September 22, 2026 Volume 73 Issue 7

Penn Live Arts at the University of Pennsylvania has received a leadership gift from Sally Katz, Penn Class of 1982, to support and name the Sally Katz & Class of 1982 Theatre in the new Platt Student Performing Arts Center, designed by Steven Holl Architects and currently under construction at the corner of S. 33rd Street and Woodland Walk.

The 125-seat studio theatre will offer flexible performance and rehearsal capabilities, providing Penn’s student performers with a dedicated venue for theatre, comedy, dance, spoken word, and other creative work. The theatre will complement the 326-seat Edward W. Kane Theatre, five rehearsal studios, student gathering spaces, and performance support areas, helping meet the longstanding need for more rehearsal and performance space on campus.

Inspired by the leadership of Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt, both 1979 graduates of Penn, Ms. Katz saw an opportunity to help create a permanent home for future generations of student performers while honoring the classmates who have supported Penn alongside her for more than four decades. For their 45th reunion, members of the Class of 1982 will have the opportunity to leave their own legacy by supporting programming in the new space through their class gift.

“This gift represents everything I love about Penn—the performing arts, building community, and helping students discover their passions,” Ms. Katz said. “I hope this theatre gives future generations of students the same sense of belonging and possibility that Penn gave me.”

“Sally understands that the value of the arts extends far beyond the stage,” said Christopher Gruits, executive and artistic director of Penn Live Arts. “The performing arts help students become more creative thinkers, stronger collaborators, and more effective leaders. This theatre will give generations of Penn students a place to develop their talents, build meaningful connections, and cultivate the skills they will carry into their professions and communities.”

For Ms. Katz, the gift represents the culmination of a lifetime of engagement with Penn. A founding member of Bloomers—the nation’s first all-female collegiate comedy troupe—she discovered her love of performance as a student. Since graduation, she has remained deeply involved with the University, mentoring generations of Bloomers as president of Girdles, the group’s alumni organization; serving as class president; and helping the Class of 1982 establish Penn’s standing reunion participation record of more than 1,000 donors. Ms. Katz is currently a member of the Trustees Council of Penn Women and sits on the Board of Directors of Penn Hillel. She has also served on the Penn Alumni Board and as past Chair of the Alumni Class Leadership Council—among many other volunteer roles. 

On Friday, September 11, Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) and the University of Pennsylvania hosted a signing ceremony and open house to announce the Penn-CCP Entrepreneurship Academy, a new initiative to increase economic opportunity for West Philadelphia businesses.

The event took place at CCP’s Career and Advanced Technology Center in West Philadelphia, and featured remarks from CCP President Alycia Marshall, Penn’s Vice Provost for Graduate Education Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, Penn Trustee Emeritus Richard Perry, City of Philadelphia Mayor’s Office Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Arlene, Philadelphia City Council Member Curtis Jones Jr., and other key members of the Penn-CCP Entrepreneurship Academy. Interested attendees then participated in an open house, hearing from Praveen Kosuri, the academy’s faculty director; Franne McNeal, the academy’s executive director; and Renita Miller, a member of the academy’s executive team.

“Community College of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania share a deep commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and strengthening Philadelphia’s communities,” said Alycia Marshall, president of CCP. “The Penn-CCP Entrepreneurship Academy builds on that commitment by investing directly in emerging and established business owners in West Philadelphia through targeted programming at our Career and Advanced Technology Center. By providing this high-quality education at no cost, we are removing barriers to opportunity and equipping entrepreneurs with the knowledge, tools, and resources they need to grow their businesses, create jobs, and contribute to the economic vitality of our city.”

The academy is a no-cost, 10-session, cohort-based learning experience for existing and emerging West Philadelphia business owners who aim to reach $1 million to $10 million in annual revenue within the next three years.

“We are excited to partner with Community College of Philadelphia on this important initiative,” said Penn Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. “Our institutions share a defining commitment to Philadelphia. We are deeply grateful to President Marshall and to emeritus Penn trustee Richard Perry for their leadership in forging this collaboration, which will bring our strengths together to support West Philadelphia entrepreneurs and deepen our impact across the city.”

Participants will learn from Penn faculty, experienced entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts; exchange ideas with a supportive cohort of fellow founders; and apply each session directly to their own businesses.

“This academy represents an extraordinary opportunity for two great Philadelphia institutions to come together in service of the city we love,” said Mr. Perry. “Through a dynamic curriculum led by faculty from Penn Carey Law and the Wharton School, we are placing the combined strengths of Penn and CCP behind West Philadelphia business owners. We believe the academy will be transformative for every participant and make a lasting contribution to Philadelphia’s future.”

West Philadelphia is home to a deep and growing base of entrepreneurial talent—founders with the vision, drive, and community roots to build businesses that last. The Penn-CCP Entrepreneurship Academy aims to invest directly in that talent, pairing it with the strategic tools, expert guidance, and networks that help strong businesses grow even stronger.

“The number one creator of jobs in America [are] small businesses,” said Philadelphia City Council member Curtis Jones Jr. “They provide vitality, diversity and salaries to our city. As small businesses go, so goes Philadelphia’s economy.”

