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From the President: A Message to the Penn Community On President Amy Gutmann’s Nomination to Serve As United States Ambassador to Germany

July 2, 2021

Earlier today President Biden nominated me to serve as United States Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany. I cannot overstate what a meaningful and extraordinary honor it is to be nominated by the President for this important position of service to our country. As the daughter of a German Jewish refugee, as a first-generation college graduate, and as a university leader devoted to advancing constitutional democracy, I am grateful beyond what any words can adequately express to President Biden for the faith he has placed in me to help represent America’s values and interests to one of our closest and most important European allies.

Ambassadorial appointments require U.S. Senate confirmation, and Senate hearings on the nomination have not been scheduled. As you know, I have previously signaled my plans to conclude my Presidency of Penn at the end of my eighteenth year, on June 30, 2022. I will continue to avidly work as Penn President until then or the time when there is a Senate confirmation, which would likely mean that I would be leaving the presidency several months earlier than previously planned. 

Until that time, I remain absolutely energized and engaged in leading Penn with an unrivaled leadership team and community of faculty, students, staff, and alumni. The Penn community has shown its true mettle more than ever this year, and to great effect for our city and Commonwealth, country and world. 

As you know, I care deeply about our mission of research, teaching, patient care, and civic service, and I adore working with all of you.  I will remain dedicated to furthering these essential roles that make our community, country, and world a better place. Every day, we will continue to work together and focus on an inspiring overarching goal—making Penn a more impactful, innovative, and inclusive institution—and that certainly does not change with my nomination.

I have had conversations with the leadership of our Board of Trustees and we all can rest assured that they are planning for a smooth transition. We have a most dedicated and talented leadership team and Board of Trustees that are altogether unsurpassed in higher education, so there is every reason to be confident that the operations of our University will proceed apace without any interruptions.

I will keep you posted as this process proceeds. I wish you a restful summer as we look forward to the fall and our joyful return to on-campus operations.

—Amy Gutmann, President

F. Claire Hankenson: Associate Vice Provost for Research and Executive Director of ULAR

caption: Claire HankensonSenior Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell announced the appointment of F. Claire Hankenson as Associate Vice Provost for Research and executive director of University Laboratory Animal Resources (ULAR), effective November 1, 2021. Dr. Hankenson will also serve as Penn’s attending veterinarian. In these roles, she will oversee ULAR and lead the division of laboratory animal medicine as a professor of clinical pathobiology in the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Hankenson is currently a professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University (MSU), where she is also the attending veterinarian and director of Campus Animal Resources. She has been responsible for MSU’s animal programs during a period of growth in biomedical research and recently oversaw the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining research animal populations and ensuring the continuation of critical animal research projects during this unprecedented time. Before her position at MSU, Dr. Hankenson served for eight years at Penn as senior associate director of ULAR.

Dr. Hankenson is a past president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research. She also recently served as the sole laboratory animal veterinarian on the National Institutes of Health Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD)’s Working Group on Enhancing Reproducibility and Rigor in Animal Research. Dr. Hankenson earned a DVM from Purdue University, an MS from the University of Washington, and a BA from Indiana University.

“Dr. Hankenson is a proven leader with a strong record of accomplishments who will skillfully lead the next trajectory of excellence at ULAR and the academic laboratory animal medicine programs and I am delighted that she is returning to Penn,” said Senior Vice Provost Bonnell.

Diane Gaertner, who served as Associate Vice Provost and director of ULAR for 18 years, retired from Penn in June 2021.

Dolores Albarracín: Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor

caption: Dolores AlbarracínDolores Albarracín has been named the University of Pennsylvania’s twenty-eighth Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor, effective July 1, 2021.

The announcement was made on June 22 by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett.

Dr. Albarracín, a world-renowned social psychologist, will be the Alexandra Heyman Nash University Professor, with joint appointments in the Annenberg School for Communication and the department of family and community health in the School of Nursing.

