September 29, 2026 Volume 73 Issue 8

Erika H. James has been reappointed as Dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for a second term of five years, through June 30, 2032. The announcement was made by President J. Larry Jameson and Provost John L. Jackson Jr.

The Board of Trustees has reappointed Dean James following a comprehensive evaluation of the major accomplishments of Dean James’s first term, and an examination of emerging and strategic opportunities for the Wharton School was conducted by the Consultative Review Committee.

“It takes exceptional leadership to advance the world’s most exceptional business school,” said President Jameson. “Doing so through a global pandemic and historic headwinds for higher education makes Dean James’s first term all the more impressive. After reviewing Wharton’s investments in academic excellence, innovative new programs and initiatives, strengthened alumni relations, outstanding faculty and students, curricular reforms, revenue growth, and increased operational efficiency and effectiveness, the Consultative Review Committee unanimously endorsed Dean James’s reappointment. I agree and look forward to all she and Wharton will accomplish in her second term.”

Dean James, who was first appointed in 2020, has guided Wharton through a period of unprecedented challenge and change while strengthening the school’s academic excellence and financial resilience. Guided by her leadership, Wharton has expanded innovative programs in areas such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, and data analytics, and began the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Master of Science in Quantitative Finance, the school’s first new degree program in 50 years. She also launched the Wharton Way, a strategic road map that helped shape the school’s priorities, strengthen institutional alignment, and drive innovation across its teaching, research, and global engagement efforts.

“Erika James—a brilliant scholar of leadership and management—has been an equally brilliant leader of the Wharton community over the past six years,” said Provost Jackson. “Under her leadership, Wharton is shaping the future of business research and practice around the world, especially in guiding a new era of AI and other transformational technologies. We look to Wharton to continue to drive global innovations while helping us to understand and deploy them effectively, responsibly, and beneficially. This is the exciting promise of Dean James’s second term in the years ahead.”

Over Dean James’s tenure, Wharton strengthened its foundation for long-term success through significant revenue growth, renewed momentum in philanthropy and alumni engagement, and expansion of executive education. Dean James has championed investments in faculty excellence and research, positioning the school to lead in emerging areas while building on its longstanding strengths. Her leadership expanded opportunities for students around the world, enhanced Wharton’s capacity to generate impact across industry and society and reinforced the school’s standing as a global leader in business education.

The Review Committee was chaired by Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law Sophia Z. Lee of Penn Carey Law School and included eight faculty, two students, and one alumnus. As part of their process, the committee interviewed Dean James; met extensively with Wharton faculty, staff, and students as well as senior leaders of the University; solicited confidential feedback; and reviewed internal and external data and reports.

The University of Pennsylvania has announced a $22.5 million gift from Gabriel Gilinski, C’08, and Stephanie Gilinski to expand educational affordability and elevate academic excellence across Penn Arts & Sciences. The gift will establish an endowed scholarship for undergraduate students in the College and endowed professorships across the departments of history, political science, and economics, leaving a lasting imprint on the intellectual life of the University for generations to come.

“Penn is at its best when we bring talented students together with outstanding faculty and give them the opportunity to learn from one another,” said President J. Larry Jameson. “Gabriel and Stephanie’s generous commitment expands access to a Penn education while investing in the scholars whose outstanding teaching and research enrich our academic community. We are deeply grateful for their partnership.” 

This commitment reflects the University’s longstanding belief that a student’s financial circumstances should not determine their ability to pursue a Penn education. For more than 280 years, expanding affordability has been part of Penn’s mission. Today, this commitment is embodied by the Quaker Commitment, Penn’s pledge to meet every admitted undergraduate’s demonstrated financial need through grant-based, no-loan aid. The Gilinskis’ generosity is a defining contribution to that promise, reaffirming that at Penn, the only limit on a student’s future is the reach of their ambition.

The Gabriel Gilinski and Stephanie Gilinski Endowed Scholarship will provide financial support to undergraduate students, including those who come to Penn from Latin America. The gift will also establish two separate professorships, as well as a visiting professorship that will enable distinguished scholars to engage in teaching, research, and academic collaboration.

“On behalf of the School of Arts & Sciences, I am delighted to express our profound gratitude to Gabriel and Stephanie Gilinski,” said Mark Trodden, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Physics & Astronomy. “Arts & Sciences is built upon the eminence of our faculty, who pursue the highest standards in their fields while unlocking the brilliance and potential of future generations. It is also shaped by international students and scholars, who bring their unique approaches to bear on some of the most pressing issues of our time. The Gilinskis’ generosity will have a profound impact, not just for individual students and scholars, but for the entire Penn community.”

“I’m a firm believer in the importance of the liberal arts and in the value of the critical thinking skills I developed through my studies in the College,” said Gabriel Gilinski. “Exceptional faculty are at the heart of Penn’s mission, and we are proud to support the recruitment and retention of scholars who bring complex problems to life in the classroom, make groundbreaking discoveries in their research, and provide students with unique opportunities to discover and learn.”

“Across Latin America, access to education creates lasting change for families, and I’ve seen the ripple effect it can have, shaping not just one life but an entire community,” continued Gabriel Gilinski. “Penn gives international scholars a place to bring their own perspectives and experiences, and they leave shaped by everything they’ve learned from the classmates around them. That’s part of what makes a Penn education so special to me. I’m proud that this scholarship will make attending Penn possible for students for generations to come.”

Gabriel Gilinski graduated from Penn with a degree in political science and a minor in economics. He chairs the Board of Grupo Nutresa, one of Latin America’s preeminent food companies, with more than 50,000 employees, 45 factories, and operations spanning 17 countries. Fundación Nutresa, the company’s philanthropic arm, invests in education through scholarships and in healthcare and nutrition programs for children and communities across the region. Gabriel and Stephanie Gilinski live with their family in Miami, Florida.

September 23, 2026

Dear Penn Community,

In June 2026, Penn announced the creation of the Center for Civil Rights (CCR) to make it easier for students, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral trainees to access support and raise civil rights concerns under Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, and related civil rights laws. We are pleased to share that the CCR is now operational.

One front door. Specialized expertise behind it.