By combining academic and entrepreneurial expertise with deep community connections and experience supporting Philadelphia business owners, the Penn-CCP Entrepreneurship Academy will help West Philadelphia founders sharpen their businesses, build lasting relationships, and fuel the economic growth of the neighborhoods they call home.

The priority application deadline is October 1. Interested applicants can find more information online at ccp.edu/penn-ccp.

The new MSE in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DSAI) brings together two rapidly evolving fields to prepare students to build, analyze, and responsibly apply intelligent systems across disciplines. Applications for fall 2027 opened on September 15.

Data has transformed how researchers, businesses, governments and organizations understand the world. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming what they can do with that data.

Penn Engineering is bringing these two fields together with the new Master of Science in Engineering (MSE) in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (DSAI), an on-campus, technically grounded graduate program designed to prepare students to work at the intersection of data, computation and intelligence.

The new degree recognizes that data science and AI are increasingly interconnected and that meaningful advances in both fields depend on understanding the relationship between data, computational methods and intelligent systems.

“This program brings together rigorous data science foundations, modern AI advances and a systems perspective that recognizes how these areas shape one another in practice,” said Linh Phan, a professor of computer and information science (CIS) and co-director of the MSE-DSAI program. “Students can develop deep expertise in individual areas while also learning to move across traditional disciplinary boundaries and understand how data, algorithms, models and systems influence one another when solving complex problems.”

That interdisciplinary approach builds on work that has long been taking place across Penn Engineering. 

“Penn has been doing this type of work for years,” said Susan Davidson, the Weiss Professor of CIS and co-director of the MSE-DSAI program. “The beauty of the program is that it builds on Penn’s interdisciplinary strengths and prepares students for a wide range of data-centric careers, whether in technology and engineering, consulting, science, policymaking or understanding patterns in literature, art or communications.”

The convergence of data science and AI is reshaping fields ranging from scientific research and healthcare to business, public policy and technology. As organizations increasingly rely on computational systems to analyze information, generate insights and support decisions, professionals need more than familiarity with individual tools. They need a strong understanding of the principles underlying those systems and the ability to apply them thoughtfully in different contexts.

The MSE in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence is designed to provide that foundation.

“Students learn both the principles and hands-on techniques for building reliable, scalable systems in this degree,” said Dr. Phan. “By confronting challenges like scale, failures and performance trade-offs firsthand, they develop the systems intuition to understand not only how complex infrastructure works, but why particular designs succeed and where they can break down.”

“In addition to learning the foundations of data science (statistics, machine learning and algorithms), students can choose from a broad variety of topics in which Penn excels, such as natural language processing, databases, trustworthy AI, healthcare AI, robotics and generative models,” added Dr. Davidson. “The DSAI degree is the only on-campus degree program where students focus not just on how to collect, transform and reason over data, but how to build systems that actively participate in decision making, creativity, and discovery.”

Applications for fall 2027 opened on September 15, 2026. Prospective students can learn more about the MSE in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence and the application process through Penn Engineering’s graduate admissions resources.

Richard James Thomas Estes, MSW’67, a professor emeritus of social work and social policy in the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), died on July 17. He was 84.

Dr. Estes received an AB from La Salle University and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (Master of Social Work) and the University of California at Berkeley (Doctor of Social Welfare). He joined Penn’s faculty in 1973 as an associate professor; in 1985, he was granted full professorship. He spent over three decades at the University, shaping the School of Social Work’s (now the School of Social Policy & Practice) international programs and social development research. He eventually became chair of SP2’s graduate concentration in social and economic development and directed the school’s international programs. Outside of his SP2-related activities, Dr. Estes served on many committees at Penn, including the University Council Committee on International Programs, the Task Force on Global Engagement, the Provost’s Council on Research, and the Committee on Honorary Degrees. He also served as the director of International Programs at SP2. Dr. Estes retired in 2010. 

Dr. Estes’s research focused on the importance of social indicators and statistical modeling in understanding factors that advance or inhibit development. This work was highly regarded by his peers. He received two Fulbright-Hays Senior Research Awards and a Fulbright Scholar Award to Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea. 

In 1992, he was elected Social Worker of the Year by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and five years later, he was recognized for his work on social welfare issues with the Award for Distinguished Research Contribution by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). Also in 1997, he received the International Rhoda G. Sarnat Prize from NASW and the Best Article in Social Indicators Research Award from the International Society of Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) for his article “Social Development Trends in Asia: 1970-1994,” published in Social Indicators Research. 

In 2004, Dr. Estes was elected president of ISQOLS. That same year, Penn established the annual Richard J. Estes Global Citizenship Award in his honor. In 2014, Dr. Estes was inducted into the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW). Dr. Estes held visiting professorships in Iran, Norway, the People’s Republic of China, Morocco, South Korea, Hawaii, Japan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, Belgium, Sweden, Mexico, and Hong Kong. 

Richard is survived by his siblings, William Estes and Margaret Thompson; three daughters, Lynn Calkins, Vicki E. Payne, and Jennifer O’Connor; his stepdaughter, Sarah Lynch; and his twelve grandchildren, Andrew, Chelsea, and Ryan Calkins; Isabella, Jack, Nick, and Jessie Payne; Julia and Brendan O’Connor; and Kieran, Lucas, and Nora Lynch. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to an organization or scholarship of your choosing. 

