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New Center for Soft and Living Matter

caption: Andrea Liu caption: Douglas DurianDeans Steven J. Fluharty of the School of Arts and Sciences and Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science announced the opening of a new Center for Soft and Living Matter that will be a joint endeavor between the two Schools. The center will be led by Director Andrea J. Liu, Hepburn Professor of Physics, and Associate Director Douglas J. Durian, professor of physics.

Soft matter research concerns collective phenomena that emerge in systems with many interacting components, where quantum mechanics does not play an explicit role. Some of the biggest challenges in the sciences—to understand systems that are far from equilibrium, possess complex structures, and/or are designed either by humans or evolutionary processes to have special properties—are confronted in their purest forms in soft matter. These challenges also arise in understanding the physical phenomena of life, leading to a natural intertwining of the fields of soft and living matter, and underlie areas of engineering ranging from nanomaterials, biomaterials, and bioengineering to energy applications, robotics, and data science.

The center brings together more than 60 faculty from across more than 10 departments in Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and the Perelman School of Medicine.

“Penn was among the first universities to invest in soft and living matter research and has been at the forefront of the field for over a decade,” said Dean Fluharty. Dean Kumar added, “The center will foster a strong, cohesive, highly collaborative community in soft and living matter across Arts and Sciences and Engineering and will help make Penn the most exciting, visible university in the world in the field.”

Huey Copeland: BFC Presidential Associate Professor of History of Art

caption: Huey CopelandHuey Copeland has joined Penn as the BFC Presidential Associate Professor of History of Art. Previously, Dr. Copeland was the Arthur Andersen Teaching and Research Professor and associate professor of art history at Northwestern University. A leading historian of modern and contemporary art of the US, Europe, and the African diaspora, with a special focus on Black cultural production and the Black presence in American and European art of the last two hundred years, Dr. Copeland is the author of Bound to Appear: Art, Slavery, and the Site of Blackness in Multicultural America and more than forty scholarly articles and book chapters. He currently holds editorial positions with Artforum, October, and Art History. Dr. Copeland’s numerous fellowships and awards include the prestigious Andrew W. Mellon Professorship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA) at the National Gallery of Art, a Cohen Fellowship from the W. E. B. DuBois Research Institute at Harvard, an American Council of Learned Societies fellowship, the David Driskell Prize from the High Museum, the Absolut Art Writing Award, and fellowships from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the Andy Warhol Foundation. 

The BFC Presidential Professorship was established anonymously in 2019.

Statement on Anti-Asian Violence and Racism

February 25, 2021

Nearly one year ago, in the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we came together as members of the University of Pennsylvania community to respond to a surge in stigma, bias, discrimination, and violence against people of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander backgrounds. It is heartbreaking that even as many in our community celebrate the Lunar New Year, multiple cases of anti-Asian racism and violence have taken place across the United States, adding to a long and horrific history.

The pain that people of Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander backgrounds continue to experience shows that our work is far from complete, at Penn and beyond.

We condemn and denounce the despicable anti-Asian violence that has recently taken place in the United States, and redouble our efforts to create meaningful, lasting change.

For members of the Penn community who may have been affected by anti-Asian behavior or if you know someone who could use support, please take advantage of the resources the University provides:

If you are affected by violence, or aren’t sure where to turn, the Special Services team is available to assist you 24 hours a day by calling (215) 898-6600 or by email at specialservices@publicsafety.upenn.edu.

Penn’s HELP Line is also available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, at (215) 898-HELP. 

Finally, we encourage you to visit the TAASS website, where you can report hate and bias incidents, learn how to become upstanders in responding to anti-Asian behavior, join our #FlattenTheHate campaign, and engage in our community discussion series.

—Task Force on Support to Asian and Asian American Students and Scholars (TAASS) at Penn

From the Provost and EVP: Return to Work Update

March 1, 2021

When the pandemic began last year, many faculty and staff members started working from home as the nation learned to navigate life during this challenging time. We deeply appreciate the commitment and dedication of every member of the Penn community in carrying out your roles and responsibilities, whether you are performing your job from home or on campus.

As we move into the second year of the pandemic, we are continuing to formulate plans for the return of those faculty and staff who have not been required to work on campus during this challenging period. These plans, as always, are guided by the best science and what is permissible by city, state and federal guidelines. Circumstances surrounding COVID-19 transmission and the ongoing distribution of vaccines are changing rapidly, so it is still too early to decide on a date when faculty and staff will be expected to return to campus. However, we believe that the successes of Penn Cares, PennOpen Pass, and our collective efforts to adhere to health and safety guidelines have given the University a pathway to restore an in-person work environment.

To help with your planning, please know that we do not anticipate a full return to work on campus before July 2021, at the earliest. Some of you are already working on campus, and we expect to welcome more of you back over the next few months. We will continue to update you as the situation evolves, including updates for faculty members about the status of in-person classes, lab research, and summer PURM projects.

We are also developing remote work location guidelines for staff, so individual decisions about long-term continuing remote work will not be made until those University-wide plans are finalized. Please continue to refer to the Return to Campus Guide for Penn Faculty and Staff if you have any questions about current guidelines.

We are proud of Penn’s beautiful and vibrant campus in the City of Philadelphia. This beauty and excitement stems in large part from our people – the students, faculty, and staff who make Penn an institution where so many people from around the world want to work and learn. To that end, we intend to bring back faculty and staff safely so that we can continue advancing the principles that make Penn a stellar institution of higher education and one of the best large employers nationwide.

We thank you again for your extraordinary work in sustaining our campus mission. We look forward to providing more details in the months ahead about our shared return to life on campus.

Wendell Pritchett, Provost
Craig Carnaroli, Executive Vice President

Nicole McCoy: New DPS Commanding Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

caption: Nicole McCoyUniversity of Pennsylvania Police Department Captain Nicole McCoy has been named the Commanding Officer of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Division of Public Safety (DPS), effective January 1. The new position is dedicated to working with the campus and Philadelphia communities on issues of diversity.

Vice President for Public Safety and Superintendent of Penn Police Maureen S. Rush said one reason the position was created was because the Division of Public Safety listened to the concerns of students, faculty, and members of the West Philadelphia community.

“We need to be sure that we have a representative, a person who is going to take the whole mission of Penn Police Department and the Division of Public Safety and make sure that message is amplified and explained throughout to the different sectors,” she said. “We make great efforts and succeed in hiring a diverse workforce that reflects the diversity of the community we serve.”

