Matschinsky was born in 1931 in Breslau, Poland, an agrarian community where he grew up tending his family’s farm. In 1946, in the aftermath of World War II, Dr. Matschinsky and his family were exiled from the Polish region of Silesia and fled to Westphalia, Germany. Living away from farm life for the first time, Dr. Matschinsky devoted himself to academics and graduated from Werl Mariengymnasium (a high school) in 1953. He then went on to graduate from Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany, with a BS in basic medical science in 1955, then from Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich with an MD in 1958. He moved to the United States in 1963 to study at Washington University in St. Louis, where he researched the metabolism of the insulin-producing pancreatic islets and discovered the essential sensing role of glucokinase, work that was crucial for scientific understanding and treatment of diabetes mellitus.
After fulfilling a term professorship at Washington University, Dr. Matschinsky became a visiting professor in biochemistry and biophysics at Penn in 1976, and a full professor there the following year. He was an influential faculty member at Penn, chairing the department of biochemistry and biophysics during the 1980s and serving on a Penn faculty-wide working group on faculty development from 1988-1989. Dr. Matschinsky continued his groundbreaking research at Penn, winning a University Research Fund grant in 1986 to study A High-Field, Wide-Bore In Vivo NMR Spectrometer. In 1983, he became the director of Penn’s Cox Institute of Diabetes Research, which was soon thereafter renamed the Diabetes Research Center and which was the predecessor of today’s Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism. In 1985, he was designated the Benjamin Rush Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, a chair he held until 2004.
Dr. Matschinsky’s achievements were recognized throughout the diabetes research community—in 1995, he won the Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association. In 2020, he won the prestigious Rolf Luft Award from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, which recognized his “discovery that glucokinase (GK) is the sensor controlling glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in the pancreatic beta cell.” According to his award citation, “current knowledge on the role of GK in the beta cell and thereby how GK translates changes in blood glucose concentration into adequate insulin release and thereby regulation of blood glucose homeostasis and why this chain of events is not working properly in diabetes is to a large extent based on work conducted by Dr Matschinsky over the years.” During his final years, Dr. Matschinsky continued to conduct research and publish articles on the biochemical basis of fuel sensing by pancreatic islet cells.
Dr. Matschinsky is survived by his children, Benno, Tanja Matschinsky Ross, and Stephan; his siblings, Rosel Habel and Benno; and seven grandchildren. A memorial service was held for Dr. Matschinsky and his wife, Elke, who predeceased him in 2019, on April 21. Memorial donations may be made to https://www.breastcancer.org/ and the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation (https://www.diabetesresearch.org/).
James (Jim) Pickands III, an emeritus professor in the Wharton School’s department of statistics, passed away on March 9. He was 90.
Born in Euclid, Ohio, Dr. Pickands received his BA from Taft University, then went on to receive a master’s degree from Yale and a PhD from Columbia, where he wrote a dissertation (“Maxima of Stationary Gaussian Processes”) in 1965 under eminent statistician Simeon Berman. After graduating, Dr. Pickands served in the U.S. Army in Maryland. He joined Wharton’s faculty in 1969 as an associate professor of statistics and operations research, where he was considered an asset to the department. While at Wharton, he built a reputation as a highly regarded mathematical statistician and made seminal contributions to the study of extreme values; he published and lectured widely on the Central Limit Theorem and on Gaussian processes. He mentored junior faculty and PhD students with a theoretical bent and advised several students’ dissertations. Dr. Pickands was also an involved member of Penn’s faculty, serving on multiple University Council committees throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He was promoted to a full professor in 1984; twelve years later, he retired and took emeritus status.
Dr. Pickands is survived by his wife, D. Morgan; his first wife, Nancy McCulloch; his daughter, Holly Pickands McLaughlin; his step-children, Jill Lydia Kahlenberg and Jason Wesley Smith; his siblings, Maude (Charles) Thompson, Sarah (Richard Dutton), and Martin Pickands; two grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren; and many other relatives. A military burial will be held in the undetermined future.
Almanac appreciates being informed of the deaths of current and former faculty and staff members, students and other members of the University community. Call (215) 898-5274 or email almanac@upenn.edu.
However, notices of alumni deaths should be directed to the Alumni Records Office at Suite 300, 2929 Walnut St., (215) 898-8136 or email record@ben.dev.upenn.edu.