“We are delighted to welcome Dolores Albarracín back to Penn as our newest Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor,” President Gutmann said. “Dolores’ pathbreaking teaching and research cross traditional academic boundaries to advance the urgent goal of improving health and wellness for some of our society’s most vulnerable and at-risk people, including people with HIV/AIDS who use drugs.

“Her work has transformed both basic understanding of the psychology of social cognition and motivation along with nursing, medical and public health interventions focused on changing attitudes and behaviors to improve the welfare of individuals and society. She embodies our vision for Penn and our PIK initiative, which seeks to make positive change in our world by harnessing inclusion and innovation to drive maximum impact.”

Dr. Albarracín, who was recently elected president of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, studies persuasion, belief formation, motivation and behavioral change, especially related to health behaviors. She is currently a professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was the Martin Fishbein Professor of Communication at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication from 2012 to 2014. In January 2021, she published Action and Inaction in a Social World: Predicting and Changing Attitudes and Behavior with Cambridge University Press. She has also published four other books, including three volumes of the landmark and widely used Handbook of Attitudes, and almost 200 journal articles and book chapters. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. She recently received the Avant-Garde Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and two awards from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Born in Argentina, Dr. Albarracín served from 2014 to 2020 as editor-in-chief of the Psychological Bulletin and currently leads the Social Action Lab at the University of Illinois, which advances her pioneering research attitudes, socially beneficial behaviors, health outcomes, and interventions.

Dr. Albarracín earned a PhD in social psychology and an MA in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, along with a PhD in clinical psychology from the Universidad de Belgrano in Buenos Aires, a BA in psychology from the Universidad Católica de La Plata, and a BA in letters from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata.

“Dolores Albarracín’s work illuminates profound questions about who we are, what we do and how we can change,” said Provost Pritchett. “Her insights into human motivation and persuasion will be more significant than ever as the world emerges from a pandemic and seeks to improve the future of global health. We are proud to welcome her back to Penn and confident that she will have a dynamic impact across our campus in the years ahead.”

The Penn Integrates Knowledge program was launched by President Gutmann in 2005 as a University-wide initiative to recruit exceptional faculty members whose research and teaching exemplify the integration of knowledge across disciplines and who are appointed in at least two schools at Penn.

The Alexandra Heyman Nash University Professorship is a gift of Stephen J. Heyman, a 1959 graduate of the Wharton School, and his wife, Barbara Heyman. The professorship is named for the couple’s daughter, Alexandra Heyman Nash, a 1989 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences. Stephen Heyman is a University Emeritus Trustee and member of the School of Nursing Board of Advisors. He is a managing partner at Nadel and Gussman, LLC in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

De’Broski Herbert: Presidential Associate Professor

caption: De'Broski HerbertUniversity of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann has appointed De’Broski R. Herbert, a faculty member in the department of pathobiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet), as Presidential Associate Professor.

Dr. Herbert is currently an associate professor of immunology, and since joining the faculty in 2016, he has established and sustained a highly productive NIH-funded research program. His research portfolio is a substantial component to the school’s renowned strength in neglected diseases of poverty. Dr. Herbert is an active collaborator with faculty at Penn Medicine who concentrate on immunologic mechanisms of disease, as well as with faculty from the Penn Institute for Immunology, the Penn Center for Pulmonary Biology, and the Penn Digestive Diseases Research Center. In addition to his rigorous basic research program, Dr. Herbert is internationally recognized for his formative work in Nigeria, where he examined biological samples from children in the Hausa State in North Nigeria. This study discovered numerous worm-like organisms, or helminths, that are endemic to that region.

“As a parasitologist and immunologist, Dr. Herbert’s mission is to understand how parasites manipulate the host’s immune system to favor their survival,” said Andrew Hoffman, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine. “His work demonstrates clearly that an understanding of parasite-host interactions is key to unlocking the biology of the immune system itself, since disruption unmasks basic mechanisms that are relevant to a variety of diseases including Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and more.