The CCR allows Penn to provide a more consistent and coordinated approach to preventing, responding to, and remediating discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, retaliation, and other civil rights concerns, while preserving the specialized expertise each area requires. It brings together the expertise and teams formerly housed in the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs (OEOP), the Office of the AVP for Equity & Title IX Officer, and the Office of Religious and Ethnic Interests (Title VI) (OREI).

Deborah W. Frey, previously in OREI, now leads the CCR as Associate Vice President and Special Advisor to the President.  Within the CCR, each team has a designated leader and subject matter expert:

• Michele Rovinsky-Mayer continues leading our Title IX efforts as executive director and University Title IX Coordinator.
• Majid Alsayegh and Steve Ginsburg continue leading our religious and ethnic interests efforts, including dialogue, education, and alternative resolution work.
• Michael Athy has joined Penn as executive director of equal opportunity.

More than responding to complaints.

The CCR’s work extends beyond responding to outreach, concerns, and reports – it includes prevention, education, training, non-academic accommodations, and coordinated intake and response to civil rights concerns. The CCR will also work closely with offices and partners across Penn so that community members can access all available options and receive appropriate support.

What this means for you.

For the Penn community, the most visible change will be a simpler way to seek help and access support. We are also creating a shared physical home for the CCR in the Franklin Building—a welcoming and accessible space for students, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral trainees. We will share more about the CCR’s physical opening in the coming months.

Start with the CCR.

If you have a concern about discrimination and harassment, need support, or are unsure where to turn, please contact the CCR at ccr-contact@centerforcivilrights.upenn.edu or visit centerforcivilrights.upenn.edu. With its one front door approach, you no longer need to determine which office or area within the University to contact. Now, the CCR team will be able to address your concerns in a coordinated, consistent manner, or connect you with other appropriate support and resources across the University.

We look forward to continuing this work together to strengthen a Penn community grounded in dignity, fairness, and respect.

—Felicia A. Washington, Vice President for Human Resources and CHRO
—Deborah W. Frey, Associate Vice President and Special Advisor to the President

The Office of the Chief Innovation Officer (OCINO) at the University of Pennsylvania has announced the first investments from its StartUP Fund, a $10 million University-backed initiative designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative technologies emerging from research across all twelve of Penn’s schools. The fund’s inaugural investments will support three separate Penn faculty-founded companies—Vasowatch, OneFiltr, and Peptaris—spanning the fields of maternal health, advanced radio-frequency filtering technology, and AI-powered drug discovery, respectively.

“Penn researchers are developing technologies with the potential to address some of the most important challenges facing society today, and many of these solutions have the potential to create entirely new markets,” said John Swartley, Penn’s Chief Innovation Officer. “I am thrilled that the StartUP Fund is able to provide the critical early-stage capital needed to support Penn spinout companies as they translate these types of innovations into products with real world impact. These first three investments are truly reflective of the extraordinary breadth of research and entrepreneurship across Penn.”

Vasowatch, co-founded by Stefanie Modri, a clinical adjunct professor in Penn Nursing, and former Penn Engineering faculty member James Weimer, is developing a non-invasive monitoring system designed to predict the risk of maternal postpartum hemorrhage, a leading cause of maternal death. The company is advancing its Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) technology and preparing for a pivotal clinical trial targeted to begin in early 2027. The StartUP Fund’s investment will support further optimization of the Vasowatch technology and the upcoming trial.

Christine Rohan, Vasowatch’s CEO stated, “We are deeply grateful to Penn for their support of Vasowatch. Our predictive technology was initially developed by Penn researchers with the goal of minimizing postpartum hemorrhage complications and deaths during childbirth. The StartUP Fund provides us with critical early support to accelerate this vital technology through the regulatory approval process.”

OneFiltr, co-founded by Troy Olsson, a professor of electrical and systems engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, is developing a compact tunable radio-frequency filter technology designed to greatly simplify the complex and costly hardware currently required in advanced radio frequency (RF) systems such as those employed by common handheld communication devices.

The technology has potential applications across multiple high-growth and strategically important markets, including defense, radar, satellite communications and quantum computing. OneFiltr will use the StartUP Fund investment to support development and production of its proprietary device for advanced evaluation by major aerospace and defense companies.

“The StartUP Fund is a really great example of Penn’s commitment to supporting faculty innovation and entrepreneurship, “commented Professor Olsson. “Their investment provides OneFiltr with the critical initial capital it needs to further refine the tunable RF filter technology developed in my laboratory and get it into the hands of industry partners where it has the potential for groundbreaking impact in the field of wireless communication.”

Peptaris Inc., co-founded by César de la Fuente, a Penn Presidential Associate Professor, and Marcelo Der Torossian Torres, a research assistant professor in the Perelman School of Medicine, is advancing its AI-powered platform to accelerate the design and optimization of peptide therapeutics. As interest in peptides as a distinct class of medicines continues to grow, so does the need to systematically optimize their properties for therapeutic development. Peptaris is addressing this challenge through its AI-powered platform for peptide design, discovery, and optimization. The StartUP Fund investment will support further development of the platform and experimental validation of the company’s initial therapeutic candidates.

Dr. de la Fuente added, “We are very grateful to Penn and the StartUP Fund for supporting the launch of Peptaris out of our laboratory. This investment gives us an important opportunity to advance and validate our AI-driven platform for discovering and optimizing peptide medicines that will hopefully make a meaningful difference for patients.”

Kevin M. F. Platt has been named the Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Russian and East European Studies in the School of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Platt is a scholar of Russian and East European history, culture, poetry, and fiction, and the author or editor of numerous books, including Epic Revisionism: Russian History and Literature as Stalinist Propaganda; Terror and Greatness: Ivan and Peter as Russian Myths; Global Russian Cultures; and, most recently, Border Conditions: Russian-Speaking Latvians Between World Orders. His translations of Russian and Latvian poetry have appeared in World Literature Today, Jacket2, Fence, Asymptote, n+1, and many other journals, and he is the lead translator and editor of several books of poetry, including Modernist Archaist: Selected Poems by Osip Mandelstam; Hit Parade: The Orbita Group; and the forthcoming Legit Target, a collection of poems by Dmitry Kuzmin.

Dr. Platt is founder and organizer of the periodic poetry translation symposium Your Language My Ear, which has taken place at the University of Pennsylvania since 2011. His current project, tentatively titled Cultural Arbitrage in the Age of Three Worlds, is a study of global cultural exchange during the Cold War.