Edna Foa, an emeritus professor of clinical psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine, died on March 24 due to complications of pneumonia. She was 88.

Dr. Foa was born to parents who had immigrated from Poland to Israel. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and literature from Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel, in 1962. Dr. Foa then moved to the United States, where she earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Illinois in 1970. She went on to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology and personality from the University of Missouri that same year. Dr Foa taught at several universities and institutions in Pennsylvania, including Allegheny University and the Medical College of Philadelphia. 

Dr. Foa came to Penn in 1999, where she founded and served as director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety (CTSA), a division of the psychiatry department in the Perelman School of Medicine. Under Dr. Foa’s leadership, CTSA became one of the world’s preeminent centers for research, training, and clinical care in anxiety and trauma-related disorders. 

Dr. Foa spent the majority of her professional career at Penn. She served as a lecturer in psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine and as a lecturer in CSTA. Beginning in 2019, Dr. Foa served as the director of the Neuroscience of Depression and Stress program. She retired in 2021 and took emeritus status, but continued to teach courses.  

Dr. Foa was an internationally renowned authority on the psychopathology and treatment of anxiety and one of the world’s leading experts in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She spent much of her career developing prolonged exposure therapy to treat PTSD, particularly as it relates to sexual assault. Dr. Foa lectured and led workshops on prolonged exposure therapy internationally, and authored 20 books and hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. 

Dr. Foa was named to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2010 (Almanac May 11, 2010). She also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Distinguished Scientist Award of the American Psychological Association, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Basel, among many honors. In 2018, she received the Carol Johnson Humanitarian Award from Women Organized Against Rape, a rape crisis center  in Philadelphia (Almanac May 29, 2018). 

Dr. Foa is survived by her three daughters, Dora, Yael, and Michelle; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

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To Report A Death

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.

An annual meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held on Thursday, September 24, 2026. 

The meeting schedule is as follows:

Thursday, September 24

• 11:25 a.m.-12:15 p.m.—Budget and Finance Committee
• 2:45-3 p.m.—Executive Committee 

The agenda 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 Trustees meetings.

Penn Nursing proudly welcomes the fifth cohort of the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program—an exceptional group of nurses bringing diverse experience from across the nation. As they begin their full-time graduate training to become primary care nurse practitioners, these leaders are preparing to deliver compassionate, high-quality care to underserved communities and pioneer meaningful change where it is needed most.

“Communities everywhere deserve access to the best possible healthcare, and the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program at Penn Nursing is addressing that need,” said Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing Antonia M. Villarruel. “The fellows in this dynamic program are reimagining healthcare in underserved areas and proudly expanding Leonard A. Lauder’s legacy.”

The 2026 fellows are as follows, with their programs of study in parentheses. 

• Alexis Abeln (Nurse-Midwifery)
• Stephanie Armstrong (Nurse-Midwifery)
• Francesca Barreiro (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Jonell Belle (Nurse-Midwifery)
• Whitney Davis (Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse)
• Jenna de Mers (Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner)
• Marissa Duprey (Family Nurse Practitioner)
• Alondra Eller (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Annette Florczak (Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse)
• Shevonne Frye (Women’s Health/Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner)
• Cristian Garcia Ramirez (Family Nurse Practitioner)
• Tran Hua (Family Nurse Practitioner)
• Eunice Jimenez (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Erin Koithan (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Paris Mitchell (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Shaina Mitchell (Family Nurse Practitioner)
• Elisa Mosley (Family Nurse Practitioner)
• Joy Ogbonna (Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse)
• Mabatemije Otubu (Women’s Health/Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner)
• Rayleigh Palmer (Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner)
• Ingred Prince (Family Nurse Practitioner)
• Laura Rothschild (Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner)
• Yeng Shao (Family Nurse Practitioner)
• Ellen Spector (Nurse-Midwifery)
• Isabel Tamayo-Chaidez (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Ciarra Thompson (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Morgan Thompson (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
• Magie Trinidad (Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse)
• Michelle Wallace (Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse)
• Chammas Wilson (Women’s Health/Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner)

Metaschool AI captured the $40,000 Michael & Lori Milken Family Foundation Grand Prize at the 17^th annual Milken–Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC) at Penn’s Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. 

The venture is an accredited online high school keeping Ghanaian students learning year-round through mobile-first instruction during disruptions caused by the country’s double-track education system.

Other winners include Unified Track (co-founded by Dustin Bainbridge, a student in Penn GSE’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership), which won the $25,000 Flexion Prize, and Literacy Tree, which received the $10,000 Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld Prize. Brikap captured the $5,000 EdSales Revenue Machine Audience Choice Prize. 

This year marked the first time the Competition Finals have been held at the University of Pennsylvania since the COVID-19 pandemic and the first year the competition was presented in conjunction with Penn GSE’s Catalyst Innovation Summit. The two events brought together entrepreneurs, investors, educators, researchers, and education leaders for a day focused on advancing innovation and impact across the education sector.

