The December University Council Open Forum meeting was held on Wednesday, December 3 in the Hall of Flags at Houston Hall.

During the provost’s report, Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. introduced Timothy Rommen, Penn’s inaugural vice provost for the arts, who discussed his aspirations for fostering connection across schools and centers on campus and beyond. He described Penn’s arts ecosystem and his vision to extend it on campus and to elevate Penn as an arts anchor in the Philadelphia region. He and his colleagues are developing a strategic plan that should be finished next year. He is currently meeting and listening to students, alumni, faculty, staff, and local and national leaders for input. A website, arts.upenn.edu, will be launched in spring 2026.

Associate Vice President and Associate University Secretary Lizann Boyle Rode addressed the 11 new business topics shared at the October council meeting. Action was taken to connect council members to the appropriate campus resources for follow-up discussions.

Council members discussed an amendment to Council bylaws to change a committee name from the Committee on Diversity and Equity to the Committee on Community and Equal Opportunity. Faculty Senate chair Kathleen Brown explained that after the last council meeting (Almanac October 28, 2025), steps were taken to understand legal ramifications and student concerns about the proposed name change. The Faculty Senate tri-chairs met with Joann Mitchell, Senior Vice President for Institutional Affairs and Wendy S. White, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, and student leaders. The new proposed committee name was developed from those discussions.

Senior Vice President Mitchell explained that a continuous review has taken place of committee names and University policies and procedures to ensure adherence to federal law. A new name for the committee was proposed; however, Penn’s values of inclusion and belonging would continue. After a vote, the motion was declared to have been approved.

During the open forum portion of the meeting, speakers discussed:

• Concerns about the COVID-19 virus and the need to have resources about it easily accessible on Penn’s website
• Disappointment in Penn’s decision to revoke the athletic records of Lia Thomas and the implications of doing so
• Concern for the safety of Black students at Penn after recent incidents, including the assault of a Black student and a video that contained racist and threatening language that had been circulated
• A call to expand SEPTA’s University Pass (UPass) Program

During New Business, a Robert’s Rules of Order issue was raised by council members concerning the vote earlier in the meeting to amend Council bylaws to change a committee name. Some members believed that the vote had merely been to end the discussion and that there would be another vote on the amendment itself. It was proposed that the amendment be sent back to University Council’s steering committee and that another vote be held at the January 21, 2026 meeting.

Several Council members shared that it was their final meeting and reflected on their tenures representing their student groups.