Dr. Herbert received his BS in microbiology from Xavier University of Louisiana and his PhD in immunology from Thomas Jefferson University. He did his postdoctoral research at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and he went on to hold faculty positions at the University of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, and at the University of California at San Francisco. Dr. Herbert serves on the editorial boards of Infection and Immunity and the Journal of Immunology. He also serves on the scientific advisory boards for the Keystone Symposia and the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

Presidential Professorships are awarded by University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann to exceptional scholars, at any rank, who contribute to faculty eminence through scholarship and diversity across the University. They are a key feature of Penn’s Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence.

Annenberg Center Becomes Penn Live Arts

June 29, 2021

It is a redefining moment for us as we begin a multi-year celebration of our 50th anniversary, announcing not only a new season but a new identity that proudly encompasses all that we offer to the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia region. This exciting new chapter honors our legacy, strengthens our connection to Penn and begins a transformative future.

Introducing Penn Live Arts.

In making this change, we honor and uphold the Annenberg Center’s 50-year history of world-class quality and progressive artistry, connecting diverse audiences with visionary artists and ideas. From pre-Broadway runs of August Wilson or Tennessee Williams to building the premier dance series in America and everything in-between, we continue our legacy of introducing Philadelphia to modern, eclectic and boundary-pushing artists as the leading multidisciplinary presenter in the city.

As Penn Live Arts, we celebrate and deepen our integration with Penn, furthering our commitment to use the performing arts to bolster the student, faculty, and staff experience. We will foster a closer alignment with academic curriculum through masterclasses, workshops, and professional development opportunities and create a more interconnected arts culture as a true advocate for student performing arts. We bridge campus and community with greater access to the world-class expertise and resources of Penn.

And, Penn Live Arts looks to the future with excitement for growth and transformation as we curate innovative and more wide-reaching programming in spaces beyond the Annenberg Center’s walls. In presenting more national and international artists not otherwise performing in the city, we expand access to and understanding of worldwide culture across our community. We will energize current audiences and inspire and welcome the next as we seek to be a catalyst for new performance works, creativity, engagement and connections, both in and outside of our theatres.

—Penn Live Arts

Annenberg Faculty: $3.49 Million NIDA Grant to Study LGBTQ+ Youth Vaping

caption: Andy TanIn the United States, LGBTQ+ youth—including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adolescents—are 10-30% more likely to vape than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Because vaping increases the risk of beginning to smoke cigarettes or use other tobacco products by four-fold, LGBTQ+ youth are at a greater risk for tobacco use and tobacco-related health concerns.

To combat this health crisis, a group of Annenberg School faculty members have received a five-year, $3.49 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a tailored social media intervention to prevent vaping initiation among LGBTQ+ youth. The team includes principal investigator Andy Tan, Robert C. Hornik, David Lydon-Staley, and Andrew A. Strasser.

“This study is important because there is currently no evidence-based approach to reduce vaping among LGBTQ+ youth,” said Dr. Tan. “We also know that LGBTQ+ youth experience very different stresses and also have unique resiliencies against avoiding tobacco use compared with non-LGBTQ+ youth. Therefore, mainstream anti-vaping messaging for youth may not be relatable for LGBTQ+ youth. By co-creating an anti-vaping social media campaign with significant input from LGBTQ+ youth, we will ensure the campaign addresses their specific risks and resiliencies to help them avoid starting to vape.”

The study, entitled Project SMART (Social Media Anti-Vaping Messages to Reduce ENDS Use Among Sexual and Gender Minority Teens), aims to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related health disparities among LGBTQ+ youth populations. Based on prior health communication studies, the researchers believe that culturally tailored anti-vaping social media messages will be more effective than non-tailored messages to prevent vaping initiation among LGBTQ+ youth.

The specific goals of the study are to explore and identify what makes LGBTQ+ youth more likely to vape, develop anti-vaping messages that are culturally tailored to LGBTQ+ youth, and evaluate the effectiveness of the anti-vaping messages among LGBTQ+ youth.

In addition to the Annenberg faculty members, the research team includes multidisciplinary collaborators from across the country, as well as an advisory committee made up of community organization leaders.