Before advancing to the Finals, EBPC semifinalists participated in Catapult, Catalyst @ Penn GSE’s virtual accelerator, where they strengthened their ventures through self-paced learning, mentorship, and feedback from industry experts. 

The seven finalists pitched their ventures to a live judging panel as well as an audience of entrepreneurs, investors, and practitioners. Widely regarded as the most prestigious and well-funded competition of its kind, the EBPC has awarded more than $2.5 million in cash and prizes since its founding. Past winners and finalists have gone on to raise more than $250 million in follow-on funding while expanding their reach and impact across education.

“The EBPC recognizes entrepreneurs who are not only identifying important challenges in education but also building thoughtful, scalable, and measurable solutions to address them,” said John Gamba, Penn GSE Entrepreneur-in-Residence, who directs the competition. “This year’s winners demonstrated the vision, resilience, and commitment required to convert an idea into a sustainable venture with the potential to impact a broad scale of diverse global learners. We are thrilled to celebrate their ingenuity and grit.”

The 2026 EBPC prize winners are as follows: 

• Metaschool AI captured the $40,000 Michael & Lori Milken Family Foundation Grand Prize.
• Unified Track won the $25,000 Flexion Prize.
• Literacy Tree earned the $10,000 Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld Prize.
• Brikap collected the $5,000 Audience Choice Prize presented by The EdSales Revenue Machine.

“For 17 years, the Milken–Penn GSE EBPC has brought fresh thinking to the challenges and opportunities facing education,” said Michael Golden, Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. “The competition reflects an enduring commitment to asking what is possible, supporting new approaches, and creating opportunities for ideas to move from vision to impact. That commitment remains as important as ever.”

The EBPC is made possible through the support of the Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation, Flexion, Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld, and the EdSales Revenue Machine. 

Perry World House (PWH)—the University of Pennsylvania’s hub for global affairs—is pleased to announce its 2026-2027 cohort of distinguished visiting fellows. Over the course of the year, these scholars and policy practitioners will visit Penn’s campus and engage with students, staff, faculty, and other members of the PWH community on some of the most pressing global issues in the areas of climate change, democracy, global justice and human rights, and security. These distinguished leaders represent NGOs, media, education, government, and the private sector, and their presence on campus helps PWH toward its goal of bridging the academic and policy divide.  

“The Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program is a key way we achieve one of our most important primary institutional goals, which is connecting the academic research being done at Penn with the global policymaking community,” said PWH faculty director Michael C. Horowitz. “Over the years, we have been honored to welcome visitors that include global leaders in government, academia, and non-governmental organizations. In our tenth anniversary year, we are thrilled to welcome this amazing cohort!”

For ten years—since Perry World House opened its doors in 2016—the PWH Distinguished Visitors Program has brought internationally-renowned global policy leaders, scholars, and practitioners to Philadelphia to engage with the Penn community. Throughout their fellowships, they are able to contribute to Penn’s academic research through meetings with faculty, participation in conferences and workshops, guest lectures in classes, and meetings with Penn students. They also contribute to PWH’s public programming as speakers, moderators, and thought leaders, and help Penn and PWH expand their global reach. 

This year’s distinguished visiting fellows are:

• Sally Box, Head of International Climate Negotiations Division, Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water; Australia’s Head of Delegation to the UNFCCC
• Laura Chinchilla Miranda, Former President, Costa Rica
• Dalia Dassa Kaye, Senior Fellow and Director, Initiative for Regional Security Architectures, UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations
• Ibrahim Gambari, Former Minister of the Interior, Nigeria
• Stephen Hammer, Senior Fellow, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, Penn Institute for Urban Research, and Perry World House; Former CEO, New York Climate Exchange
• Tirana Hassan, CEO, Médecins Sans Frontières
• Timothy Haugh, Former Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency; Senior Fellow, Schlein Center for Cybersecurity, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Perry World House, Fellow, Aresty Institute of Executive Education, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
• Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International
• Aditi Kumar, Former Principal Deputy Director, Defense Innovation Unit, U.S. Department of Defense
• Oleksandra Matviichuk, Ukrainian Human Rights Lawyer
• Sivendra Michael, Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, Republic of Fiji
• Dunja Mijatović, Former Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe; Former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media
• Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, Prime Minister, Republic of Fiji
• Christine Wormuth, President and CEO, Nuclear Threat Initiative; Former U.S. Secretary of the Army

The Condition of Being Near (September 26-February 21, 2027)

The Condition of Being Near is a group-exhibition project developed by curators Zairong Xiang (Duke Kunshan University, Shanghai) and Denise Ryner (ICA at the University of Pennsylvania) to focus on historical and social circumstances of solidarity as a process through artistic investigations of primarily Black, African and Chinese diasporic and economic networks.

Video projections, installations, prints and archival reproductions by nine artists are organized around a curatorial framework of three overlapping “acupuncture points”: Proximity in the Margins Shanzhai/The Stand In, Survival Economies & Pragmatic Globalisms. Each of these themes follows throughlines from 20^th-century global south coalitions to contemporary economic and cultural networks connecting the artists’ narratives and regions that include the Caribbean, South Pacific, West Africa, Taiwan, China and the U.S.