Dr. Platt received his BA summa cum laude from Amherst College in 1989 and his PhD in Slavic languages and literatures from Stanford University in 1994. He has received multiple fellowships and grants, including from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fulbright-Hays Fellowships, the International Research and Exchanges Board, the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research, the Davis Center at Harvard University, the Stanford Humanities Center, and others. He was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2011. 

He has been a visiting professor at Harvard University and the European University at St. Petersburg, is a past president of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages, and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Yerevan Center for International Education in Armenia. At Penn, Dr. Platt currently serves as chair of the department of Russian and East European studies and as director of the Kite course, a part of the new curriculum in the School of Arts & Sciences. He has served as chair of the doctoral program in comparative literature and literary theory and chair of the School of Arts & Sciences Personnel Committee.

Elly R. Truitt has been named the Janice and Julian Bers Professor of History and Sociology of Science in the School of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Truitt studies the circulation of scientific objects and natural knowledge throughout Central and Western Eurasia and North Africa, from antiquity into the early modern period, and the strange and subtle resonances between the non-modern and the contemporary. With degrees in Medieval studies, history, and the history of science, she has a particular interest in how scientific ideas, practices, and objects traveled and were adapted to new settings. Philosophical treatises, archival material, literary texts, lyrics, material objects, and images all inform her work.

Dr. Truitt’s first book, Medieval Robots: Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art, explores the history of automata in medieval Latin culture, where they appeared as gifts from foreign rulers in Baghdad and Damascus and at the courts of Constantinople and Chengdu. They also demonstrated that artificial people and animals were ubiquitous in Medieval culture, and that they were used to pose questions about identity, liveliness, and the ethics of knowledge and creation. Her second book, Necessary Inventions: Roger Bacon, the Middle Ages, and the Making of Modern Science, explores the role of Christian theology in the historiography of science through the work of 13th-century philosopher Roger Bacon, and the importance of the Middle Ages as a historical period to the historical narrative of scientific development.

Dr. Truitt has also authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed articles on the history of automata, the history of timekeeping technology, courtly science, pharmacobotany, Chaucerian astronomy, and AI in the Middle Ages. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Huntington Library, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Harvard University/Villa I Tatti, and other institutions. She is currently working on several projects: an article on late-Medieval and early-modern astronomical clocks, a book on Medieval magic, a book on courtly science in the Medieval world, and a study of Leonardo da Vinci’s machine designs in the Madrid Codex.

The late Janice Bers graduated from Penn with an education degree in 1939. Her husband, the late Julian Bers, graduated from Wharton in 1931. He received Penn’s Alumni Award of Merit in 1968 and served as a Penn trustee, while Janice Bers served as president of her class and on the 50th reunion gift committee.

Darlene Jackson, LPS ’23, a graduate administrative coordinator in the department of history of art in the School of Arts & Sciences, died on August 8. She was 63.

Ms. Jackson joined Penn’s staff in 1990 as a secretary in the School of Arts & Sciences. After eleven years, in 2001, she transitioned to the role of graduate administrative coordinator in the department of history of art, where she remained for the rest of her career. Ms. Jackson was a member of the Weekly Paid Professional Staff Assembly during her time at Penn. She was inducted into the Twenty-Five Year Club in 2015; in all, she served Penn for 36 years. While working at Penn, Ms. Jackson completed her bachelor’s degree with honors in applied arts and sciences in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies in December 2023.

Ms. Jackson is survived by her husband, Maurice Jackson, Sr.; children, Angela Jackson, Maurice Jackson, Jr.; daughter-in-law, Raquel Jackson; five grandchildren, Xavier and Kelsey Fauntroy, Maurice, III (Tre’), Trent and London Jackson; her parents, Gerald and Edith Moore; her siblings, Raymond Jacobs, Rochelle White and Arliss King; and a multitude of cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. 

Charles K. Williams II, GR’78, HON’97, an eminent archaeologist and Penn trustee emeritus, died on September 16, 2026. He was 96.

Dr. Williams received his BA and MFA from Princeton University. While working as an architect in the office of Philip Johnson, he took classes at the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. After early work as an architect, Dr. Williams dedicated a prolific archaeological career to directing the Corinth Excavation of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA), considered one of the most important archaeological investigations in the classical world. He headed this excavation from 1966 until his retirement in 1997, combining the skills of architect and scholar and publishing research that extended from the Iron Age to Frankish periods. Dr. Williams chaired ASCSA’s board of trustees; in addition to leading the Corinth Excavations, Dr. Williams became a major benefactor of the excavations, providing substantial funding, fellowships for dozens of students and scholars, and three excavation houses, which he designed as a trained architect. He also funded two state-of-the-art storage and laboratory buildings, where thousands of Roman fresco fragments he excavated continue to be conserved and reassembled. 

Dr. Williams first became involved with Penn and its museum in 1963, when he worked at the Gordion excavation in Turkey under the direction of Rodney S. Young, then curator of the Mediterranean section of the Penn Museum. Dr. Williams went on to earn a PhD in classical archaeology at Penn in 1978. He joined Penn’s Board of Trustees in 1997 and brought his considerable expertise as an architect and classical scholar to the Facilities and Campus Planning Committee, as well as to the History of Art Visiting Committee in the School of Arts & Sciences. A long-time emeritus member of the Penn Museum Board of Advisors, Dr. Williams led the museum’s Campaign for the 21st Century, launched in 2001, to raise $55 million to modernize the oldest parts of the museum and endow its excavations, research, and collections. At the time, his $16 million contribution to kickstart the campaign was the largest gift ever made to the Penn Museum and one of the largest made to any university museum (Almanac February 20, 2001).

Outside of this singular gift, Dr. Williams’ contributions to the museum and the University included endowments to support the directorship of the museum, two post-doctoral fellowships, the Williams Endowment for Academic Publications, the Morris Russell and Josephine Chidsey Williams Professorship in Roman Architecture, the Charles K. Williams II Trustee Scholarship, and the Center for Ancient Studies. His generous support provided in perpetuity for the operational and educational needs of the museum’s Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials, and for state-of-the-art building systems for the museum. His commitments to capital improvements included the 2002 Mainwaring Wing addition, a substantial renovation to its West Wing in 2010, and the Coxe & Harrison Wing Renovation Project launched in 2017. His philanthropy also benefited numerous museum expeditions, most notably as the lead supporter of the museum’s excavations at Gordion in central Turkey, where he excavated as a graduate student with Rodney Young.

