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Welcome Back from the President: Out and About

caption: Liz MagillI have been spending my time meeting and hearing from people all across the University this summer. As much as possible, I’ve been out of College Hall and into the labs and classrooms, offices and conference rooms, walkways and workspaces that are the contours of Penn’s tight-knit community. I have been out looking for what happens within. What has come through clearest of all has been the pride and deep sense of ownership that staff, faculty, and students feel in their work here. 

People have been genuinely excited to welcome me, to show me what they do and where they do it, and to try to give me a sense through their own eyes of what makes this place so special. Whether it was a tour through the workings of our Division of Public Safety, an insider’s view of the Division of University Life, a visit with Penn First Plus staff and newly arriving students, or any of the many one-on-one visits with faculty and department chairs across Penn’s 12 schools, at every turn I’ve encountered a sense of engagement, enthusiasm, and anticipation of even greater things to come. Penn is a university that continually asks, what’s next?

To which I would answer, well, a lot.

Of special note at the start of this new academic year, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Penn Global, marking a decade since the adoption of the University’s first global strategic framework. To commemorate this milestone, we look forward to hosting exciting events around the world throughout the coming academic year, celebrating Penn as a global institution with expected alumni events in London, Delhi, and Singapore. A major conference in partnership with the Graduate School of Education is slated to take place here on campus next March to address key questions about the future of global higher education. And later this fall, as we have done previously, we will conduct an extensive survey of both standing and associated faculty to gather information to assist the University in guiding policy development, assessing potential areas for improvement or concern, and benchmarking against peer institutions.

Penn’s physical campus continues to evolve and advance in important ways as well. From a much-needed refurbishing and upgrade of the Penn Boathouse on historic Boathouse Row, to the renovations of Stouffer College House and of Sansom Place East high-rise, to construction of the all-new Ott Center for Track and Field on the southwest corner of campus in Penn Park, we continue to expand our commitment to exceptional facilities for student life beyond the classroom. Within academic environments, we are eagerly anticipating the redesign and refurbishment of Stuart Weitzman Hall, the arrival of the Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology, and the expansion and renovation of the Graduate School of Education, among other important projects underway. 

As our campus continues to change with time, so too do the people who learn and work here. Move-in this year stretched from August 21 to 28, enabling us to welcome nearly 6,000 new and returning students to campus housing. I already had the pleasure of meeting and greeting some of them at different events prior to that. Without exception, they have been enthusiastic and excited about the coming year and especially eager to make me feel a welcomed new member of the Penn family. This has been a constant reaction no matter where I’ve gone through campus or out and across the city of Philadelphia: a genuine warm welcome and sincere curiosity about how I am finding living and working in this new environment.

That is, in the strictest sense, an easy question to answer. Penn is an amazing institution. Philadelphia is a terrific, vibrant, and exciting city. Great times lie ahead, and I am so very excited to be starting in this new role as Penn’s president. I am every bit as grateful for the many kindnesses and acts of genuine hospitality and welcome that have been extended to me in just the past couple months. Penn is as vibrant, pioneering, engaged, and strongly positioned as it has ever been. The future is bright. Working together, we will achieve more and do more for the world than ever before. To each of you who have been so kind in welcoming me, thank you. And to those of you who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, know that I look forward to it and to working with every one of you in making the best possible Penn for today and tomorrow.

—Liz Magill, President

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