The following agenda is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Any member of the standing faculty may attend SEC meetings and observe by contacting Patrick Walsh, Executive Assistant to the Senate, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 3–5 p.m. EDT Annenberg Public Policy Center–The Agora (202 S. 36th St.)
Reception on Annenberg Plaza Tent until 6 p.m.
At the University Council meeting on Wednesday, April 27, the chairs of the University Council committees presented their report highlights during a virtual meeting on BlueJeans Events. Reports included the following committees:
Accomplishments made toward this year’s goals as well as future charges for each committee were discussed. See the 2021-2022 Year-End Reports supplement to read the full reports.
Faculty Senate Chair Bill Braham was welcomed by Lizann Boyle Rode, associate vice president in the Office of the University Secretary, to discuss the University Council focus issues for the 2022-2023 school year.
Proposed topics emerged from a variety of sources, including Faculty Senate and work conducted by the University Council committees. Other suggestions for topical issues to be discussed are welcomed.
Patrick Walsh, PPSA Chair, said the PPSA Executive Board and its representatives to University Council committees recommend the following issues be considered as focus issues for the 2022-2023 year:
This was the last University Council meeting of the semester. The next University Council meeting will take place in September. For more information, visit https://secretary.upenn.edu/univ-council.
On Thursday, May 12, there will be meetings of the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Observers may attend the public meetings via conference phone. The Budget & Finance Committee and the Executive Committee meeting agendas will be available on May 12 at https://secretary.upenn.edu/trustees-governance/open-trustee-meeting.
Due to building capacity limitations, in-person attendance is limited to 20 observers. People not directly involved in the presentation are encouraged to use the dial-in option, also available on May 12 on the website.
Anyone wishing to attend a public committee meeting can find the attendee link on the Secretary’s website, https://secretary.upenn.edu/trustees-governance/open-trustee-meeting, on the day of the meeting. Agenda and call-in information will be posted at https://secretary.upenn.edu/trustees-governance/open-trustee-meeting.
Please contact the Office of the University Secretary at (215) 898-7005 or ofcsec@pobox.upenn.edu with questions regarding Trustee meetings or your attendance plans.
Read the Council 2021-2022 Year-End Reports supplement.
Penn will honor the following graduate and professional student leaders on Friday, May 13 from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Graduate Student Center. The Penn community is invited to attend the awards ceremony; RSVP at www.gsc.upenn.edu/events.
Each of these honorees has volunteered their time to improve life at Penn for their fellow grad students, and the Penn campus is a better place for their efforts.
Sarah Gzesh, a PhD student in social welfare in the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), was recently nominated by SP2, and subsequent selected by a faculty committee, to receive the 2022-23 Marymount Fellowship. This fellowship provides a $5,000/year award and can be renewed for an additional 2 years.
The Marymount Fellowship was established by an anonymous donor to support a graduate or professional student at Penn who is an alumnus/a of one of the Marymount Colleges.
Mx. Gzesh is passionate about exploring how identity-based supports provide corrective experiences for past attachment ruptures, embodied oppression, and complex trauma. Their research goal is to expand definitions of family systems within the field of social welfare to harness cultural wealth embedded in LGBTQ+ communities, and to use research-informed practice and practice-informed research to improve clinical interventions for transitional age youth.
Congratulations to recipients of the 2022 Penn Prize for Teaching Excellence by Graduate Students. Each year, graduate students are nominated by Penn undergraduate and graduate students for their profound impact on teaching at Penn.
This year’s call for nominees yielded 188 nominations for 103 graduate student instructors representing nine of Penn’s twelve schools. The selected students represent the Annenberg School for Communication, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Nursing, and Perelman School of Medicine. A reception honoring these recipients was held on April 14.
Beans Velocci, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Arts and Sciences’ department of history and sociology of science (HHS), has received the John D’Emilio LGBTQ History Dissertation Award from the Organization of American Historians (OAH). The award is given annually for the best PhD dissertation in U.S. LGBTQ history.
Dr. Velocci’s dissertation, Binary Logic: Race, Expertise, and the Persistence of Uncertainty in American Sex Research, studies American scientific research into sex between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. In it, they argue that researchers in zoology, eugenics, and transgender medicine advanced ideas about binary sex—often in contrast to the uncertainty of sex in the subjects they studied—to naturalize sexual taxonomies. The OAH press release described the dissertation as “a singular contribution to LGBT history, offering an energetic and constantly surprising contribution to scholarship on sex, science, and U.S. history.”