Linda Goode Bryant: ICA Guest Curator

caption: Linda Goode BryantThe Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania has announced visionary artist, writer, filmmaker, and activist Linda Goode Bryant’s appointment as the 2021-2022 Katherine Sachs, CW’69, and Keith L. Sachs, W’67, Guest Curator. Ms. Goode Bryant’s role will be as artistic director of the forthcoming initiative RAW Académie, Session 9: Infrastructure, an innovative collaboration between ICA and the Dakar-based RAW Material Company, to be held in Philadelphia in spring 2022.

RAW Académie is a residential program for the research and study of artistic and curatorial practice and thought that is rooted in the question: “How do we learn from each other?” To stage the ninth session of its Académie to be directed by Ms. Goode Bryant, RAW will relocate its staff and organization to Philadelphia.

“Since 2017 ICA has been in dialogue with Koyo Kouoh, founding artistic director of RAW Material Company, and their team, to develop an institutional exchange between our two organizations,” said Alex Klein, Dorothy and Stephen R. Weber, CHE’60, Curator and co-organizer of the initiative. “At the heart of the collaboration is a shared ethos of hospitality and a commitment to mutual learning. As the artistic director of the Académie, Linda Goode Bryant proposes a session that will lay the groundwork for the creation of a new infrastructure for contemporary art. Her own visionary body of work defies easy categorization and challenges assumptions about what arts organizations should look like, how they should function, and what they can do. Working with Linda is a continuously rewarding and nourishing experience, and I cannot think of a more inspiring individual to help us to reimagine the future of the field.”

Penn’s Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law Moves to Annenberg Public Policy Center

caption: Claire Finkelsteincaption: Kathleen Hall JamiesonThe Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law (CERL) at the University of Pennsylvania will become formally affiliated with the University’s Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC), moving from Penn Law, the centers announced on June 24. The decision, effective July 1, 2021, was fueled by the centers’ desire to join forces and have a greater impact in promoting and strengthening the rule of law in democratic governance.

“This is a significant development in academia’s efforts to protect and preserve the rule of law, and CERL is honored to be officially affiliated with APPC,” said Claire Finkelstein, CERL’s founder and academic director and the Algernon Biddle Professor of Law and professor of philosophy at Penn Law. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Kathleen Hall Jamieson and the APPC team on vital projects that will help maintain and strengthen our democracy’s ideals and institutions.”

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director and founder of APPC and the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication in Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication, is equally delighted that the two centers are combining their complementary expertise and talents. “CERL and APPC have been allies in bringing attention to the erosion of the country’s democratic norms and laws,” she said. “CERL’s national security expertise and APPC’s work in policy making and communication scholarship are a natural fit for advancing the rule of law among policy makers, academia, and the public.”

Dr. Finkelstein will remain a full-time member of the Penn Law faculty.

In March 2020, the two centers announced an alliance; they then collaborated on an October 2020 conference on climate security communications and an April 2021 conference on escalation of nuclear threat communications. Post-July 1 projects will focus on the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention center, U.S. violent extremism, and civic education in the military.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center was established in 1993 to educate the public and policymakers about communication’s role in advancing public understanding of political, health, and science issues at the local, state, and federal levels. The Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law is a nonpartisan interdisciplinary center dedicated to preserving and promoting the rule of law in national security, warfare, and U.S. governance. Founded in 2012, CERL draws from the study of law, philosophy, and ethics to educate and guide policymakers, academia, the private sector, and the general public.

From the President, Provost, Deputy Provost, Senior Executive Vice President, and Vice President for Human Resources: A Message to Faculty and Staff on Staff Appreciation Day Off

June 21, 2021

As we complete an extraordinary academic year, we write to extend our profound thanks to all colleagues—Penn’s unsurpassed faculty and staff—for your individual and collaborative efforts in serving our community through the pandemic while working both on-campus and remotely.

Over the past year the University made tremendous progress in our mutual mission of inclusion, innovation and impact. Working together, we successfully concluded a year of pathbreaking research and world-class education under the most challenging of circumstances. A most fitting culmination was the Commencement ceremony on May 17, where we were able to celebrate the success of our outstanding students. Penn’s remarkable success is attributable to your efforts, along with those of so many talented and caring individuals united in dedication to Penn’s essential mission.