Ms. McCoy, a former lieutenant, applied for the rank of captain last year as DPS was creating the new position. Ms. Rush said she immediately knew Ms. McCoy was the right fit for the job.

Ms. McCoy, who has worked at Penn since 2002, is a member of the 457th class of officers to graduate from the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety’s School of Police Staff and Command. As one of the most challenging law enforcement management programs in the nation, the Center provides comprehensive training for senior law enforcement leadership. Ms. McCoy was one of only 49 graduates in her class.

In her new role, Ms. McCoy said her job is to make sure the community knows about UPPD’s work and its contributions to the community.

“I have, in the past few years, worked with our community associations in West Philadelphia, but now as the commanding officer, I attend all of the community meetings for the University City associations,” said Ms. McCoy. “Even though they’re just outside of our boundaries, it’s still important that they have someone that they can reach out to and discuss prime issues. So I’m a liaison between them and the Philadelphia Police Department. I meet with them monthly.”

In the University, Ms. McCoy communicates with the cultural resource centers, such as Makuu: The Black Cultural Center, as well as the African-American Resource Center, and the Office of Social Equity and Community.

“It will be a big part of my job to interact with the students so they know we’re here for them, and especially for the minority population,” said Ms. McCoy, who is African American. “It’s important for them to see that there’s somebody who looks like them in the position of authority. This is a position that, if you want future change with equality and inclusion, it starts by having a seat at the table. It starts with minorities joining the department.”

Ms. McCoy said being able to talk to people and share the “wonderful things” that UPPD offers people excites her most about the new role.

“To help you feel seen—that’s what makes me feel so good,” she said. “To be able to talk to people. When you have a random conversation with someone in the 7-Eleven or CVS about things that we do and how we reach out, it just really makes me feel good.”

Ms. Rush explains that UPPD’s mission is simple, but one the entire department takes very seriously.

“Our mission is to provide safety and security to the members of University City, West Philadelphia community, and Penn community, and also visitors,” she said. “There are many people traversing our campus, so our mission is to make everyone feel safe and be safe. While we expect all of our officers to be community-oriented, Captain McCoy will help the Division to also put an accent on the emotional security that people feel.”

Adapted from a Penn Today article by Dee Patel, February 16, 2021.

Fiscal Year 2021 Performance and Staff Development Program

Open and effective communication is essential when it comes to enhancing performance and achieving goals. The Performance and Staff Development Program (the annual performance appraisal program) provides staff and supervisors with a formal process to enhance communication and promote a productive work environment.

The performance appraisal process provides benefits for both the staff member and the supervisor, such as:

  • Providing documented feedback on job expectations, performance, and accomplishments from the past year
  • Offering positive reinforcement as well as developmental feedback
  • Allowing staff members to participate in goal setting
  • Setting performance expectations and goals for the upcoming year
  • Encouraging open communication between staff and supervisors
  • Promoting discussion of professional development opportunities and the competencies required to be successful in a person’s job
  • Ensuring that job performance and accomplishment information is recorded in each staff member’s official personnel file 

Beginning March 15, 2021, staff and supervisors for participating schools and centers may use the Online Performance Appraisal System to complete self-appraisals and annual performance appraisals. Performance appraisals for all eligible regular staff should be completed and entered into the Online Performance Appraisal System by June 1. The Online Performance Appraisal System can be accessed at https://portal.hr.upenn.edu/.

If you are new to Penn’s Performance and Staff Development Program or if you would like to refresh your knowledge, select the links below to register for a virtual workshop in March.

Participating in Performance Appraisals for Staff: March 24, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Join this workshop to understand the performance appraisal process and learn how you can prepare to have a productive review session.

Conducting Performance Appraisals for Supervisors: March 25, 12:30-1:30 p.m. If you are supervising or managing other employees and feel the need to learn more about how to prepare for and conduct performance appraisals, this is the course you’ve been looking for! Join us to find out best practices for this important annual procedure.

Valuable information on the performance appraisal process can be found on the Human Resources website at https://www.hr.upenn.edu/performance-management. These resources will guide you in completing quality appraisals and providing effective performance and professional development feedback.

For more information on the Performance and Staff Development Program, contact your school or center Human Resources professional or the Division of Human Resources at (215) 898-6093.

—Division of Human Resources

Speaking Out: Standing In Solidarity Against Racism and Anti-Semitism

“My heart weeps this morning.” This was the subject line of an email to the WE-CARE (White Educators Committed to Anti-Racism and Equity) leadership team when we learned of the Zoom bombing during Penn’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Symposium on Social Change. In his book, Strength to Love (1963), Dr. King noted, “The ultimate measure of a [person] is not where [they] stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where [they] stand at times of challenge and controversy.” We stand in solidarity with our siblings at AARC, on the MLK Symposium planning committee, and those attending the event; we condemn the racist, violent and hateful acts. We pledge to continue our work as white people and with other white people in the quest for social justice, equity, and the end of racism. White supremacy has poisoned our country, our city, and yes, our University, for too long.

We must also name the anti-Semitism infecting the world. As Dr. King stated about the relationship between Blacks and Jews, “our unity is born of our common struggle for centuries, not only to rid ourselves of bondage, but to make oppression of any people by others an impossibility” (National Biennial Convention of the American Jewish Congress, 1958). We agree, and stand in support of Penn’s Jewish community in wake of Professor Robert Schuyler directing a Nazi phrase and hand gesture towards a colleague during a recent academic conference. While Dr. Schuyler retired in the wake of this revelation, as a group of white-identified allies we must interrogate our response to his actions alongside that of the racist Zoom bombing. No matter how intent is characterized, both actions invoke the same sense of privilege and cause damage to our community.

When Dr. King spoke at Oberlin College shortly after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, he urged listeners to take action because “the time is always right to do what is right” (1964). So we implore you, no matter your race or creed, to join the MLK Symposium planners, Penn’s Jewish communities, and WE-CARE in doing right, in creating a beloved community. It will not be easy, but it is right.

—WE-CARE Leadership team:
Katie Bonner, Elizabeth Cannon, Sara Cohen, Erin Cross, Danielle Fike, Lia Howard, Steve Kocher, Laurie McCall, Julie Nettleton, Lauren Sapita, Adam Sherr, Mary Smith

ABCS Course Development Grants: April 16

The Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships has announced course development grants for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 to promote Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) courses that integrate research, teaching, learning, and service. Over 150 courses from a wide range of disciplines and Penn schools have linked Penn undergraduate and graduate students to work in the community. The grants support University faculty to develop new courses or adapt existing courses that combine research with school and community projects.