In addition to his service at Penn and ASCSA, Dr. Williams also served on boards of the American Academy in Rome, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and his high school, St. George’s School in Newport, Rhode Island. His professional honors included the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Archaeology, an honorary doctorate from Lafayette College, the Philhellene Award from ASCSA, and the Award for Outstanding Public Service of the Archaeological Institute of America for his role in recovering and repatriating nearly 300 objects that had been stolen from the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth. He was honored by the Greek Ministry of Culture for his work in Corinth in 2009, and in 2012 he was inducted into the American Philosophical Society. In 2021, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the President of Greece, presented Dr. Williams the Commander of the Order of the Phoenix medal.

“We know the Penn community joins us in sending our most heartfelt sympathies to Charles’s loved ones,” said the Penn Trustees in a tribute. “We are heartened that Charles’s legacy will thrive on campus, especially through the experiences of all who visit the Penn Museum, which Charles so loved.”

A meeting of the executive committee of the University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees was held on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

Trustees Chair Ramanan Raghavendran presented a resolution to amend the bylaws of Penn Medicine to extend certain terms of appointment, which was approved.

During the President’s report, President J. Larry Jameson praised Perry World House’s 10th anniversary celebration on September 15. Entitled A Republic, If You Can Keep It, the event highlighted Penn founder Benjamin Franklin’s role in the drafting of the Constitution. 

President Jameson provided an update on Penn Forward, the University’s strategic initiative, which is preparing it for an ever-changing environment. Elements of it are currently being implemented, and he will have additional updates later this fall. He then presented a resolution to reappoint Erika H. James as dean of the Wharton School (Almanac September 29, 2026), which was approved. 

Provost John L. Jackson, Jr., discussed the Provost’s Special Advisor Program, which provides immersive leadership development for faculty who are interested in academic administration (Almanac September 1, 2026). He presented a resolution on faculty appointments and promotions, which was approved.

Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield presented the financial report for the year that ended on June 30, 2026. For the consolidated University, total net assets were $40.2 billion, an increase of $6.3 billion, or 18.7%, over June 30, 2025. The change in net assets from operations reflected an increase of $636 million through June 30, 2026; $221 million, or 25.8%, below last year. Operating revenue of $18.7 billion was $1.4 billion, or 8.3%, above last year. Expenses of $18.1 billion were $1.7 billion, or 10.1% above last year.

For the academic component, the change in net assets from operations for the University reflected a $185 million increase versus a $518 million increase last year. Total revenue of $5.0 billion was $226 million, or 4.3%, below last year. Expenses of $4.8 billion were $107 million, or 2.2%, above last year.

For the health system, the change in net assets from operations reflected an increase of $451 million through June 30, 2026. Operating revenue increased $1.6 billion, or 13.7%, from $12.0 billion as of June 30, 2025, to $13.6 billion as of June 30, 2026. Expenses increased $1.6 billion, or 14.0%, from $11.7 billion as of June 30, 2025, to $13.4 billion as of June 30, 2026.

Jonathan A. Epstein, Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, gave the Penn Medicine report. He shared his optimism for an “exciting time” in the Perelman School of Medicine during which its medical curriculum is being redesigned to prepare doctors for the future of medicine.

During the Audit, Compliance, and Risk Committee report, a resolution was presented to approve the audited financial statements for fiscal year 2026, which was approved. 

Three resolutions were presented during the Budget and Finance Committee report, which were approved: 

• Approving and authorizing a transaction related to an affiliation agreement
• Approving and authorizing a transaction related to the establishment of a joint venture for ambulatory surgical centers
• To authorize Business Services to perform 1920 Commons renovation and addition for design and construction in the amount of $105.371 million

Mr. Raghavendran ended the meeting with a resolution to appoint Dana Nae Garcia to the Board of Trustees of the Wistar Institute, which was approved.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for November 12-13, 2026.

The following agenda is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Any member of the standing faculty may attend SEC meetings and observe. Questions may be directed to Patrick Walsh, executive assistant to the Senate Office, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu. 

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 3-5 p.m. ET

1. Tri-Chairs’ Report
2. Finalize the Minutes of the September 2, 2026, Meeting
3. Call for Nominations to the 2027 Senate Nominating Committee
4. Reports from Constituencies
5. Update from the Office of the President
6. Discussion with President J. Larry Jameson
7. Proposal from the Senate Committee on Faculty and the Academic Mission
8. Internal Discussion on Proposed Revisions to the Guidelines on Open Expression
9. New Business 

Fiona Cunningham, an assistant professor of political science in the School of Arts & Sciences, has been selected to receive the Edgar S. Furniss Book Award for her 2025 book, Under the Nuclear Shadow: China’s Information-Age Weapons in International Security. Awarded by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, the honor goes annually to a first book that “makes an exceptional contribution to the understanding of international, national, or human security.”

Dr. Cunningham researches the intersection of technology and conflict with a focus on China. Under the Nuclear Shadow examines the country’s approach to achieving political goals and coercing adversaries. The book has received extensive praise for its originality and focus on an under-discussed issue.

In a statement announcing the honor, Mershon Center director Mitch Lerner praised Dr. Cunningham’s book as a “terrific” selection. “It is a wonderful work, one that sheds new light on the underpinnings of Chinese military force posture and challenges broader assumptions about strategic development.”

Dr. Cunningham said she is “thrilled and delighted” by the award and thanked the Furniss selection committee. “It is a great honor to receive a prize named after such an impactful scholar in the field of international security,” she added, referencing the founding director of the Mershon Center, a highly regarded research institute at the Ohio State University focused on national and international security.

The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania has conferred this year’s Carnot Prize recipient John Kerry, former U.S. senator, secretary of state, and presidential climate envoy. As part of the event, Cary Coglianese, a professor at Penn Carey Law School and Kleinman Center faculty fellow, delivered a lecture in Kerry’s honor.