Dr. Velocci, who received their PhD at Yale University, will join the Penn faculty as an assistant professor in HSS on July 1. Their research focuses on knowledge production in the realms of sex, gender, and sexuality, using queer, transgender, and feminist methods to interrogate classification systems and how they become regarded as biological truths.
Founded in 1907 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, the Organization of American Historians is the largest professional organization dedicated to the teaching and study of U.S. history.
A major Graduate School of Education (GSE) construction project will connect and expand two adjacent 1965 buildings, significantly increasing the school’s square footage and substantially reconfiguring the existing space. A groundbreaking ceremony this week officially launched the construction phase of the project.
About 100 people attended the April 19 event, held in a tent in the courtyard next to the buildings at Walnut and 37th Streets, just off Locust Walk.
Heralding a “groundbreaking future for groundbreaking educators,” Interim President Wendell Pritchett noted that this is the first major expansion since GSE moved into the building at 3700 Walnut St. in 1966, a year after the complex was constructed. “The world has changed drastically in that time and so have our approaches to education.”
When Pam Grossman became GSE dean in 2015, the school was already “bursting at the seams,” she said, and she set her sights on an expansion and renovation, starting the planning and fundraising in 2017. The school’s student population has doubled to 1,400 in the two decades since 3700 Walnut St. was remodeled in 2001. As a result, the workspaces for the GSE community have been scattered across and beyond campus.
“It was clear that our 1965 building with its small classrooms and limited student space no longer matched the great ambitions of Penn GSE,” Dean Grossman said. “The expansion is going to create cutting-edge learning spaces for our students—and fulfills our vision of a ‘One Penn GSE’ by bringing our community together in a single building here in the heart of the University of Pennsylvania campus, where our students, faculty, and staff can collaborate in new ways.”
The building expansion is coming at a critical time for educators and education, Dean Grossman said, and also for Penn GSE, which was ranked as the top graduate school of education in the nation this year by U.S. News and World Report.
“We stand here today in a world we could not have imagined when this project began. At this moment, I would argue that preparing educators for what lies ahead is one of the most important undertakings facing higher education,” Dean Grossman said.
“I think we’re only beginning to realize the full impact of the past two years on our educational landscape. Young people are struggling. Teachers are struggling, leaders are struggling, and the very future of public education feels like it’s at stake,” she said. “So now is the time to reimagine education and reinvest in educators.”
Construction for the $35.6 million project will start in May and is expected to be completed in August 2023, for fall occupancy. The central four-story building at 3700 Walnut St. will be linked with nearby Stiteler Hall, former home of the political science department. The new construction will be 16,200 square feet, including an expansion into a portion of the courtyard, and the renovated area 16,900 square feet, for a total of 33,100 square feet.
In addition to consolidating the two buildings, the project will create a new two-story glass entrance, provide additional collaboration space, make the buildings accessible, and create a new home for Catalyst @ Penn GSE, the center for global education and innovation now at 3440 Walnut Street. The buildings also will house instructional laboratories, mixed-use classrooms, and offices.
Young people are facing a complex future that will require lifelong learning to keep up with an accelerated pace of change, Dean Grossman said. Students and teachers will need support to navigate the impacts of racial injustice and political polarization, and to develop tools to foster inclusion and civic dialogue, she said, and educational leaders need to be innovative and entrepreneurial and work across boundaries to get students what they need.
“At Penn GSE, we prepare educators for the future,” said Dean Grossman. “Our expanded building will bring together the future teachers, leaders, researchers, policy makers, counselors, and innovators who have to work together as they prepare to reinvent education and change the lives and trajectories of learners of all ages.”
Doug Korn, chair of the Penn GSE Board of Advisors, said this is a “pivotal moment” for GSE that will impact learners for generations to come.
“The building expansion will provide a beautiful home for Penn GSE in its second century and position the School to continue to play an important role in changing the lives of millions of people for the better through education,” said Mr. Korn, who graduated from the Wharton School in 1984.
During this period of construction, some class schedules will shift and faculty and staff will be accommodated through flexible scheduling, hoteling, and hybrid work as needed.