To see a list of the ABCS courses, visit https://www.nettercenter.upenn.edu/what-we-do/courses.

Grants will be for no more than $10,000 over two years per project. These funds can be used to provide graduate and undergraduate support, course support, and/or summer salary ($10,000 is inclusive of employee benefits if taken as summer salary).

Funded by the Netter Center, course development grants are designed to assist faculty with developing new and substantially restructured undergraduate and graduate level courses that engage students in real-world problem-solving projects in partnership with schools and community organizations located in West Philadelphia.

The Netter Center will support the course beyond the duration of the grant by providing undergraduate work-study teaching assistants, transportation, and ongoing facilitation of community partnerships.

The following criteria will be used to evaluate proposals:

  1. Academic excellence
  2. Integration of research, teaching, and service
  3. Partnership with schools, community groups, service agencies, etc.
  4. Focus on Philadelphia, especially West Philadelphia
  5. Course activity that will involve participation or interaction with the community as well as contribute to improving the community
  6. Course activity that will engage undergraduate and/or graduate students in real-world problem-solving research opportunities
  7. Potential for sustainability

Please format proposals as follows:

  1. Cover page
    • Name, title, department, school, mailing address
    • Title of the proposal
    • Total amount of funding you would like
    • 100-word abstract of the proposal (include a description of how the course will involve interaction with the community and benefit the community)
  2. A one-page biographical sketch of applicant
  3. A two-to-four-page mini-proposal
  4. Budget detailing how you intend to use the requested funding

The Netter Center would be pleased to provide feedback on draft proposals before final submission. Proposals for fall 2021 and spring 2022 courses should be submitted to the Netter Center for Community Partnerships by April 16, 2021.

Please contact the Netter Center’s ABCS Coordinator at abcscoordinator@sas.upenn.edu for more information or to submit proposals.

—Dennis DeTurck, Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor; Professor and Undergraduate Chair of Mathematics, SAS; Netter Center Faculty Advisory Board Co-Chair; Provost’s Senior Faculty Fellow at the Netter Center

—John Jackson Jr., Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication; Richard Perry University Professor; Netter Center Faculty Advisory Board Co-Chair

—Terri H. Lipman, Assistant Dean for Community Engagement, School of Nursing; Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Professor of Nutrition; Professor of Nursing of Children, School of Nursing; Netter Center Faculty Advisory Board Co-Chair

—Loretta Flanagan-Cato, Associate Professor of Psychology, SAS; Co-Director, Biological Basis of Behavior Program; Provost’s Faculty Fellow at the Netter Center

—Ira Harkavy, Associate Vice President; Founding Director, Barbara and Edward Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Deaths

Lawrence Otis Graham, Penn Vet Board of Overseers

caption: Lawrence Otis GrahamLawrence Otis Graham, a longtime author and activist and member of Penn Vet’s Board of Overseers, died on February 19. He was 59.

Mr. Graham received his BA from Princeton and his JD from Harvard Law School. He was a contributing editor at US News & World Report, then became an accomplished author. He wrote 14 New York Times bestselling books, including guides to implementing diversity in the workplace and a biography of Blanche Bruce, the first Black U.S. senator. Mr. Graham served as a real estate attorney, practicing corporate and real estate law at Cuddy & Feder, and taught in the African and African American studies department at Fordham University. His work on exposing the racism that even upper-class Black people face made him widely admired. In 2014, Mr. Graham joined Penn Vet’s Board of Overseers, helping to bridge Penn Vet with the community beyond campus boundaries.

Mr. Graham is survived by his wife, Pamela Thomas-Graham; children, Gordon, Harrison, and Lindsey; brother, Richard Graham; several cousins, in-laws, nieces, and nephews; and his godmother, Mirian Hinds. Donations in his memory may be made to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), Contribution Receipt Center, PO Box 98097, Washington, D.C. 20090, or online at go.si.edu/honor-memory.

Michael Masch, Office of Budget Management and Analysis

caption: Michael MaschMichael Masch, Penn’s former executive director of budget management analysis and later a lecturer in the Fels Institute of Government, died on February 7. He was 70.

Mr. Masch grew up in southwest Philadelphia. He was adopted as a child and later graduated from Central High School in 1968. Mr. Masch attended Temple University for four years, majoring in urban studies, but dropped out shortly before graduating. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was heavily involved in anti-war civil disobedience, burning his draft card. After leaving Temple, he wrote for counterculture newspapers like The Jewish Exponent and The Drummer.

Mr. Masch then entered public life, getting a job on the technical staff oh Philadelphia’s City Council. He served from 1983 to 1991 as director of economic analysis for the Philadelphia City Council. In 1992, he joined Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell’s administration as the City of Philadelphia’s director of the office of budget and program evaluation. Mr. Rendell referred to Mr. Masch as “the unsung hero of this administration,” citing his institution of new forms of reporting for city managers and his advocacy for innovative ways to cut $750 million from the city’s costs during Mr. Rendell’s first term.

In 1996, Mr. Masch came to Penn as Executive Director of the University’s newly-renamed Office of Budget and Management Analysis (Almanac April 16, 1996). He served until 2003, when former mayor Ed Rendell, then serving as the Governor of Pennsylvania, recruited Mr. Masch to become his Secretary of the Budget (Almanac January 14, 2003). He also served as Mr. Rendell’s Secretary of Administration.

“During his six years at Penn, Mike has played a major role in enhancing our University’s financial structure, one of the key goals of our Agenda for Excellence strategic plan,” said Penn President Judith Rodin upon Mr. Masch’s departure. “Under Mike’s watch, we have developed comprehensive long-term planning processes that integrate policies and budgets for both academic and administrative units. We have also instituted new procedures for financial review and approval of capital projects. In short, Mike has set in motion a program of fiscal management and governance that positions us well for the future.”

Mr. Masch served for Mr. Rendell until 2008, eliminating state debts, producing surpluses, and increasing funding for school districts. “Elected officials get the glory and the blame, but I don’t know a more impactful public servant for the city, the state and the school district than Mike Masch,” Mr. Rendell told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He served them all very well, and he squeezed every dime for the taxpayer.” During this era, Mr. Masch also lectured at Penn’s Fels Institute of Government from 2004 to 2006. After leaving Mr. Rendell’s administration, Mr. Masch served as the chief financial officer of the School District of Philadelphia (of whose board he had been a member since 2000) until 2012. He helped bring the school district out of the 2008 economic recession, but also incurred criticism for “Masch-O-Matics.”