Secretary Kerry, a long-time advocate for climate crisis diplomacy and solutions that achieve a just and sustainable energy transition, is currently a visiting distinguished statesman for global climate and oceans affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Before this role, he served as the 68th secretary of state under President Barack Obama and as special presidential envoy for climate under President Joe Biden. For nearly 30 years, he served as a U.S. senator representing Massachusetts.

“I’m honored to receive the Carnot Prize and to be associated with a remarkable community of leaders who have dedicated their lives to advancing good energy policy,” said Secretary Kerry. “At a moment when the choices we make on energy will shape both our climate and our future, I am especially grateful to the Kleinman Center for recognizing the importance of turning ideas into action—and of building a clean energy transition that is both ambitious and just.”

Throughout decades of public service, Secretary Kerry has been instrumental in forging domestic and international cooperation to address the defining energy and environmental challenges of our lifetimes. His leadership as secretary of state helped secure the landmark Paris Agreement, and he continues to mobilize governments, businesses, investors, and communities to pursue ambitious climate and clean energy solutions. 

As inaugural climate envoy, Secretary Kerry negotiated the restoration of climate cooperation between China and the United States, and energized the UAE Consensus at COP28, a breakthrough agreement between nearly 200 countries to transition away from fossil fuels for the very first time.

“Everything I’ve ever done and advocated for in this is based on science. No politics,” he has said. “There’s no liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, electrons or molecules.”

During his career, Secretary Kerry has been increasingly vocal about the concern for climate change and the importance of the energy transition. The first hearing he held as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2009 was on climate diplomacy. He has urged government leaders to stop financing coal projects, to embrace power purchase agreements for renewable energy, and to expedite permitting for wind and solar.

Speaking in advance of the event, Penn President J. Larry Jameson said, “We look forward to recognizing the Hon. John Kerry with one of our most distinguished awards for his consequential contributions to energy and climate policy. As a champion of the global energy transition, Secretary Kerry shares Penn’s commitment to bringing together science, technology, and policy to address climate challenges at home and around the world.”

The Carnot Prize is awarded to individuals who have contributed significantly to energy policy through either scholarship or practice. Secretary Kerry is the 10th recipient of the Carnot Prize.

“Over his impressive career, Secretary Kerry has worked tirelessly to address the joint challenges of the climate crisis and the energy transition,” said Sanya Carley, the Mark Alan Hughes Faculty Director of the Kleinman Center and Penn ’s vice provost for climate.We are so grateful for his courage, intellect, and dedication to this important work.” 

In recognition of their extraordinary impact, the McGraw Center for Education Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) has named Darin Brawley, Shai Reshef, and Michael Webber the 2026 recipients of the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, one of the field’s most prestigious honors.

For more than four decades, the McGraw Prize has honored and celebrated leaders whose vision and perseverance have helped education meet society’s most pressing challenges. Established to recognize the often-unsung changemakers driving progress in learning, the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education honors individuals whose work has expanded opportunity, transformed lives, and inspired lasting change across communities and generations.

Prizes are awarded in three categories: pre-K–12 learning, higher education, and lifelong learning. This year’s winners will each receive an award of $50,000 and a kinetic sculpture by artist Gary Traczyk at a ceremony on November 10, 2026, in New York City.

“My father believed that education’s greatest advances often come from people who challenge conventional thinking and persist when change seems difficult,” said Harold McGraw III, former chairman and CEO of the McGraw-Hill Companies. “The McGraw Prize was created to ensure that these leaders receive the recognition they deserve and that their work serves as an inspiration to others. This year’s recipients exemplify that spirit through their remarkable commitment to improving the lives and prospects of learners around the world.”

“Education does not change through good intentions alone. It changes when leaders have the courage to rethink old assumptions and the determination to make new possibilities real,” said John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., executive director of the McGraw Center for Educational Leadership and a senior fellow at Penn GSE. “This year’s honorees have done exactly that. Their work offers powerful examples of how innovation can address some of education’s most persistent challenges.”

Pre-K–12 Education Prize: Darin Brawley, superintendent of California’s Compton Unified School District, has led one of the nation’s most notable examples of sustained district improvement. Since becoming superintendent in 2012, the former classroom teacher has overseen a dramatic rise in student outcomes, with graduation rates increasing from 58 percent to 94 percent and college acceptance rates surpassing 95 percent in a high-poverty district serving predominantly Black and Latino students. Guided by a commitment to student success, Mr. Brawley has strengthened instruction, expanded college and career pathways, and forged innovative industry and community partnerships that connect students with opportunities beyond the classroom. Under his leadership, Compton Unified has continued to advance academically and serve as a national model for educational transformation.

Higher Education Prize: Shai Reshef founded the University of the People on a simple but ambitious premise: higher education should be accessible to anyone qualified to pursue it. As founder and president of the first nonprofit, tuition-free, accredited online university, he created a model designed to expand opportunity for students historically excluded from higher education. Today, the university serves more than 250,000 students in over 220 countries and territories, including refugees, displaced learners, and Afghan women whose educational opportunities have been restricted. Under Mr. Reshef’s leadership, University of the People has become the largest university in the United States, demonstrating how technology, volunteer expertise, and innovative design can broaden access to learning on a global scale and reshape who higher education serves.

Lifelong Learning Prize: Michael Webber is the Sid Richardson Chair in Public Affairs and Cockrell Family Chair in Engineering #16 at the University of Texas at Austin. A nationally recognized professor of mechanical engineering and public policy, Dr. Webber helps policymakers, industry leaders, and the public understand complex energy and environmental issues. Through award-winning books, television programs viewed in more than 110 countries, continuing education courses that have reached more than 45,000 learners, and K-12 educational resources distributed through platforms such as PBS LearningMedia and Minecraft, he has expanded public understanding of the systems that power modern life. Dr. Webber also has industry and entrepreneurial experience as co-founder of DISCO Learning Media and former Chief Science and Technology Officer at global energy company ENGIE.

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School welcomes the newest Sharswood Fellows: Michael Weingartner, L’21, and Magdalene Zier.

Founded in 2007 by the Editorial Board of Volume 155 of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the George Sharswood Fellowship program supports emerging scholars committed to entering a career in legal academia with two years of funding for research, writing, and teaching.

Sharswood Fellows fully integrate into the school’s faculty and join a vibrant community of other fellows at the school, including those at the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, the Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition, and the Penn Program on Regulation.