Wilmer Wilson IV: SKIRL! (September 26-February 21, 2027)

As the inaugural iteration of ICA’s new research residency program, called R+D, interdisciplinary artist Wilmer Wilson IV is investigating the eastern gray squirrel—first introduced into public parks in the mid-nineteenth century right here in Philadelphia—as a central figure in American ecologies, histories, and cultural identities.

Working across archives, local sites, and in collaborative research, Mr. Wilson will present new works refracted through everything squirrel. From their Labubu-like popularity as pets in wealthy colonial families, to their deliberate introduction into urban parks as part of a broader effort to produce orderly, leisure-oriented civic environments, squirrels form an unlikely lens through which to glimpse shifting ideals of American behavior and belonging. Mr. Wilson will follow the squirrel across a range of overlooked cultural and political histories—such as Benjamin Franklin’s rodent diplomat Mungo and the recent viral controversies of TikTok star Peanut—and, in doing so, will interrogate how categories such as “pet,” “pest,” and “wildlife” produce hierarchies of care, visibility, and disposability that map onto the very same frameworks through which human life is valued.

SKIRL! will feature a site-specific installation, sculptures, performances, and works on paper.

Waste Scenes: Maia Chao and Fred Schmidt-Arenales (September 26-February 21, 2027)

Waste Scenes is a two-channel video that was created during the artists’ residency at RAIR (Recycled Artist in Residency) in Philadelphia. Working inside an active recycling center, the artists built short, performative vignettes choreographed with various materials, including discarded books and old tapes they found on-site. 

This video examines how the accumulation of debris embodies the failed aspirations of post-industrial northern U.S. Through episodic narration, Mr. Schmidt-Arenales and Ms. Chao reinterpret material decomposition to encourage recognition of the throwaway culture of contemporary America.

Entryways: Saif Azzuz (September 26-September 21, 2027)

For ICA’s Entryways project series, artists are invited to design window graphics that are visible from the street, welcoming visitors and inspiring curiosity. The next Entryways project will feature the work of artist Saif Azzuz (born 1987, Eureka, CA; lives and works in Pacifica, California).  

Mr. Azzuz’s work is often inspired by his background as a member of the Yurok Tribe, whose ancestral lands are located in present-day northern California. He frequently includes images based on native plants and Indigenous land management techniques in colorful, abstract paintings and installations.

For Entryways, Mr. Azzuz’s graphics will fill ICA’s Sansom Street-facing windows and will be informed by research into the natural history of Philadelphia. The project and its placement on the outside of ICA’s building will create an entry point for conversations about how communities and the natural environment can support each other. 

For more information, visit https://icaphila.org/exhibitions/.

Films

23        The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos; Jawu, a young mother from a waterfront slum in Lagos, stumbles upon corrupt blood money marked for a real estate development that threatens her home; overcoming isolation and temptation, she must stand as a unifying force in a community that stands to lose everything; 5:30 p.m.; room F45, Huntsman Hall; register: https://tinyurl.com/vagabond-queen-sep-23 (Africana Studies).

            D for Design: Form and Function at Mid-Century; several short films exploring the role and methods of product designers, as well as the style revolution that occurred in the post-war years; 8 p.m.; the Rotunda (Cinema & Media Studies).

Learning & Workshops

Morris Arboretum & Gardens

In-person events at Morris Arboretum & Gardens. Info and to register: https://www.morrisarboretum.org/see-do/events-calendar.

25        Papermaking with the Plants Around Us; participants will learn the basics of hand papermaking, creating sheets from locally-grown materials; 12:30 p.m.; registration: $35/general, $30/members.

26        What Good is a Dead Tree?; following the fall of an oak tree, Doug Wechsler explains how the tree is broken down by animals, insects, and fungi over the course of fifty years; 1 p.m.; registration: $30/general, $25, members.

Penn Libraries

Various locations. Info and to register: https://www.library.upenn.edu/events.

23        Games-Based Pedagogical Approaches to AI Literacy; engage in hands-on games and activities developed by participants to explore alternative pedagogical approaches to understanding generative AI tools; 10 a.m.; Research Data & Digital Scholarship Exchange, Van Pelt Library.

24        Coffee with a Codex: Genealogy Fragment; Kislak Center curator Dot Porter and manuscript historian Lisa Fagin Davis will discuss Ms. Oversize 54, a fragment of one membrane of a French 15th-century illuminated genealogical chronicle roll; noon; online webinar.

28        Move Slow & Make Things: Browsing; a leisurely afternoon conducting visual research; 1 p.m.; B level seminar room, Fisher Fine Arts Library.

Music

24        The Romantic Piano: Schubert, Chopin, and Liszt; Sylvia Berry, pianist, will discuss the early history of the piano, upto and including Penn Music’s mid-nineteenth-century Érard, followed by playing works by Schubert, Chopin, and Liszt that demonstrate the instrument's unique characteristics; 3:15 p.m.; room 210, Lerner Building (Music).

Readings & Signings

Kelly Writers House

In-person events at Kelly Writers House. Info and to register: https://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0926.php.