Change and evolution are fundamental in education, Interim President Pritchett said, and require new tools, new technologies, and new social climates. The building expansion and renovation will ensure students are immersed in educational innovation, he said, allowing GSE to better prepare students who will catalyze policy and practice.
Interim President Pritchett noted that the new structure features many windows, recalling a quotation by journalist Sydney Harris: “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.”
“Education should not merely just reflect our own beliefs and the current state of society back at us. Education must bring light to the dark corners of our world. It should illuminate our minds and help us envision new ways to create better societies for all,” said Interim President Pritchett, who is on GSE’s faculty as the James S. Riepe Presidential Professor of Law and Education.
“That’s why we have a lot of windows. This building is going to embody that idea in form and function. It’s going be a landmark of learning, a launchpad for passionate educators who create windows to a better future.”
Philip Chen, principal and president of Ann Beha Architects in Boston, said the entrances to the existing buildings currently face inward to the courtyard and the new design intentionally changes that perspective.
“The GSE mission is the exact opposite of that posture. It’s a school that’s passionate about engaging in the campus, about engaging other schools, about engaging the city, and extending their influence through Philadelphia and really throughout the world,” Mr. Chen said. “This building, this project, not only reflects that engagement, but it brings everybody together here in one facility, into a new home, that’s accessible, sustainable, flexible, connective, and collaborative.”
Adapted from a Penn Today article by Louisa Shepard, April 21, 2022.
As the undergraduate and graduate classes of 2022 graduate from Penn, there is a wide array of virtual events to celebrate their accomplishments. Listed below is the date, time, and location of each school’s individual graduation ceremony, a link to more information about each ceremony (at which can be found, if provided, a link to an online livestream of the event), and the names of each ceremony’s guest speaker (if applicable).
With the fast-changing nature of events during the time of COVID-19, this information is subject to change. For the latest information, visit https://commencement.upenn.edu/ceremonies/school-ceremonies.
University of Pennsylvania 266th Commencement
School of Arts and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
https://www.college.upenn.edu/graduation-ceremony
Amna Nawaz, C’01, PBS NewsHour
Graduate Division, School of Arts and Sciences
https://www.sas.upenn.edu/graduate/
https://www.lps.upenn.edu/students/graduation
Sunil Budhrani, C’95, George Washington School of Medicine
National Constitution Center, 525 Arch Street
https://www.fels.upenn.edu/
Patrick J. Murphy, former United States Under Secretary of the Army
https://graduation.wharton.upenn.edu/
Scott Mills, W’90, BET
https://graduation.wharton.upenn.edu/
Alex Gorsky, WG’96, Johnson & Johnson
https://graduation.wharton.upenn.edu/
https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/events/2022-communication-major-graduation-ceremony
Jo Piazza, C’02, author and journalist
https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/events/2022-annenberg-doctoral-program-graduation
https://www.dental.upenn.edu/about-us/commencement/commencement-ceremony-information/
Stuart Weitzman School of Design
https://www.design.upenn.edu/
Julian Brave NoiseCat, activist and writer
https://onepenn.gse.upenn.edu/student-services/commencement
Sarita Brown, Excelencia in Education
School of Engineering and Applied Science
https://events.seas.upenn.edu/commencement/ugrad-2022/
https://events.seas.upenn.edu/commencement/masters-2022/
https://events.seas.upenn.edu/commencement/doctoral-2022/
Academy of Music, 240 S Broad St
https://www.law.upenn.edu/newsevents/calendar.php#!view/event/event_id/65946
Kimmel Center, 300 S Broad St
https://www.med.upenn.edu/
Vanessa Northington Gamble, M'78, G'84, GR'87, George Washington University
Smilow Center for Translational Research
https://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/bgs-graduation-2022.html
https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/news-events/annual-events/commencement/
Sheila Burke, Harvard Kennedy School
School of Social Policy & Practice
https://www.sp2.upenn.edu/academic-resources/#commencement
Barbara Ferrer, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
https://www.vet.upenn.edu/about/penn-vet-events-calendar/commencement-2022
Heather Fowler, V’10, National Pork Board
Please join the Models of Excellence team in congratulating our 2022 honorees. The Penn community is grateful for their outstanding efforts toward the University’s mission in education, research, and public service.