In 2012, Mr. Masch served as a senior fellow at the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. Then, until 2015, he was the vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Manhattan College. That year, he moved to Howard University, where he served as senior vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer.

Mr. Masch is survived by his wife, Rachel Falkove; his children, Solomon (Isabel) and Ezra (Annmarie); and his grandchildren, Avinoam and Shaiah. A service was held on February 14. Donations in Mr. Masch’s memory may be made to the Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network, 7047 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19119.

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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. Email almanac@upenn.edu.

Governance

Winter Trustees Meeting Coverage

At the University of Pennsylvania Trustees’ Winter (virtual) Stated Meeting of the Executive Committee on Friday, February 26, Chair David L. Cohen read the memorial resolution for former Trustee Lawrence Nussdorf, W’68, and expressed condolences to his wife, Melanie, CW’71, and their sons (Almanac November 24, 2020). Resolutions to elect Lynn Jerath to the Investment Board and to amend the bylaws of Penn Medicine regarding gender-neutral terminology were approved. During Vice Chair Scott Bok’s report, a resolution to amend the statutes of the Trustees to revise term limits was approved.

President Amy Gutmann reported that around 3,000 undergraduate students moved back to campus this spring. Almost 56,000 applications were received for the class of 2025, the largest applicant pool in Penn’s history. She said Whitney Soule has been named Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions, effective July 1 (Almanac February 23, 2021) and Carl June, the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, PSOM, and director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at Abramson Cancer Center, has been named a 2021 Dan David Prize Laureate (Almanac February 23, 2021). A resolution to extend the appointment of J. Larry Jameson as Executive Vice President for the Health System and as Dean of PSOM through June 30, 2025 was approved.

Provost Wendell Pritchett announced the appointment of Christopher Woods as Williams Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, beginning April 1, 2021 (Almanac January 26, 2021).

EVP Craig Carnaroli gave the financial report for the first quarter, which ended September 30, 2020. The Consolidated University total net assets were $20.1 billion, an increase of $756 million from the previous year. A total revenue of $2.9 billion was $74 million above the prior year. Expenses of $2.8 billion were $25 million above the prior year. For the Academic Component, net assets from operations reflected a $42 million decrease versus a $30 million decrease the prior year. This includes COVID-related expense disruptions of $23 million in tuition and fees and $11 million in room and board, offset by $27 million in travel and entertainment expense savings. Total revenue of $804 million was $59 million below the prior year and expenses of $846 million were $47 million below the prior year. Capital expenditures totaled $90 million for the period; notable projects include New College House West, Wharton Academic Research Building and Substation, the Venture Lab at Tangen Hall, and renovations to the Steinberg Hall-Dietrich Hall Behavioral Labs and Franklin Field. For the Health System, the change in net assets from operations was $185 million inclusive of $100 million in U.S. HHS CARES Act funding. Excluding that funding, operating income was $260 million above budget and $52 million below the prior year. Adjusted admissions of 69,000 through the three months were 12.5% above budget, reflecting a faster recovery than forecasted but 6.3% below the prior year. Capital expenditures were approximately $113 million, driven by projects including the New Patient Pavilion, the new outpatient center at Radnor, and the Chester County inpatient tower.

PSOM Dean and EVP of the Health System Larry Jameson said Pfizer’s new mRNA vaccine is based on technology developed at Penn, as is the new Moderna vaccine. This year, Penn Medicine faculty published 476 high-impact papers in leading journals, including 32 COVID-related papers. The NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center grant was successfully renewed as well as the ITMAT/CTSA grant, led by Dr. Garret FitzGerald of The FitzGerald Lab at PSOM.

Ann Reese, chair of the Audit & Compliance committee, presented a resolution that PricewaterhouseCoopers be appointed as independent accountants to audit the financial statements of Penn for Fiscal Year 2021, which was approved.

Dhan Pai, chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, presented these six resolutions for approval, all of which were approved:

  • Undergraduate charges of $79,014 for academic year 2021-2022, which includes tuition of $54,652, fees of $7,058, a standard room rate in the residence halls of $11,358, and a meal plan charge of $5,946. Undergraduate financial aid budget will be established at $256 million.
  • Authorizing Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology construction documents and early construction procurement for an additional $15,075,000.
  • Authorizing Boathouse Renovations in the amount of $13.5 million.
  • Authorizing Sansom Place West Interior and Utility Infrastructure Improvements in the Amount of $10 million.
  • Authorizing Franklin Field Concrete Restoration Phase 4 in the amount of $9.7 million.
  • Authorizing Steinberg Conference Center Mechanical, HVAC and Façade Upgrades in the amount of $7.5 million.

Also approved were eight resolutions of appointments to various boards. The spring Trustees meetings will be held June 10-11, 2021.

From the Senate Chair: Special Meeting, March 17

Under Section 15 of the Rules of the Faculty Senate, notification or distribution to members of the Faculty Senate may be accomplished by publication in Almanac. The following is published pursuant to that rule.

To: Members of the Faculty Senate
From: Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Chair
Subject: Notice of Special Meeting of Faculty Senate to Consider Changes to Rules of the Faculty Senate 

Background information 

These revisions of the Rules of the Faculty Senate are recommendations developed by a committee of current and former Chairs of the Faculty Senate that have been reviewed by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee prior to submission to the Faculty Senate.  The revisions propose to reform the Senate’s processes for making committee nominations and appointments, to restructure the Senate Committees, and to make other clarifying and logistical adjustments.  

In all cases, the proposed amendments serve to provide greater flexibility for the Faculty Senate in responding to both enduring concerns of the faculty and changing circumstances that require prioritization of certain needs in some years over others.

The supplement, included here as a separate PDF file, summarizes the proposed amendments and tracks the specific additions and deletions throughout the Rules.