29        The Weeping Sickness: A Reading and Celebration of Rasputin Swims the Potomac; Ben Fountain, author; 6 p.m.

Special Events

24        Vietnamese Moon Festival; will feature lantern making, bánh giò making, and traditional games; 2-6 p.m.; Penn Women’s Center (Center for East Asian Studies, East Asian Languages & Civilizations).

25        PennReady; Public Safety and its many campus and area safety partners will demonstrate essential public safety info with events including a chili cook-off, a test of the UPennAlert and PennSOS outdoor siren system, and a controlled burn demonstration; 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; field at 39^th Street and Locust Walk (Public Safety).

            Siren! Magazine Launch; brings together editors and scholars for a roundtable conversation on feminist publishing, alternative knowledge-making, and what it means to build spaces for voices often pushed to the margins; 3 p.m.; room 500, Annenberg School; register: https://tinyurl.com/siren-launch-sep-25 (Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication).

Talks

23        Leveraging Epidemiological Data to Accelerate Research to Improve Long-Term Outcomes in Traumatic Brain Injury; Andrea Schneider, neurology; 9 a.m.; room 05-031, 3600 Civic Center Blvd, and Zoom webinar; join: https://pennmedicine.zoom.us/j/98976330974 (Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics).

            Adaptive Bayesian Models for Reliable Uncertainty; Yuli Slavutsky, Columbia University; noon; room 414, Gutmann Hall, and Zoom webinar; join: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/97645937545 (SEAS ASSET Center).

            Bacterial Determinants of Streptococcal Carriage and Disease; Laura Cook, Binghamton University; noon; Austrian Auditorium, Rubenstein Research Building (Microbiology).

            Epitaxially Engineered Hybrid Materials for Quantum Technologies; Nitin Samarth, Penn State University; 3 p.m.; room 2N3, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Intelligent E-Nose System: Materials Discovery to Wearable Device; Nosang V. Myung, University of Notre Dame; 3:30 p.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Chemical 7 Biomolecular Engineering).

            The Rise of Women in Corporate Leadership (1950 to 2010); Carola Frydman, Northwestern University; 3:30 p.m.; room 209, College Hall (History).

            What Orbital Dynamics Reveal About the M31 System; Ekta Patel, Villanova University; 3:30 p.m.; room 4E19, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Touching Care: Gandhi and the Art of Healing the Leprous Body; Sumathi Ramaswamy, Duke University; 4:30 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (South Asia Studies).

            Climate, Use, Construction; Emiliano López and Mónica Rivera, architects; 6:30 p.m.; Plaza Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

24        The Climate of Architectural History and Theory; Amelyn Ng, Columbia University; noon; Upper Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

            How to Fix Vision Language Action Models (VLA) with Control Theory; Soon-Jo Chung, California Institute of Technology; noon; room 225, Towne Building (Electrical & Systems Engineering).

            India's IT/ITes Sector in the Age of AI: Understanding Impacts and Measurement Challenges; Amrita Sengupta, independent researcher; Maps as Evidence: Changing Geomorphology of Coastal Indian Cities; Abhijit Ekbote, School of Environment & Architecture; noon; suite 230, PCPSE (Center for the Advanced Study of India).

            Metric Geometry and the Study of Biological Shape Across Scales; Pablo Gonzalez-Camara, genetics; noon; room 414, Gutmann Hall, and Zoom webinar; join: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/98220304722 (IDEAS Center, PennAI, Statistics & Data Science).

            Josephus in the Cave and the Problem of History; Chris Baron, University of Notre Dame; 4:45 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (Classical Studies).

            Postcolonial Theory vs. the Postcolonial Novel; Sanjay Krishnan, Boston University; 5 p.m.; room 135, Fisher-Bennett Hall (English).

25        When TMD Isn’t Just TMD: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Refractory Comorbid Migraine and Orofacial Pain; Hayden Han and Stefania Brazzoli, Penn Dental Medicine; 7 a.m.; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/han-brazzoli-sep-25 (Penn Dental Medicine).

            Trust, Sensing, and Learning for Provable Multi-Robot Performance; Stephanie Gil, Harvard University; 10:30 a.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (GRASP Lab).

            Decoding Living Systems with AI and Computational Models: From Brain Development to Nano–Bio Interfaces; Xianqiao Wang, University of Georgia; 2 p.m.; 5^th floor, 3401 Walnut Street (Penn Institute for Computational Science).

            Innovations in Working Dog Health, Olfaction, and Performance; Meghan Ramos and Clara Wilson, Penn Vet; 3 p.m.; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/ramos-wilson-sep-25 (Penn Working Dog Center).

28        How to Build an Invasion Machine; Ke Hu, Arizona State University; noon; room 132, Hill Pavilion, and Zoom webinar; join: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/91485597704 (Penn Vet).

            Ill Erotics: A Black Feminist Ethnography of Reproductive Justice in the Time of HIV/AIDS; Jallicia Jolly, Amherst College; noon; room 345, Penn Museum (Anthropology, Gender Sexuality & Women’s Studies).

            Uneven Changes in the Health Profiles of LGBTQ and Non-LGBTQ Populations and the Unexamined Role of Demographic Change, 2014-2023; Lawrence Stacey, Vanderbilt University; noon; room 403, McNeil Building (Population Studies Center).