Michael Weingartner is a scholar of election law, state constitutional law, and democratic governance. His research examines how state constitutions structure the democratic process and the development and interpretation of state constitutional rights. Mr. Weingartner is currently working on two major research projects: One is an article arguing that state constitutions embody a broad and recurring commitment to effective government, and the other is a historical examination across Founding Era primary sources, such as treatises, pamphlets, letters, newspapers, and more, to better understand the “free elections” provisions found in more than half of state constitutions. 

Magdalene Zier is a legal historian whose research explores histories of discrimination, social movements, and constitutional law in the United States. Ms. Zier has published pieces on the history of advocacy for anti-lynching legislation in the Stanford Law Review, on women’s property rights and the “insane delusion” doctrine in the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, and on the history and legacy of the Comstock Act in the Journal of the Gilded Age & Progressive Era. Her current research examines how sex discrimination was constructed and contested before the legal revolutions of second-wave feminism, with particular attention to the regulation of vice, morality, and public space.

The 2026 October AT PENN calendar is now available. Click here to view the calendar, and click here to view a printable PDF.

Be sure to get your free tickets to this year’s Penn Friends and Family Day on Saturday, October 10. Every University faculty member, staff member, and postdoc can order up to four free tickets. Additional tickets are just $8 each. The classic Tailgate Party lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. is included with admission. Plus, you and your guests can see the first Penn vs. Howard football game at Franklin Field. Tickets are required for these two events, so order yours by October 7 at the Penn Athletics Friends and Family Day ticket page.

Returning Favorites

Other popular Friends and Family Day attractions like bounce houses, inflated slides, and face painting will be back on Shoemaker Green. You can learn safety tips from the Division of Public Safety and MERT, then meet a friendly, four-legged hero from the Penn Vet Working Dog Center. You can also enjoy live performances by the Penn Band and Penn Cheer.

Take advantage of free parking at Chestnut 34 Garage or Walnut 38 Garage, courtesy of Penn Parking and Transportation.

Chill out with free skating at the Penn Ice Rink from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Skate rental is just $4 per person with your PennCard.

Experience a moving performance of UnRavelled at the Annenberg Center. Penn employees can receive a 10% discount on tickets using the promo code PENN at pennlivearts.org.

New Twists

In addition to the Quaker football game and women’s volleyball match on October 10, sports fans can also watch world-class competitions throughout the day at the Cissie Leary Invitational Women’s Tennis Tournament.

Guests of all ages can get moving at special Friends and Family Day fitness activities in Pottruck Health and Fitness Center. Advanced registration is required. Sign up by selecting the event listing below:

• 10-10:30 a.m. Family Exercise Class
• 10-11:30 a.m. Climbing Session
• 10:30-11 a.m. Toddler Rave

The new Family Recharge Zone offers a calm, sensory-friendly space on Shoemaker Green for children and caregivers to rest and regroup.

This year’s Friends and Family Day coincides with Penn Museum’s Free Community Day Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration. This is a great opportunity to see the recently opened Native North America Gallery. You can also enjoy artist presentations, film, hands-on activities, and more.

Botanical Bonus

Friends and Family Day appreciation continues Sunday, October 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with discounted admission to the Morris Arboretum & Gardens, located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia, PA. Admission is always free for PennCard holders and children under 3, but on October 11 you can get discounted admission for up to 4 guests.

For complete Penn Friends and Family Day activity times, addresses, and other details, see the schedule of events at www.hr.upenn.edu/friendsandfamilyday.

—Division of Human Resources

Penn Spectrum Weekend (PSW) will be held on October 15-17. Everyone in the Penn community is invited to attend. The main goal of PSW is to help foster connection, community, and success among alumni and those within the Penn community. 

This year’s theme is “Unleashing Creativity—Echoes of the Past, Visions for the Future.” Programming will explore creativity and the many ways art, culture, media, and storytelling shape our lives and communities. The weekend will include performances, exhibitions, a paint & sip, arts discovery experiences, receptions, and a closing showcase alongside panel discussions and workshops.

Whether you’ve built a career in the arts, found creativity in an unexpected place, or just want to experience something new, Penn Spectrum Weekend is an opportunity to make new connections and leave with fresh ideas and inspiration. This event is sponsored by Penn Alumni in partnership with University Life.

Penn staff can register for a discount using the code ST26. Students are also welcomed to attend, and there is student pricing for the event. To register, click here.

Wellness at Penn presents Fluchella, Penn’s annual flu clinic, October 7-9, 2026 at Pottruck Health & Fitness Center. 

All Penn students, faculty, postdocs, and staff are welcome to drop in with their PennCard for a free flu shot. The clinic will also include a VIP booth, snacks, wellness swag, and music. 

For more information, visit https://wellness.upenn.edu/events/flu-clinic-2026. 

Start your Wednesdays with haṭha yoga in the gallery. Led by Sarah Guérin of Penn’s history of art department, these welcoming, all-levels sessions offer an opportunity to inhabit your body fully while surrounded by art.

No prior yoga experience is necessary. Participants should be comfortable getting up and down from the floor with ease. Sessions take place from 9:30–10:30 a.m. through November 18.

Bring your own yoga mat and wear comfortable clothes in which you can move freely. You are welcome to register for multiple sessions or drop in for a single class, but registration is required for each session. Space is limited.

A signed waiver will be required for each participant. This will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of each class.

Contact arthurrossgallery@pobox.upenn.edu for any questions. To register, visit https://arthurrossgallery.org/event/yoga-in-the-gallery/.

Films

29        The Beginning of Identification, and its End; showing of a two-channel video exhibition by Philipp Gufler that centers on the disappearance of German singing idol Lana Kaiser; includes talk with the director; 5:30 p.m.; room 543, Williams Hall (Francophone, Italian & Germanic Studies).

30        Taazrit; follows the daily life of Habiba, a Chaoui woman from Ghassira, a semi-desert village in the Aurès Mountains of eastern Algeria; 2 p.m.; room 241, Van Pelt Library (Cinema & Media Studies, Middle East Center, Penn Libraries).

            Pesta Babi: Kolonialisme di Zaman Kita (Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time); an Indonesian investigative documentary that highlights the bitter struggle of Indigenous communities in the South Papua region; 5:30 p.m.; room 109, Annenberg School; register: https://tinyurl.com/pesta-babi-sep-30 (Annenberg School).