To manifest our appreciation for everyone’s contribution to Penn’s collective success in a year like no other, we are offering an administrative day off with pay for all University staff members to be enjoyed by December 31, 2021.

Schools and centers will administer this day off in a manner that supports their operations. A few may choose a particular day for all staff while others may provide a time period for utilization of this day. Staff are encouraged to coordinate time off with their supervisor and follow departmental, school and center guidelines for enjoying and reporting this time.

We hope you enjoy this added day off. We look forward to joyfully reuniting on campus in the fall.

—Amy Gutmann, President
—Wendell Pritchett, Provost
—Beth Winkelstein, Deputy Provost
—Craig Carnaroli, Senior Executive Vice President
—Jack Heuer, Vice President, Division of Human Resources

Penn Medicine Launches Region’s First Post-COVID-19 Neurological Care Clinic

According to a recent study, as many as one in three COVID-19 survivors experience a mental health or neurological disorder within six months of a coronavirus infection, adding to a growing body of evidence that show COVID-19 can have serious and potentially long-lasting effects on the brain.

The Penn Neuro COVID Clinic aims to assess and treat long-haul COVID patients suffering from neurological symptoms. Recently launched by the department of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, the clinic focuses on patients who previously tested positive for COVID-19 and experience symptoms related to cognition, headache, vertigo, and brain fog. This is the first such clinic in the region.

“We are still learning about the impact of the virus on our bodies, but the Penn Neuro COVID Clinic allows physicians to implement proper outpatient services to patients experiencing the neurological aspects of long-haul COVID,” said Frances Jensen, chair of neurology in PSOM. “It is also our goal to establish standardized evaluation and treatment protocols, and ultimately develop clinical trials to expand our understanding and treatment of patients affected by the virus.”

The clinic offers standardized cognitive tests to evaluate symptoms and diagnose patients, as well as screens for mental health disorders associated with COVID-19, like depression and anxiety. The clinic can offer referrals to the appropriate providers within the Penn Medicine network of physical, occupational, cognitive therapists, and physician subspecialists based on individual needs.

“We know how frustrating it is for long-haul COVID patients who are experiencing these symptoms,” said Danielle Sandsmark, an assistant professor of neurology, one of four physicians leading the clinic. “First and foremost, we want our patients to feel heard, and then we want to administer excellent care to manage symptoms and provide relief.”

Additional physicians at the Penn Neuro COVID Clinic include Dennis Kolson, a professor of neurology; Sara Manning Peskin, an instructor of neurology; and Matthew Schindler, an instructor of neurology. With backgrounds in different aspects of neurology—including cognitive neurology, neuroimaging, neurovirology and immunology, and neurocritical care—the physicians combine their varied expertise to give 360-degree evaluation and care to patients.

“COVID-19 is here to stay at some prevalence,” said Dr. Kolson. “In addition to treating patients currently suffering the long-term symptoms, our goals at the clinic are to also understand not only the neurological complications and pathogenic mechanisms of the infection, but also to develop treatments to mitigate the future negative effects on patients.”

The Penn Neuro COVID Clinic is conducting visits both in-person and virtually. All neurological patients are currently being referred through Penn Medicine’s Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Post-COVID Assessment and Recovery Clinic, which can be reached by calling (215) 893-2668.

Penn Libraries Receives Gift for DEIA Lecture Series

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries have announced a gift of $100,000 from William C. Park, C’89, and Jung Choi to fund a five-year lecture series dedicated to exploring topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA). The Park-Choi DEIA Lecture Series Fund supports the Penn Libraries’ commitment, articulated in its Strategic Plan 2020-2025, to contribute to local and national movements to address societal inequities. The plan details four strategic priorities supported by an ongoing investment in building the organization’s capacity and learning, and informed by a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

“In building deep and distinctive collections, preserving knowledge, and increasing access to it, the Penn Libraries has the ability to inspire, to offer hope, and to change people’s lives,” said Constantia Constantinou, H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. “As we move forward with our strategic plan, this generous gift bolsters our commitment to create and sustain a living and learning environment that is truly transformative, safe, and welcoming for all.”