            Who Poisoned Jesus Christ? A Seventeenth-Century Franciscan and Conspiracy Philology; Eva Del Soldato, Francophone, Italian & Germanic Studies; 5:15 p.m.; Class of 1978 Orrery, Van Pelt Library (Francophone, Italian & Germanic Studies; Workshop in the History of Material Texts).

29        What an Obstacle Leaves Behind: Colloidal Shadows and Faceted Ice; Amir A. Pahlavan, Yale University; 10:15 a.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics).

            Pop-Propaganda: How The Kremlin Markets Its War Like Disney and Coca-Cola; Andrew Ryvkin, The Atlantic; noon; room 500, Annenberg School; register: https://tinyurl.com/ryvkin-talk-sep-29 (Media, Inequality & Change Center, Russian & East European Studies).

            Breaking No-Go Theorems in Quantum Walks; Christino Tamon, University of Calgary; 2 p.m.; room 225, Towne Building (Quantum Information, Engineering, Science and Technology Center).

            History and the Future of U.S. Democracy; Jamelle Bouie, New York Times; 5:30 p.m.; Iron Gate Theater; register: https://tinyurl.com/bouie-talk-sep-29 (Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy).

Chemistry

In-person events at Carolyn Hoff Lynch Lecture Hall, 1973 Chemistry Building. Info: https://www.chem.upenn.edu/events.

29        Development of Spectroscopic Maps for Terminal Alkyne Containing Molecules to Explain Raman Spectra; Clyde Daly, Haverford College; noon.

Economics

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

23        Bailouts, Beliefs, and Bank Runs; Juan Cruz Llambias, economics; noon; room 101, PCPSE.

            B2B Financing and Procurement Competition; Bernardo de Moura, economics; 3:30 p.m.; room 100, PCPSE.

            Patents to Products: Product Innovation and Firm Dynamics; Salomé Baslandze, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; 4 p.m.; room 200, PCPSE.

29        Asymmetric Rationality and the Design of Decision Protocols; Qingmin Liu, Columbia University; 4 p.m.; room 203, 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 7-13, 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 7-13, 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: 12 incidents were reported for September 7-13, 2026 by the 18^th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

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.

Nominations for Penn’s University-wide teaching awards are now being accepted by the Office of the Provost. Any member of the University community may nominate a teacher for these awards. There are three awards:

The Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching honors eight members of the standing faculty: four in the non-health schools (Annenberg, Weitzman, SEAS, GSE, Carey Law, SAS, SP2, Wharton) and four in the health schools (Dental Medicine, PSOM, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine).

The Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring honors two faculty members for their teaching and mentoring of PhD students. Standing and associated faculty in any school offering the PhD are eligible for the award.

The Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty honors two members of the associated faculty or academic support staff who teach at Penn, one in the non-health schools and one in the health schools. 

The nomination forms are available on the teaching awards website. The deadline for nominations is Friday, December 4, 2026. Full nominations with complete dossiers prepared by the nominees’ department chairs are due Friday, February 5, 2027. For more information, please email Lisa Zagacki, lzagacki@upenn.edu. 

Criteria and Guidelines
The Lindback and Provost’s Awards are given in recognition of distinguished teaching. “Distinguished teaching” is teaching that is intellectually demanding, unusually coherent, and permanent in its effect. The distinguished teacher has the capability of changing the way in which students view the subject they are studying. The distinguished teacher provides the basis for students to look with critical and informed perception at the fundamentals of a discipline and relates that discipline to other disciplines and to the worldview of the student. The distinguished teacher is accessible to students and open to new ideas, but also expresses their own views with an articulate and informed understanding of an academic field. The distinguished teacher is fair, free from prejudice, and single-minded in the pursuit of truth.

Skillful direction of dissertation students, effective supervision of student researchers, ability to organize a large course of many sections, skill in leading seminars, special talent with large classes, ability to handle discussions or structure lectures—these are all attributes of distinguished teaching, although it is unlikely that anyone will excel in all of them. At the same time, distinguished teaching means different things in different fields. While the distinguished teacher should be versatile, as much at home in large groups as in small, in beginning classes as in advanced, they may have skills of special importance in their area of specialization. The primary criteria for the Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring are a record of successful doctoral student mentoring and placement, success in collaborating on doctoral committees and graduate groups, and distinguished research.

Since distinguished teaching is recognized and recorded in different ways, evaluation must also take several forms. It is not enough to look solely at letters of recommendation from students or to consider “objective” evaluations of classes in tabulated form. A faculty member’s influence extends beyond the classroom and individual classes. Nor is it enough to look only at a candidate’s most recent semester or opinions expressed immediately after a course is over; the influence of the best teachers lasts, while that of others may be great at first but lessen over time. It is not enough merely to gauge student adulation, for its basis is superficial; but neither should such feelings be discounted as unworthy of investigation. Rather, all these factors and more should enter into the identification and assessment of distinguished teaching.

The Lindback and Provost’s Awards have a symbolic importance that transcends the recognition of individual merit. They should be used to advance effective teaching by serving as reminders to the University community of the expectations for the quality of its mission.