Learning & Workshops

30        Incubation | Curator Info Session; learn about a student-run curatorial initiative that aims to foster new ways of making, exhibiting, and seeing art; 3 p.m.; room 113, Jaffe Building (History of Art).

Readings & Signings

30        Goodthink: The New Science of Collective Intelligence; Damon Centola, sociology; noon; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/centola-talk-sep-30 (Population Studies Center).

Talks

29        Unlocking the Promise of Health Care Price Transparency: Evidence, Challenges, and New Opportunities; Stephen T. Parente, University of Minnesota; noon; room 109, Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall; register: https://tinyurl.com/parente-talk-sep-29 Leonard Davis Institute).

            Cultural Co-Resistance: Anticolonial Literature and Radical Print; Hana Morgenstern, University of Cambridge; 3 p.m.; room 135, Fisher-Bennett Hall (English, Wolf Humanities Center).

            A K-Theoretic Approach to Quantum Cellular Automata; Mattie Ji, mathematics; 3:30 p.m.; room 4C2, DRL (Mathematics).

            Towards Conformal Invariance of Critical Planar Lattice Models; Dmitry Krachun, Princeton University; 3:30 p.m.; room 4C8, DRL (Mathematics).

            History and the Future of U.S. Democracy; Jamelle Bouie, The New York Times; 5:30 p.m.; Iron Gate Theater; register: https://tinyurl.com/bouie-talk-sep-30 (Penn Provost, Andrea Mitchell Center, History).

30        Designing the Morphology of Separated Phases in Multicomponent Liquid Mixtures; Andrej Kosmrlj, Princeton University; 3:30 p.m.; room 2N3, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Pulsar Timing Arrays: A New Window Into the Gravitational-Wave Sky; Gabriela Sato-Polito, Institute of Advanced Study; 3:30 p.m.; room 4E19, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            The Many Shades of Dissent: Comparing China and the Soviet Union During the Cold War and After; Ben Nathans, history; Guobin Yang, Annenberg School; 4 p.m.; World Forum, Perry World House (Center for East Asian Studies, Perry World House, Wolf Humanities Center).

            On the Moral Theory of Harm: Caste and the Critique of Charity in Travancore; Muhammed Shah Shajahan, Virginia Institute of Technology; 4:30 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (South Asia Studies).

Economics

In-person events. Info: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/events.

30        Uniform Contracts and Unequal Flexibility Needs: A Theory of Gendered Employment Dynamics; Maria Frech, Toulouse School of Economics; noon; room 101, PCPSE.

            The Optimal Monetary Policy Response to Tariffs; Javier Bianchi, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; 4 p.m.; room 200, PCPSE.

This is an update to the September AT PENN calendar, which is online now. Submit events to almanac@upenn.edu for an upcoming AT PENN calendar or weekly update.  

Division of Public Safety
University of Pennsylvania Police Department Crime Report

About the Crime Report: Below are the Crimes Against Persons and/or Crimes Against Property from the campus report for September 14-20, 2026. The Crime Reports are available at: https://almanac.upenn.edu/sections/crimes. Prior weeks’ reports are also online. –Eds.

This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety (DPS) and contains all criminal incidents reported and made known to the Penn Police, including those reported to the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) that occurred within our patrol zone, for the dates of September 14-20, 2026. The Penn Police actively patrol from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and from 30^th Street to 43^rd Street 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 DPS at (215) 898-7297. You may view the daily crime log on the DPS website.

Penn Police Patrol Zone
Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and from 30^th Street to 43^rd Street

Philadelphia Police 18th District
Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 2 incidents were reported for September 14-20, 2026 by the 18^th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.a

The Division of Public Safety offers resources and support to the Penn community. DPS developed a few helpful risk reduction strategies outlined below. Know that it is never the fault of the person impacted (victim/survivor) by crime.

• See something concerning? Connect with Penn Public Safety 24/7 at (215) -573-3333.
• Worried about a friend’s or colleague’s mental or physical health? Get 24/7 connection to appropriate resources at (215) 898-HELP (4357).
• Seeking support after experiencing a crime? Call Special Services - Support and Advocacy resources at (215) 898-4481 or email an advocate at specialservices@publicsafety.upenn.edu
• Use the Walking Escort and Riding services available to you free of charge.
• Take a moment to update your cellphone information for the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System
• Download the Penn Guardian App which can help Police better find your location when you call in an emergency.
• Access free self-empowerment and defense courses through Penn DPS.
• Stay alert and reduce distractions; using cellphones, ear buds, etc. may limit your awareness.
• Orient yourself to your surroundings. (Identify your location, nearby exits, etc.)
• Keep your valuables out of sight and only carry necessary documents.

To members of the University of Pennsylvania and the surrounding community:

In 1986, the National Institute for Women of Color proclaimed March 1 National Women of Color Day. For the past 40 years the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), UPHS, Presbyterian and Pennsylvania Hospital have sought to increase awareness of the talents and achievements of women of color by recognizing those who support women of color, regardless of their sex, gender, race, or other status, at the Women of Color at Penn (WOCAP) Awards luncheon. The Women of Color Awards honor individuals whose leadership, advocacy, service, and commitment have advanced equity, inclusion, and opportunity for women of color across the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, and the broader Delaware Valley community.

As we prepare to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Women of Color Awards, we invite you to help us recognize the remarkable individuals whose contributions have made a lasting impact. This milestone year offers a special opportunity to honor both long-standing champions and emerging leaders whose work continues to inspire others and strengthen our community. Awards are presented annually in up to seven categories, and we encourage you to submit nominations for those whose dedication and achievements deserve to be celebrated.

• Undergraduate Student Award
• Graduate or Professional Student Award
• Faculty/Staff Award
• Community Member Award
• Helen O. Dickens Award
• Joann Mitchell Outstanding Legacy Award

* Nominees must be affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, and/or the greater Philadelphia area. Nominees should demonstrate one or more of the following qualities: outstanding leadership, distinguished service, a positive impact on their community, and/or a commitment to enhancing the quality of life for women of color or serving as an inspiring role model for others.

Submit your nomination here. Deadline: Friday, October 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. 