Penn’s Models of Excellence Awards program has recognized the outstanding accomplishments of the University’s staff members since 1999. In 2022, the Models of Excellence program honors 10 outstanding individuals and 12 teams from schools and centers across the University.
To view a commemorative video, visit https://vimeo.com/702977181.
The video features staff member interviews, as well as images of the 22 Models of Excellence, Pillars of Excellence, Model Supervisor, and Supporting Penn Through COVID-19 and Return to Campus Work honorees.
Learn more about the contributions of the 2022 Models of Excellence program honorees by downloading an electronic copy of the special 2022 Models of Excellence keepsake book.
In addition to honoree photos and quotations about their contributions, throughout this guide you will also find images of sculptures and artwork throughout campus that represent strength while reminding us of the beauty that inspires us all.
For more information, please visit www.hr.upenn.edu/models or contact models@hr.upenn.edu.
—Division of Human Resources
4 Layer by Atomic Layer – MOCVD Growth for a Carbon Neutral Society; a symposium to honor Russell Dupuis and Daniel Dapkus, recipients of the 2022 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering; 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/BenFranklinMedalEESymposium (Penn Engineering).
7 Typological Drift: Emerging Cities in China; documents the impact of the Chinese culture on the development of city types in China in the past four decades, leading to surprising urban realities that often escape normative urban theories; 8 a.m.; online webinar; register: https://yoopay.cn/event/60132228 (City and Regional Planning).
10 CLALS Graduate Research Symposium; graduate students who received the 2021 CLALS Summer Research Grant will share their ongoing research; noon-2 p.m.; room 473, McNeil Building; RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/clals-symposium-inperson; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/clals-symposium-zoom (Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies).
Online and in-person events. Info: https://www.penn.museum/calendar.
6 Virtual Global Guide Tour: Africa Galleries; 2:30 p.m.
7 Asia Galleries Tour; 11 a.m.
Global Guide Tour: Asia Galleries; 2:30 p.m.
8 Mexico & Central America Gallery Tour; 11 a.m.
Global Guide Tour: Middle East Galleries; 2:30 p.m.
4 Relax with Goats with LGBT Center, Career Services and the Philly Goat Project; study break during finals featuring goats from the Philly Goat Project; 1-3 p.m.; patio, LGBT Center (LGBT Center).
3 Virtual Classes of Character Stacks; Marton Hablicsek, Leiden University; 3:30 p.m.; room 4C4, DRL (Mathematics).
4 Designer Quantum Materials for New Sensing Paradigms; Shengxi Huang, Penn State University; 3:30 p.m.; room A4, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).
Iconic Artists, Iconic Images: Leonardo, Picasso, Warhol; Jo Ann Caplin, Center for Contemporary Writing; 5:30 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://libcal.library.upenn.edu/event/9111344 (Penn Libraries).
Online webinars. Info: https://www.dental.upenn.edu/news-events/events/.
5 Cutting One’s Teeth in the Development and Commercialization of Oral Health Technology; Eugene Ko, oral medicine; noon.
Unless noted, in-person events at room 101, PCPSE. Info: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/events.
3 Diversity, Faultlines and Team Work in Random Groups; Ornella Darova, economics; 12:30 p.m.; room 203, PCPSE.
Unions and Social Capital in the United States; Isaac Rabbani, economics; 3:30 p.m.
4 Cognitive Ability and Unintended Pregnancy Inequality; Agustin Diaz, economics; noon.
5 Taxation and Household Decisions: An Intertemporal Analysis; Maurizio Mazzocco, University of California Los Angeles; 3:30 p.m.; room 100, PCPSE.
6 Population Aging, Fiscal Space and the Interest-Growth Differential; Felipe Ruiz Mazin, economics; noon.
This is an update to the May AT PENN calendar, which is online now. To submit an event for a future calendar or update, send the salient details to almanac@upenn.edu.
Below are the Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Society and Crimes Against Property from the campus report for April 18-24, 2022. View prior weeks’ reports. —Ed.
This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety and includes all criminal incidents reported and made known to the University Police Department for the dates of April 18-24, 2022. The University Police actively patrol from Market St to Baltimore and from the Schuylkill River to 43rd St in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police. In this effort to provide you with a thorough and accurate report on public safety concerns, we hope that your increased awareness will lessen the opportunity for crime. For any concerns or suggestions regarding this report, please call the Division of Public Safety at (215) 898-4482.