Distinguished teaching occurs in all parts of the University. Therefore, faculty members from all schools are eligible for consideration. An excellent teacher who does not receive an award in a given year may be re-nominated in some future year and receive the award then.

The Lindback and Provost’s Awards may recognize faculty members with many years of distinguished service or many years of service remaining. The teaching activities for which the awards are granted must be components of the degree programs of the University of Pennsylvania.

Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Security, Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), and the University of Pennsylvania’s Office of Information Security (OIS) is excited to offer a variety of events and resources to help students, faculty, and staff stay safe online.

Upcoming Events

• Employee Resource Fair, October 1, 2026, noon-1:30 p.m. Visit the OIS table at the David Pottruck Health and Fitness Center to meet information security professionals, learn about current cyber threats, and explore resources that can help protect your personal and University information.
• Free & Legal: Digger Movie Screening
  Join OIS and fellow Penn students at Cinemark Theater at 40th and Walnut Streets for a free screening of Digger. Before the movie, OIS will provide a brief discussion on the DMCA, Penn’s Copyright Policy, and 2-Step Verification. 
• October 2, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
• SANS SEC598: AI and Security Automation for Red, Blue, and Purple Teams, October 19-24, 2026. Held at Quorum at University City Science Center, this six-day cybersecurity course provides hands-on experience using artificial intelligence and automation to strengthen threat detection, incident response, and defensive operations.

Information Security Reminders
As part of NCSAM, OIS reminds the University community to:

• Create a passphrase or password with at least 21 characters.
• Enable 2-Step Verification (MFA) on all accounts when possible.
• Regularly back up important files to protect against data loss and ransomware.
• Keep devices secure by installing software and operating system updates promptly.
• Be cautious of social engineering scams, phishing emails, unexpected text messages, and fraudulent phone calls that attempt to steal credentials or sensitive information.

By taking a few simple precautions, each member of the Penn community can help protect University systems, research, and personal information while contributing to a safer digital environment for all. More information on the events at: https://isc.upenn.edu/security/2026-NCSAM.

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For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: https://isc.upenn.edu/security/news-alerts%23One-Step-Ahead.

The Penn Institute for RNA Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania, CHOP, and Wistar seeks to support RNA-related basic, translational and clinical research. Towards that goal, the institute requests applications for its Pilot Grant Program for fall 2026. Pilot funding will provide initial support to establish a proof of concept or extend findings to enable extramural funding and publications in the future. Given changes in funding priorities at NIH, this pilot award will also be available for existing RNA-related projects that are being modified to bridge to new scientific areas that align with priority areas of the RNA Institute. These priority areas are indicated below along with deadlines and application guidelines. 

The fall 2026 Pilot Grant Program research priority areas will be to support: 

• Cross-disciplinary research that will lead to extramurally funded research in either basic or translational science in the arena of RNA biology. Applications related to vaccine research involving RNA are welcome.
• Supplements to existing projects involving RNA basic or translational science in which a change in direction is planned for the project to align with emerging NIH priorities. 
• Early- and mid-stage investigators undertaking new projects involving basic or translational RNA technology and for whom alternative resources for funding are not available.

Prior recipients of pilot awards from the RNA Institute are eligible to apply for new awards in different areas. Prior awardees may also apply for funds to extend research from a previous pilot award and will be judged based on progress made during the first funding period.

Applicants are encouraged to use shared resource core facilities and services provided by the RNA Institute and Penn’s Artificial Intelligence-driven RNA BioFoundry (AIRFoundry), including the mRNA Core, Targeting Core, and affiliated cores (High-throughput Screening Core, Beckman Cryo-EM Center, and Structural Biology Core).

We encourage applicants to consult with our core directors or any members of the institute’s Leadership Group early in the preparation of their application. Allocation of core effort to assist in grant preparation will be available on a first-come first-served basis. 

Scientific Areas for Applications to Address:

• RNA Basic Science: RNA processing, RNA binding proteins, noncoding RNAs, and nucleoside-modifications are encouraged along with the development of tools to further the use of RNA technology in the treatment of disease.
• Translational Science: RNA-based science relevant to prevention, diagnostics, and therapeutics for human diseases. Projects and teams that bridge laboratory-based research to pre-clinical studies or models and/or that extend clinical observations to the laboratory (addressing mechanisms, identifying therapeutic targets, and developing novel interventions) are strongly encouraged to apply.

We hope you will consider this opportunity to creatively apply RNA-based approaches to new and exciting questions in your research.

Program Timeline

• Application deadline: October 27, 2026, by 11:59 p.m.
• Decisions communicated to applicants: December 2026
• Funding begins: January 1, 2027

Eligibility

Principal investigators (PIs) for awards must have a faculty appointment at the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, or the Wistar Institute and hold the rank of assistant, associate or full professor, research professor, or instructor. Postdoctoral trainees are also encouraged to apply, provided that a faculty sponsor includes a letter of support for the trainee in the application. 

Proposals may not describe the same specific research that is funded by other sources during the grant period.

Budget and Duration

Individual applicants may request budgets up to $50,000 in direct costs and may propose projects lasting up to 12 months. The total equipment budget must not exceed $10,000.

Application requirements and procedures, review criteria, and other pertinent information can be found here.

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.