Learn more about the 2027 Women of Color Awards Program, which will be held on March 19, 2027

—Women of Color at Penn Executive Planning Committee

The Faculty Award of Merit Presented by Penn Alumni was established in 2014 by Penn Alumni and the Office of the Provost. It is presented annually to an individual or group of collaborators that has made an outstanding contribution to alumni education and engagement at Penn by sharing their unique scholarship work with the alumni community. 

Special emphasis is placed on faculty members who go above and beyond the call of duty by engaging Penn alumni with the University as their intellectual home and educate the faculty community about the alumni engagement opportunities available to them. The 2026 honoree was Sigal Ben-Porath, the MRMJJ Presidential Professor in the Graduate School of Education. The award consists of a formal citation and will be presented during the fall Alumni Award of Merit Gala.

All Penn faculty, staff, and alumni are eligible to nominate a faculty member for this award. 

For more information about award criteria and eligibility, or to nominate a faculty member, visit www.alumni.upenn.edu/FacultyAwardofMerit. Nominations are due by February 1, 2027.

50-60 books plus magazines about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor: Free if picked up at a home in the Italian Market. You must take the whole collection. Call or text: Ron, 215-629-8383.

Gad Allon

Every semester, I get asked the same question by colleagues. How do you get them to come? I am not trying to brag, but attendance in my classes runs close to one hundred percent. I do take attendance, and the students know I take it. I do not grade it. The only thing I grade is class contribution. In principle, that means a student has to be in the room in order to contribute. In practice, most of the students who show up never contribute on any given day, and they show up anyway. 

I want to write down what I actually do, because the answer is less mysterious than people think, and because I suspect we have made the problem worse for ourselves by misunderstanding what a classroom is for.

Let me start with the obvious. The content is new. I do not teach from a textbook. I do post my slides, and the students can download them, and they are welcome to do so. The slides are deliberately thin, a chart here, a question there, a phrase to anchor the next move. They are not lecture notes, and they were never designed to be. On their own, they look like the cover art of an album with no songs. If a student misses class and tries to reconstruct the session from the deck, the student is left with headings and silences. This is on purpose. Most of the development happens on the board or in the discussion, and it cannot be reconstructed by reading anything later. Coming to class is the only place the material actually exists.

I tell the students on day one why I do this. What they will remember from this course, six months from now and six years from now, is what they wrote down themselves. In their own hand. With their own shorthand. With their own arrows and question marks in the margin. The act of writing it down is what does the etching. A polished slide sitting on a server etches nothing into anyone. So I keep the slides thin and I leave the work for the students to do in their notebooks. They usually nod. Some of them look mildly offended. By week three, they are taking notes like their life depends on it, and in a small way, it does.

The second thing is that the classroom is primarily for discussion. Even when I introduce something new, I introduce it through a sequence of questions. I put a problem on the board, ask what they would do, listen to three or four answers, push back, ask a follow-up, let someone else answer, and only then label the idea. By the time I write the term on the board, they have already met it twice. They feel like they discovered it, because in a real sense, they did. This is slower than lecturing. It is also stickier, and it is much harder to replicate by watching a recording at one and a half speed.

I share lived experience. This is the part that gets undersold among faculty. Our students have access to every textbook in the field. They have access to LLMs that will explain anything at any level of depth they want. What they cannot find anywhere else is wisdom from people who actually did the work. I worked in industry, I consult, I sit on boards. When I tell them what I saw at a company last month, or what a CEO told me on a call, or what went wrong in a real supply chain in 2021, I am giving them something that does not exist in any book or model. They lean in. You can see them lean in. Faculty who have something similar, including their own experience navigating the world, whether it is doing research or any practical work, should use it without apology. Increasingly this is the comparative advantage of a human teacher.

I am strict on time and on technology. Class starts at the minute, and once I close the door, no one else comes in. The only exception is a student who emailed me in advance with a real reason. In that case, I write the name on the board before class begins, and when the student walks in, I cross it out, slowly and with a small ceremony, so the rest of the room understands that there is a system and that the system has a memory. Anyone who tries to slip in without the prior email gets asked, politely, to leave at the door. You have to do this two or three times in front of a hundred students. After that, you do not have to do it again. 

No laptops. I only allow for a tablet for note-taking, and I check. Phones are away. If a phone comes out, I will stop the entire class and look at the student until it goes back in the bag, and I will do it every single time. Students who are physically present should be mentally present. Anything less, and I am pretending, and they are pretending, and we are wasting each other’s afternoon. The interesting thing is that students do not resent these rules. They are mostly relieved by them. Many of them have lost the muscle of sitting through ninety minutes without checking their pocket, and they appreciate a room where someone else holds the line for them.

The umbrella idea behind all of this is that the classroom is a sacred place. I mean it almost literally. For three hours, once a week, we are doing something together. So I treat it that way. I plan the session as a run of show. I know what the opening question is, what the first transition is, where the turn in the second half lands, and where the rabbit holes are allowed to wander. I keep the energy high. I bring in something from the news that morning. I tell stories about my kids, about a stupid mistake I made on a project ten years ago, about an argument I had with a colleague last week. These bits are the connective tissue that turns a ninety-minute session into one experience rather than a stack of slides.

A note for colleagues who try this and find it does not work right away. It will not. The first semester I taught this way, I went home convinced I was a disaster. The students were quiet, the discussions were thin, I was filling the silence with my own voice, and arriving home with a headache. It takes a year or two for your reputation to do the work for you, and for the first cohort to tell the next cohort what kind of class this is. After that, the room arrives ready, and your job is simply to deserve them.

A final point. None of what I described requires charisma. I know plenty of charismatic teachers whose students still skip. What it requires is a decision about what the classroom is for, and the willingness to enforce that decision with small, boring, repeated acts. Start on time. Keep the slides thin. Make them write the notes themselves. Ask a question before you give an answer. Put the phone away. Tell a real story. Do this for a few years, and the students will come, because at some point, they will figure out that this is the only place they can get what you are giving them.

Gad Allon is the professor of operations, information, and decisions at the Wharton School.

--

This essay continues the series that began in the fall of 1994 as the joint creation of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Lindback Society for Distinguished Teaching. 

See https://almanac.upenn.edu/talk-about-teaching-and-learning-archive for previous essays.