Unsecured firearm stolen from locker room
Complainant inappropriately touched by unknown offender
Wallet taken out of pocketbook by unknown offender
Cryptocurrency transferred to an unauthorized account
Unsecured bike stolen from basement
Offender signed complainant’s name without authorization
Complainant threatened by known offender
Offender attempted to demand money
Residents entered, 2 Xboxs, laptop, and jewelry taken
Merchandise removed without payment/Arrest
Merchandise removed without payment/Arrest
Merchandise removed without payment/Arrest
Automobile left running and stolen
Window shattered and cash stolen
Merchandise removed without payment/Arrest
Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 6 incidents (2 aggravated assaults, 1 assault, 1 indecent assault, 1 rape, and 1 robbery) were reported for April 18-24, 2022, by the 18th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th St & Market St to Woodland Avenue.
University of Pennsylvania students, faculty, and staff can now stream more than 500 iconic films in the Criterion Collection through the Kanopy video platform. The Criterion Collection, established in 1984, is a continually growing array of award-winning and notable classic and contemporary films from around the world.
“The Criterion Collection’s global scope and cultural importance make it an essential addition to our selection of streaming films available to Penn students, faculty, and staff,” said Brigitte Weinsteiger, Associate Vice Provost for Collections and Scholarly Communications at the Penn Libraries.
Criterion selections are wide-ranging; the collection’s online materials state that each addition must only be “an exemplary film of its kind,” whether it is “an auteur classic, a Hollywood blockbuster,” or “an independent B horror film.” Films are presented as they were intended to be seen in their theatrical release, uncut and in their original aspect ratio.
“The Criterion Collection is by far the most popular and most frequently requested category of films on the Kanopy platform,” says Charles Cobine, cinema and media studies librarian at the Penn Libraries. With the addition of this collection to Penn’s Kanopy subscription, patrons can now view films from Jean-Luc Godard, Ingmar Bergman, Chantal Akerman, Satyajit Ray, Agnès Varda, and Rainer Maria Fassbinder, and titles including Paris is Burning, Grey Gardens, the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night, David Lynch’s Eraserhead and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, My Dinner with Andre, Pedro Almodóvar’s Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s House.
Due to streaming license agreements, the selection of films available on Kanopy does not mirror exactly what is included in an individual home subscription to The Criterion Channel; in particular, new films are typically not available through Kanopy.
This collection joins tens of thousands of other feature films and documentaries offered to the Penn community through platforms like Academic Video Online, Projectr EDU, and Docuseek. Patrons can also stream oral histories, video interviews, and other niche content through Franklin, the Penn Libraries’ catalog.
Penn students, faculty, and staff are invited to start streaming films from the Criterion Collection on Kanopy using any of the following methods. You can stream at no additional cost to you, the viewer!
The Kanopy app is available on iOS devices, Android phones and tablets, and most smart TVs.
Please note that Kanopy access is restricted to current Penn students, faculty, and staff. Affiliated employees with PennKey access to other Penn Libraries electronic resources—from the University of Pennsylvania Health System (HUP, Pennsylvania, and Presbyterian Hospitals) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—are also eligible to create accounts. Alumni are not eligible to access this resource due to licensing terms. For more information, visit the Penn Libraries’ guide to accessing electronic resources.
Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Security, Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy
The end of the school year is in sight, and you may be spending time off-campus or even out of the area. Make sure that you can access your PennKey-protected data.
Know your PennKey and PennKey password. Ensure you have the information needed to use your security questions if you need to reset your PennKey password online if necessary. People often have this information saved in their browsers, but you should know your PennKey and PennKey password or have it saved in your password manager.
Confirm that Two-Step verification will work if you are out of the country or in an area with poor or non-existent data or data or Wi-Fi connection. It is recommended that you have the Duo Mobile application on your smartphone.
Using Duo Mobile means that a data or Wi-Fi connection is not required to generate a Two-Step verification code. Before leaving, you can also access your Two-Step profile and generate twenty single-use codes, which you can use if you do not have access to your smartphone.
If you are bringing your computer with you, make sure that you use a password on the device and have the computer set to lock when it goes to sleep.
For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/security/news-alerts#One-Step-Ahead.
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