Bethany Wiggin, an associate professor and graduate chair of German languages and literatures, affiliate faculty in English and founding director of the Penn Program in the Environmental Humanities, has received a 2016-2017 Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship. This award supports faculty in the humanities who embrace public engagement as part of the scholarly vocation. Each Fellow receives a semester of leave to pursue a public-facing project, as well as $10,000 toward project costs.

Dr. Wiggin will use her fellowship for a project called Floating on Warmer Waters. She will explore the complex relationship of people and nature on the Lower Schuylkill River. Based jointly at Bartram’s Garden and at Penn, the project will engage historians, scientists and visual artists to create new programming for the public.