Mr. Park and Ms. Choi are excited to support a lecture series that will address the many forms of institutional racism. Reflecting on events of the last year, Mr. Park notes, “The Black Lives Matter movement and more recent wave of anti-Asian hate crimes have made a deep impression on me and raised the need for more education and discussion on racial inequality and social justice.”

The lecture series will be open to Penn staff, students, and faculty, and the general public. “The Penn Libraries’ educational resources are second-to-none,” said Mr. Park. “It’s important to offer as many programs as possible to as wide a community as possible.”

Penn Medicine Innovation Projects: Independence Blue Cross Grants

Three Penn Medicine projects tied to its Center for Health Care Innovation were chosen by Independence Blue Cross to receive Clinical Care Innovation Grants. These grants are awarded annually to programs in the Philadelphia area that “improve the health and well-being” of patients.

“Independence Blue Cross and Penn both seek care models that dramatically improve patient outcomes and value,” said Roy Rosin, the chief innovation officer at Penn Medicine. “Penn has built strong, early evidence in these novel approaches to care delivery, and Independence Blue Cross will now help advance and accelerate these projects to achieve widespread impact.”
The three projects awarded grants include:

  • Remote supervised cardiac rehabilitation for patients recovering from acute events related to heart disease – engaging patients at home in an exercise-based, multidisciplinary program which reduces hospital readmissions, recurrent cardiac events, and mortality. Srinath Adusumalli, assistant chief medical information officer of Connected Health Strategy and Application and assistant program director of the cardiovascular disease fellowship, and Neel Chokshi, director of the Center for Digital Cardiology, lead this effort.
  • LiveAware, an automated platform to improve on-time imaging-based screening rates for cancer, reduce the cognitive burden on clinicians to determine patients eligible for screening, and improve patient outcomes. This project is led by Tessa Cook, an assistant professor of radiology and co-director of the Center for Practice Transformation.
  • Penny, an automated text messaging system for assisting patients with taking complicated oral chemotherapy treatments at home, leading to higher treatment adherence, effective management of side effects, and decreased need for phone and office visits, as well as emergency department visits. Lawrence Shulman, deputy director of clinical services at the Abramson Cancer Center, will lead this project.

Each of these projects have already been used to help Penn Medicine patients, but the grants will help them expand into new, more rigorous phases of trials that will build toward the goal of wider use.

“These funds will support research efforts designed to provide the clinical evidence we need to move us toward making these the standards of care,” said Elissa Klinger, the assistant director of the Center for Digital Health within the Center for Health Care Innovation, who helped the projects apply for the grants. “For example, the Penny bot is being built out and enrolling more patients to ensure it continues to be safe and effective, which will provide evidence needed to make it the standard of care.”

Each of these projects benefitted from expertise and resources provided by the Center for Health Care Innovation’s Acceleration Lab, in close collaboration with clinical leaders from across Penn Medicine.

“We want best practices to be considered ‘business as usual’ so they’re broadly available to patients, help reduce clinician workloads as they deliver the best possible care, and drive value and efficient allocation of resources,” Dr. Rosin said.

Deaths

Malcolm Lynch, Penn Dental

caption: Malcolm LynchMalcolm A. Lynch, a former professor of oral medicine and an interim dean of Penn’s School of Dental Medicine, died on June 4 of natural causes. He was 88.

Dr. Lynch received an undergraduate degree from the University of Chattanooga and a DDS degree from the University of Tennessee. Afterward, he served as a dental officer in the U.S. Navy and earned an MD at the University of Washington in St. Louis in 1963. After an internship in internal medicine at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, he moved to Philadelphia to be a fellow in oral medicine at Pennsylvania General Hospital in 1964.