  1. Notice of Meeting. A special, virtual meeting of the Faculty Senate will be held on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, at 3 p.m. All Standing Faculty members (including Standing Faculty Clinician-Educator) may register to participate in this meeting by visiting https://facultysenate.upenn.edu/.
  2. Agenda. The agenda for the special meeting follows: 
      a) (3 p.m.) Call to order.
      b) Discussion on proposal to amend the Rules of the Faculty Senate.
          i)   A “red-lined” version illustrating how the amendments would be applied, may be viewed here. Download the pdf.
          ii)  A “clean” version of the amended Rules as they would read if approved may be reviewed here. Download the pdf.
      c) (3:15 p.m.) Discussion of school-level sustainability and climate action initiatives: invited school deans will engage in a discussion with the leaders of the Faculty Senate’s Select Committee on the Institutional Response to the Climate Emergency (CIRCE). Questions and comments will be invited from the all-faculty audience.
     d) (4:30 p.m.) Adjournment 

Questions and comments should be addressed to the Senate Office by email to senate@pobox.upenn.edu or by phone to (215) 898-6943.

Honors

Camille Boggan: U.S. DOT Outstanding Student Award

caption: Camille BogganCamille Boggan, a second-year master of city planning student at the Weitzman School, has received an Outstanding Student of the Year Award from the U.S. Department of Transportation for her work on public transit.

Ms. Boggan is on the Penn team for Mobility21, a National University Transit Center formed to improve the movability of people and goods and led by Carnegie Mellon University. She has also been a research assistant at the Penn’s Center for Safe Mobility, which is directed by Megan Ryerson, the UPS Chair of Transportation, associate professor of city and regional planning and electrical and systems engineering, and Associate Dean for Research at the Weitzman School.

Outside of her studies and research at Weitzman, Ms. Boggan interned with Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability in 2020, and has been actively involved in public transportation advocacy with 5th Square, Philadelphia’s urbanist PAC, since 2019. In 2020, Ms. Boggan was recognized in ITS America’s Emerging Leaders Program Global Challenge and by the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Philadelphia chapter.

Each year, the U.S. DOT honors students from participating University Transportation Centers for their achievements and promise for future contributions to the transportation field. Students of the year are selected based on “technical merit and research, academic performance, professionalism, and leadership,” according to the announcement.

Ms. Boggan is completing a thesis to study the public transit network in Philadelphia from the perspective of female caregivers who rely on transit in order to improve access. After graduation, she is planning to pursue work in the public sector.

Established in 1987, the University Transportation Centers program advances technology and expertise in transportation through education, research, and technology transfer at universities across the country. The Outstanding Student Awards were presented at a virtual ceremony on January 6.

Martha Curley: SCCM Award

caption: Martha CurleyThe Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has awarded Martha Curley, the Ruth M. Colket Endowed Chair in Pediatric Nursing and professor of nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, the 2021 Drs. Vidyasagar and Nagamani Dharmapuri Award for Excellence in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. This annual award recognizes an individual for sustained exemplary and pioneering achievement in the care of critically ill and injured infants and children. It was presented virtually during the American College of Critical Care Medicine Convocation/Society of Critical Care Medicine Awards on February 5. Dr. Curley is the first woman and nurse to receive this award.

“I am excited to receive the award because it acknowledges a lifetime of work that has cleared the path to recognize the contributions that nurses make in the care of critically ill children and their families,” said Dr. Curley. “It’s also important from the perspective of situating the patient and the parent in this award, because all of the work that I’ve done over the years has been based on the needs of patients and their families. I’m humbled by the award and honored to receive it, especially as the first woman and nurse to receive it.”

Recipients of this award distinguish themselves by achieving national and international professional prominence as a result of their personal character, leadership, eminence in clinical practice, and outstanding contributions to research, education, program development, and advocacy for pediatric critical care medicine.

“Dr. Curley’s recognition as this year’s recipient of the Drs. Vidyasagar and Nagamani Dharmapuri Award for Excellence in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine is a testament to her innovation and commitment in the care of critically ill infants and children,” said José Bauermeister, the Albert M. Greenfield Professor of Human Relations and chair of Penn Nursing’s department of family and community health. “Penn Nursing is thrilled that Dr. Curley is the first nurse to earn this well-deserved recognition for her work.”

“Martha Curley is a maverick in Pediatric Critical Care. Her drive and motivation to improve the lives of the children we serve through Nursing is unparalleled,” said Lauren Sorce, assistant professor in the division of pediatric critical care medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “As a result of her mentorship, I have met and collaborated with many others in our field, completed a PhD program and now do my own independent research. Her mentorship is generous and has truly altered my career trajectory.”

Tiffany Keung and Apratim Vidyarthi: ABA Forum on Communications Law Prize Winners

Tiffany Keung, L’22, and Apratim Vidyarthi, L’22, were announced as the winners of the 13th Annual First Amendment and Media Law Diversity Moot Court Competition, presented by the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law. The pair also won Best Brief. Best Brief is awarded to the highest-scoring individual brief, along with a $1,000 cash prize for each team member.

The annual competition helps introduce the practice of media law to minority law students, while also serving to connect participating students with practicing lawyers who are active in the Communications Law Bar. Teams made up of two students are given a set of hypothetical facts surrounding a hypothetical case involving a timely, national issue effecting communications law for which they then prepare and submit an appellate brief.

Competition finalists are offered summer employment opportunities with ABA Forum sponsoring organizations that include top law firms, media companies, and First Amendment nonprofits, as well as cash prizes for best brief, oral argument, and overall winners.

This year’s competition, held entirely remotely, covered topics surrounding traditional media law issues as well as digital media and regulatory advocacy and was judged by partners at top law firms, in-house counsel at major media companies, and members of the judiciary.

“It was a fascinating topic that brought together some of the 1L classes that Apratim and I took together—such as Civil Procedure­ for the applicability of a state anti-SLAPP statute and Internet Law—for questions of Section 230 immunity,” said Ms. Keung.

Yuan Liu: Colgate Award for Research Excellence

caption: Yuan LiuPenn Dental Medicine’s Yuan Liu, research associate in the department of preventive and restorative sciences, has been recognized for her research as a 2021 recipient of the Colgate Award for Research Excellence (CARE). Designed to advance oral healthcare diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventative strategies from basic to translational research, the CARE program targets the development of junior faculty by providing seed research funding to emerging leaders in academia. Dr. Liu was awarded $30,000 in support of a study titled “Oral Candida infection in infancy and early childhood caries,” selected based on innovation, clinical significance, originality, and scientific quality.

Established to recognize a new generation of academic researchers, the CARE program recipients are required to be in the first five years of their academic appointment. Dr. Liu, who is working with the School’s Center for Clinical and Translational Research with Pat Corby and at the research lab of Michel Koo, professor in the department of orthodontics and divisions of pediatric dentistry and community oral health, joined the full-time research faculty at Penn Dental Medicine in 2020. However, she has been conducting research at the School since 2014, when she joined the Koo lab as a postdoctoral researcher. Dr. Liu was also the inaugural recipient of the Colgate-Palmolive Pediatric Dentistry DScD Fellowship at Penn Dental Medicine in 2017, and she earned her DScD in 2019.

“Dr. Liu’s study into severe early childhood caries is significant and conceptually innovative,” says Dr. Koo. “This work may lead to a new paradigm for the etiology and pathogenesis of this severe disease impacting children worldwide.”

Globally, there are nearly 1.8 billion cases a year of early childhood caries (ECC) with severe ECC (S-ECC), particularly problematic as the disease progresses rapidly to the cavitation stage (within 6 to 12 months in some cases) with painful and costly consequences to toddlers.

Dr. Liu’s CARE program proposal was based on a recent discovery that oral thrush in infancy is strongly associated with ECC detection by pediatricians, especially at younger ages. “Early intervention is crucial,” says Dr. Liu. “Discovering S-ECC risk factors can allow pediatricians to identify high-risk patients who can then be referred to dentists for early prevention measures.”

Dr. Liu was also recognized for her research as the 2020 recipient of the IADR Women in Science Promising Talent Award (Almanac June 23, 2020).

Paris Perdikaris: SIAM Early Career Prize

caption: Paris PerdikarisParis Perdikaris, assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, has been honored with an Early Career Prize from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).

Dr. Perdikaris’s prize comes from the SIAM Activity Group on Computational Science and Engineering (SIAG/CSE) and is in recognition of “his work on machine learning using Gaussian processes and neural networks, which has set the foundation for a new paradigm in data-driven and physics-informed scientific computing.” He will present a virtual lecture on the topic at the SIAM Conference on Computational Science and Engineering, held March 1-5.

SIAG/CSE awards an Early Career Prize every two years, recognizing researchers in the field of computational science and engineering who have made influential contributions to their field within seven years of receiving their PhD or equivalent degree.

Two SEAS Faculty: Toyota Research Institute Funding

The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) has announced its next phase of its collaborative research program, selecting 13 research institutions to receive more than $75 million over the course of the next five years. As one of these institutions, Penn Engineering is home to two researchers who will conduct projects related to robotics, computer vision and safety under this program: Michael Posa, assistant professor in the department of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, and Jianbo Shi, professor in the department of computer and information science.

Dr. Posa’s project aims to enable control of complex robotic motions, whether that be in-hand manipulation or legged locomotion over rough terrain. By algorithmically uncovering simplified models that distill the key features of the high-dimensional, multi-contact dynamics, robots will be able to make real-time decisions on how to move and react to their changing environments. This project will leverage and contribute to the Drake open-source software library. Dr. Posa’s lab employs a bipedal robot, known as Cassie, to improve the walking skills that toddlers naturally master but robots continue to struggle with.

Dr. Shi’s project, which will be conducted in collaboration with Hyun Soo Park of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, aims to use computer vision algorithms to better understand what a car’s driver and passengers are doing. Gathering data with multiple cameras positioned within a car’s cabin, machine learning techniques can be used to predict when a driver is distracted or falling asleep, or learn how and where passengers are sitting in relation to the car’s seatbelts and airbags. By modeling the interior of a car and its occupants from multiple angles and lighting conditions, the computer systems that govern a car’s safety features would be better prepared to respond in a wide range of situations.

Drs. Posa and Shi are both members of Penn Engineering’s GRASP Lab, which includes around two dozen professors who are increasingly developing robotics research with industrial ties.

Kathleen Stebe: National Academy of Engineering

caption: Kathleen StebeThe National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 106 U.S. members and 23 international members in this year’s class. Among them is Kathleen Stebe, Richer & Elizabeth Goodwin Professor in the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer, and puts Dr. Stebe in rare company; this class brings the total U.S. membership to 2,355 and the number of international members to 298.

Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”

Dr. Stebe’s citation was “for contributions to understanding of nonequilibrium processes at soft matter interfaces and its impact on new technologies.”

Among the many technologies Dr. Stebe’s research is poised to impact are those in the field of dental medicine; she is the co-director of Penn’s newly established Center for Innovation and Precision Dentistry (Almanac February 23, 2021).

Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during the NAE’s annual meeting on October 3, 2021.

Two Penn Nursing Faculty: ANA Commission on Racism

caption: Bridgette BrawnerBridgette M. Brawner, associate professor, and Marcus Henderson, lecturer, both in Penn Nursing’s department of family and community health, have been appointed to the American Nurses Association (ANA)’s National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing.

The Commission will examine the issue of racism within nursing nationwide and work to address its impact on nurses, patients, communities, and health care systems to motivate all nurses to confront systemic racism.

“It is an honor to be invited to join this National Commission,” said Dr. Brawner, who is also chair of the ANA’s Minority Fellowship Program National Advisory Committee. “I believe that nurses have the power and responsibility to turn the tide on racism to promote health, manage illness, and facilitate a dignified death for all.”

“The nursing profession must reckon with its own history of racism in order to move forward,” said Mr. Henderson, who is also a member of the ANA Board of Directors. “It is an honor to serve on this National Commission as we work toward providing a path forward for the profession and our collective role in addressing racism within nursing and beyond.”

caption: Marcus HendersonIn addition to the ANA, the Commission is led by the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurse Associations (NCEMNA), and the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN). The Commission’s members and organizations represent a broad continuum of nursing practice, ethnically diverse groups, and regions across the country.

The Commission aims to lead a national discussion by exploring the experiences of nurses of color to understand the impact of systemic racism and to develop an action-oriented approach across the spectrum of education, practice, policy, and research. Both Dr. Brawner and Mr. Henderson will serve one year on the Commission, which will conclude in December 2021.

Features

Penn Athletics Celebrates 100 Years of Women’s Sports at Penn

caption: A still from the Women’s Athletics 100 Year Anniversary video, which can be viewed at  https://pennathletics.com/news/2021/2/3/general-penn-athletics-set-to-celebrate-100-years-of-womens-athletics.aspx.

“Athletics for women have come to Penn to stay.” So says page 60 of the 1921 Record, the University of Pennsylvania’s annual undergraduate yearbook.

A century later, as we celebrate the 35th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day, that statement remains as true as ever.