A year later, Dr. Lynch joined the faculty of Penn Dental as an instructor in the department of oral medicine, eventually becoming an assistant professor there in 1968 and then a full professor in 1975. Dr. Lynch was heavily involved with the faculty at Penn Dental, serving as Assistant Dean for Hospital and Extramural Affairs in the early 1970s and representing his school on several Faculty Senate committees over the decades. His teaching was renowned; Dr. Lynch received both a Lindback Teaching Award and Penn Dental’s Student Council Award for Excellence in Teaching. From 1988 to 1989, Dr. Lynch was the interim dean of Penn Dental (Almanac November 17, 1987), succeeding Jan Lindhe. 

Dr. Lynch’s expertise was not confined to dental medicine. In 1965, he joined Penn’s Student Health Service as an attending physician. He rose through the ranks there, eventually serving as its acting director from 1983 to 1985 (Almanac October 25, 1983). Dr. Lynch was also on the attending staff of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), and from 1974 to 1977, he served as the chair of its department of dental medicine. In the 1980s, he spoke at Penn on several panels about AIDS and sat on a committee on campus planning under then-President Sheldon Hackney. 

Dr. Lynch was well-regarded for his research and lectures, most of which dealt with mouth disease and oral manifestations of systemic disease. He wrote several influential book chapters and edited evergreen textbook Burket’s Oral Medicine for several years; the eighth edition (1984) of the book, produced under Dr. Lynch’s stewardship, was translated into Spanish, Italian, and Chinese. 

Dr. Lynch is survived by his partner, John McKeon, and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. As per his wishes, no memorial services will be held.

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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.

Governance

2021-2024 Board of Trustees Meetings

I am very pleased to share that we are planning for on-campus, in-person Trustee meetings for the 2021-2022 academic year. These plans are, of course, contingent on the City of Philadelphia and CDC guidelines, and the safe return to campus for the fall semester of students, faculty, and staff. Meeting dates are below, and academic year meeting dates can be found on the Office of the University Secretary website: https://secretary.upenn.edu/trustees-governance/trustees-meeting-schedule.

—Lizann Boyle Rode, Associate Vice President

2021

Thursday, September 23, 2021
Executive Committee Meeting
Audit & Compliance Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

Thursday-Friday, November 4–5, 2021
Fall Full Board Meeting

Thursday, December 9, 2021
Executive Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting (if needed)

2022

Wednesday, March 2, 2022
New Trustee Orientation

Thursday-Friday, March 3–4, 2022
Winter Full Board Meeting

Thursday, May 12, 2022
Executive Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

Thursday-Friday, June 9–10, 2022
Spring Full Board Meeting

Thursday, September 22, 2022
Executive Committee Meeting
Audit & Compliance Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

Thursday-Friday, October 20–21, 2022
Fall Full Board Meeting

2023

Wednesday, March 1, 2023
New Trustee Orientation

Thursday-Friday, March 2–3, 2023
Winter Full Board Meeting

Thursday, May 11, 2023
Executive Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

Thursday-Friday, June 15–16, 2023
Spring Full Board Meeting

New Dates: September 2023 – June 2024

Thursday, September 28, 2023
Executive Committee Meeting
Audit & Compliance Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

Thursday-Friday, November 2–3, 2023
Fall Full Board Meeting

Thursday, December 7
Executive Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting (if needed)

2024

Wednesday, February 28, 2024
New Trustee Orientation

Thursday-Friday, February 29 and March 1, 2024
Winter Full Board Meeting

Thursday, May 16, 2024
Executive Committee Meeting
Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

Thursday-Friday, June 13–14, 2024
Spring Full Board Meeting

Supplements

Honors

Norm Badler: ACM SIGGRAPH Academy

Norm Badler, Rachleff Family Professor in the department of computer and information sciences in Penn Engineering and director of the Center for Digital Visualization, is among the eight new members elected to this year’s ACM SIGGRAPH Academy Class.

ACM SIGGRAPH, the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, is “an international community of researchers, artists, developers, filmmakers, scientists and business professionals” who work in those disciplines. Election to the ACM SIGGRAPH is considered one of the highest awards in the field of computer graphics.