Starting in January and continuing through the next year, the University’s Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA) will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1921 formation of the Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) and the official start of women’s athletics at the University. This will include content on the PennAthletics.com website and Penn Athletics social media accounts, and the University’s 16 varsity women’s teams will wear specially made patches on their uniforms to commemorate the anniversary. Additional plans are being developed and will be announced throughout the year.

“We are so proud to be celebrating 100 years of women’s athletics at Penn this year,” said M. Grace Calhoun, the T. Gibbs Kane, Jr. W’69 Director of Athletics and Recreation. “Penn has one of the longest traditions of women’s college athletics in the nation, and can boast of Olympians, national champions, Hall of Famers, and Ivy League team and individual champions. After graduating, our women’s athletes have positively impacted their workplaces and communities, and for that we are equally proud. We see this as a galvanizing moment to bring together our women’s athletes, both past and present, to commemorate a century of excellence.”

As the 1921 Record continued, “no provision had been made for athletics, but a group of determined young women arranged for a Penn class at the West Branch YMCA. In spite of the distance and inconvenience, the girls turned out nobly and practiced basketball assiduously.

“Perhaps this interest woke up the authorities at Penn, for in February we were offered Gym classes two hours every day at Kingsessing Playground and given an instructor, Miss [Margaret] Majer. The work was given only elective credit but over fifty girls came out. Thanks to Miss Majer, we had splendid basket-ball teams and now are developing baseball and tennis teams. Our girls played about eight games with outsiders…the list of teams included Bryn Mawr College, Philadelphia Hockey Team, Temple, Drexel, and Sherwood.

“Our biggest basket-ball game, however, was the sophomore-freshman game. The best material from each team was picked and the class numerals offered for the winners. The game was a scrappy one and well-fought. In the end, the Sophomores won by a very few points.”

According to the University’s Archives page: “With this new commitment to women’s athletics, the Undergraduate Association supported the 1921 establishment of a Women’s Athletics Association, with a constitution and four officers.” The WAA’s first officers were Catherine Riggs (president), Genevieve McDermott (secretary), Georgina Yeatman (treasurer), and Mildred Dougherty (manager).

The year-long celebration of women’s athletics at Penn is being sponsored by ACME Markets. ACME’s sponsorship was procured through a collaboration between ACME’s agency (TKE, LLC) and JMI Sports, the exclusive multimedia rights partner of Penn Athletics.

“As ACME celebrates 130 years of serving Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, we couldn’t be prouder to recognize the 100th anniversary of women’s athletics at Penn,” said Dana Ward, ACME’s communications and public affairs manager. “We are honored to be a part of the Penn community and thrilled to take part in such a significant milestone. Our newest location at 40th and Walnut looks forward to providing quality, fresh and unique food offerings for students, faculty, and neighbors for many years to come. Congratulations to the women who contributed to building this legacy for Penn Athletics and those who continue to raise the bar!”

Events

Penn Museum Culturefest! Holi Celebrations

caption: The Penn Museum has a variety of virtual events planned to celebrate Holi, the colorful Hindu celebration festival that marks the dawn of spring.

The Penn Museum marks the dawn of spring throughout March with CultureFest! Holi, highlighting the Hindu celebration widely known as the Festival of Colors. Originally a festival honoring fertility and the harvest, Holi occurs on the last full moon day of the Hindu lunisolar calendar month and features colorful parades, dances, and folk songs. Presented in partnership with Penn’s South Asia Center, CultureFest! Holi offers live events and activities for all ages, such as: 

Tuesday, March 2 at 1 p.m.: At-Home Anthro Live: Mehendi (Henna tattoos). Used for special events, Mehendi (henna tattoos) is a popular form of body art from South Asia that stems back to ancient times. Kids ages 5-12 will learn how henna plant leaves are turned into powder, then a paste to stain the skin and create their own designs. Free. Register here.

Wednesday, March 3 at 6 p.m.: Commemoration and Monuments in Medieval India. In this virtual Great Lecture, Mark Lycett, the Director of Penn’s South Asia Center, draws on archaeology and landscape history to illustrate how monumental spaces were built, used, and re-used in India, providing clues to their meanings and functions. $5. Register here.

Tuesday, March 9 at 1 p.m.: At-Home Anthro Live: Holi, A Carnival of Colors. Holi celebrates the coming of Spring with colorful powders. Kids ages 5-12 will learn more about the plants that make the powders and the meaning of each color. Free. Register here.

Thursday, March 11 at 1 p.m.: Holi, The Mythology Brought to Life For Holi. Artist Soumya Dhulekar creates live illustrations to tell the story behind a legend in Hindu mythology, alongside a special guest narrator. Free. Register here.

Tuesday, March 16 at 1 p.m.: At-Home Anthro Live: Mughal Miniature Paintings. Often found in book illustrations, Mughal miniature painting is an artform that developed in India during the 16th-18th centuries. Kids ages 5-12 will learn more about how Persian miniatures influenced this painting style and create their own designs to tell stories. Free. Register here

Wednesday, March 17 at 4 p.m.: World Wonders: Holi, Triumph, and Colors In India. Holi signals the coming of the spring season. This virtual presentation examines the myths and rituals that are a part of the popular Hindu festival celebrating life, love, vitality, and the triumph of good over evil. Families with children ages 5-12 will hear stories of Hindu deities and learn to make organic colors for their own Holi celebration—using spices, flour, and vegetables. Pay-what-you-wish. Register here

Thursday, March 25 at 5:30 p.m.: Living Room Lecture: Penn’s South Asia Center. In a casual happy hour livestreamed on Facebook, attendees virtually hang out with a faculty member from Penn’s South Asia Center to learn more about India and its social and cultural expressions, along with an insider’s view on the Holi festival. 

Monday, March 29 at 6 p.m.: Holi Celebration with Three Aksha. Celebrate Holi with a live performance from Three Aksha, a Philadelphia-based dance academy that preserves and promotes Indian culture and heritage through classical Indian Bharatanatyam dance choreography. $5. Register here

In addition to the live programs, other resources inspired by Holi are available on the Museum’s website—with Digital Daily Digs (three-minute videos about one artifact) and at-home DIY projects. The Museum invites families who complete projects to tag @PennMuseum on Facebook and Instagram. Other crafts and recipes can be found on the Museum’s Pinterest profile. The entire CultureFest! Holi lineup can be found here.

—Penn Museum

2021 MLK Commemorative Symposium on Social Change Event Recordings

The 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Symposium on Social Change has concluded, but several program recordings are still available at the African American Resource Center at Penn’s YouTube page. This includes the Jazz for King and Hallmark Program: When the Marches End events.

The Symposium’s Spotify playlist is also available at https://tinyurl.com/mlksymposiumplaylist. For other programming and updates, follow the AARC on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

—African American Resource Center

Update: March AT PENN

Children’s Activities

Penn Museum
Online events. Info and to register: https://www.penn.museum/calendar

2     At-Home Anthro Live: Making Mehendi Designs; 1 p.m.

Conferences

8     Women of Color in Higher Education: Resilience and Empowerment Amidst Twin Pandemics; seeks to unite and strengthen networks and form mentorships for the Penn community of women of color; 5-7 p.m.; online event; register: https://tinyurl.com/odei-conference-march (ODEI; SEAS). Also March 9, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.; March 10, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Fitness & Learning

   What Can I do with a History Major?; Penn History Alumni Share their Experiences; panel of speakers talk about how history skills can serve you on the job market; 5:15 p.m.; Zoom meeting; join: https://tinyurl.com/history-major-talk-mar-3 (History). 

Graduate School of Education
Online events. Info and to register: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/events-calendar

4     GSESG Town Hall #1; noon.

       GSESG Town Hall #2; 7 p.m.

       Virtual Spring Open House; 7:30 p.m.

Talks

2     Temporal Network Epidemiology: Impacts of Concurrency and Inter-Event Times; Naoki Masuda, SUNY Buffalo; 4 p.m.; Zoom meeting; join: https://tinyurl.com/masuda-talk-mar-2 (Mathematics). 

        Women and Philanthropy Panel; Olivia Young, HUP and Virtua Health; 7 p.m.; online event; register: https://tinyurl.com/young-talk-mar-2 (Penn Fund, Nursing). 

    The New Noir: Race, Identity, and Diaspora in Black Suburbia; Orly Clerge, UC Davis; noon; online event; info: https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/events (Africana Studies, Sociology). 

        Nature, Technology, and Sound Design in Gojira (1954); Brooke McCorkle Okazaki, Carleton College; 5 p.m.; online event; register: https://tinyurl.com/mccorkle-talk-mar-3 (CEAS). 

9      Understanding and Controlling Pattern Formation of Soft Materials; Aditi Chakrabarti, Harvard; 10:30 a.m.; Zoom meeting; info: peterlit@seas.upenn.edu (MEAM). 

        Healing with Poisons; Yan Liu, SUNY Buffalo; noon; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/liu-talk-mar-9 (CEAS). 

Economics
Online events. Info and to register: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/events

    Market-Based Mechanisms; Quitzé Valenzuela-Stookey, Northwestern; 4 p.m.

3     Managing Public Portfolios; Mike Golosov, University of Chicago; 4 p.m.

Penn Dental
Online events. Info and to register: https://www.dental.upenn.edu/news-events/events/

9     “Fluorescence Enhanced Theragnosis” and its Benefits for Clinical Dentistry; Liviu Steier, University of Warwick; 6 p.m.

--

AT PENN Deadlines

The March AT PENN calendar is online. The deadline to submit events for the April AT PENN calendar is March 15. Submit events to almanac@upenn.edu.

Crimes

Weekly Crime Reports

University of Pennsylvania Police Department Crime Report

Below are the Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Society and Crimes Against Property from the campus report for February 15-21, 2021. View prior weeks' reports. —Ed.

This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety and includes all criminal incidents reported and made known to the University Police Department for the dates of February 15-21, 2021. The University Police actively patrol from Market St to Baltimore and from the Schuylkill River to 43rd St 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 the Division of Public Safety at (215) 898-4482.

02/15/21

6:57 AM

3130 Walnut St

Unknown person spray painted large dumpster

02/15/21

12:00 PM

3603 Walnut St

Merchandise taken without payment

02/15/21

1:13 PM

3744 Spruce St

Complainant struck by offender who was released pending warrant

02/15/21

1:15 PM

3744 Spruce St

Disorderly conduct by offender/Arrest

02/15/21

2:11 PM

125 S 31st St

Money taken from an unsecured wallet

02/15/21

3:35 PM

4001 Walnut St

Merchandise taken without payment

02/15/21

5:50 PM

421 Curie Blvd

Secured bike taken

02/15/21

8:00 PM

3925 Walnut St

Unsecured items taken from study room

02/16/21

6:42 PM

422 Curie Blvd

Secured bike taken

02/16/21

7:05 PM

4000 Spruce St

Complainant assaulted by a group of juveniles

02/16/21

7:27 PM

4000 Pine St

Offenders assaulted and took items from complainant

02/16/21

11:01 PM

3610 Hamilton Way

Secured scooter taken

02/17/21

7:24 AM

3744 Spruce St

Disorderly conduct inside store by offender/Arrest

02/17/21

10:46 AM

3925 Walnut St

Merchandise removed without payment

02/17/21

2:09 PM

4001 Walnut St

Merchandise removed without payment

02/20/21

4:30 PM

3603 Walnut St

Merchandise taken without payment

02/21/21

2:27 PM

110 S 36th St

Merchandise taken without payment

02/21/21

2:43 PM

3400 Spruce St

U-lock secured bike stolen from rack

02/21/21

3:58 PM

3300 Spruce St

Unknown offender physically assaulted complainant

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 8 crimes against persons (4 assaults, 2 robberies, 1 aggravated assault, and 1 domestic assault) were reported for February 15-21, 2021 by the 18th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th St & Market St to Woodland Avenue.

02/15/21

2:10 PM

3744 Spruce St

Assault

02/16/21

7:48 PM

4000 Spruce St

Assault

02/16/21

8:01 PM

4000 Pine St

Robbery

02/16/21

11:11 PM

1000 S 48th St

Robbery

02/17/21

2:31 PM

4300 Baltimore Ave

Aggravated Assault

02/19/21

8:23 AM

4 S 43rd St

Assault

02/19/21

6:35 PM

4708 Hazel Ave

Domestic Assault

02/21/21

3:58 PM

S 33rd & South Sts

Assault

Bulletins

FY20 Annual Report for the Division of the Vice Provost for University Life

The Division of the Vice Provost for University Life announced the FY20 Annual Report for the Division of the Vice Provost for University Life. Read the report at https://home.vpul.upenn.edu/ar2020_main/.

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