The ACM SIGGRAPH Academy is “an honorary group of individuals who have made substantial contributions to the field of computer graphics. These are principal leaders of the field, whose efforts have shaped the disciplines and/or industry, and led the research and/or innovation in computer graphics and interactive techniques.”

Dr. Badler was specifically elected for his “fundamental contributions to modeling virtual humans and computer animation, and for educating multiple generations of diverse computer graphics students.”

Dr. Badler’s highlighted research focuses on simulating human activities in crowds and urban settings including variables such as personality and external environment.

Juan Castrillón: Seldes Fellow

caption: Juan CastrillónJuan Castrillón, who completed his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in May, has been named the inaugural Gilbert Seldes Multimodal Postdoctoral Fellow at the Annenberg School for Communication.

The newly established fellowship is named in memory of Gilbert Seldes, Annenberg’s founding dean. A decidedly multimodal scholar, Mr. Seldes published books of cultural criticism, wrote magazine columns, adapted plays for Broadway, made documentary films, wrote radio scripts, and was CBS’s first director of television. Multimodal scholarship has been a core concept at Annenberg since Mr. Seldes’ time, and the fellowship named in his honor seeks to support today’s multimodal scholars as they carve out space for themselves in academia and beyond.

“Theory and practice are inexorably linked, and we are committed to furthering the kinds of scholarship at Annenberg that engage with and benefit the public,” said Dean John L. Jackson, Jr. “We look forward to the ways Juan—and future Seldes fellows—will bring this commitment to life through their work.”

Dr. Castrillón’s research focuses on analytics of listening, world-building practices, and contemporary healing arts in Anatolia, Turkey; the Northwest Amazon in Colombia; and Philadelphia. He creates experimental ethnography as a response to contemporary debates in the academy. He uses filmmaking to develop a cinematic language that is respectful of Indigenous perspectives but also open to contemporary debates on gender and critical race theory.

As a Seldes Fellow, Dr. Castrillón will provide mentorship to the CAMRA undergraduate fellows program, collaborate with faculty and graduate students on multimodal projects, and continue his research about talismans in contemporary healing and media arts. His work theorizes that talismans thrive among those whose lives have been impacted by settler colonialism. While at Annenberg, he aims to produce peer-reviewed articles, short films, and to foster international collaboration between art-based research collectives.

Markus Blatz: Editor-in-Chief, Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry

caption: Markus BlatzTaking on a new leadership role in the area of continuing dental education, Penn Dental Medicine’s Markus Blatz has been named editor-in-chief of the journal Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry. His appointment took effect with the May 2021 issue.

Published by AEGIS Communications, the Compendium has become an established leader in globally recognized continuing education, delivering peer-reviewed articles on new techniques, research, and critical issues in oral health. Dr. Blatz is just the third editor-in-chief in the publication’s 42-year history, succeeding Louis F. Rose, who held the post since 2008 and is now the journal’s editor emeritus. The late D. Walter Cohen founded the Compendium during his tenure as Penn Dental Medicine Dean (1972-1983), at the time making the Compendium the first university-affiliated publication to provide journal-based continuing education.

“The Compendium has always held a unique and steadfast place in the ever-evolving dental media world,” said Dr. Blatz, a professor of restorative dentistry and chair of the department of preventive and restorative sciences at Penn Dental Medicine. “It provides highly relevant educational content for the practicing dentist that combines state-of-the-art clinical excellence with scientific rigor. Leading the journal into the future is not just an incredible honor, but a responsibility that I will meet with great enthusiasm.”

Dr. Blatz, who is also Assistant Dean for Digital Innovation and Professional Development at Penn Dental Medicine, has been part of the school’s faculty since 2006. A leader in the field of esthetic dentistry, he founded the Penn Dental Medicine CAD/CAM Ceramic Center and has led the school’s digital innovation initiative.

Yun Ding: Searle Scholar

Yun Ding, an assistant professor of biology in the School of Arts and Sciences, is one of 15 scientists selected as Searle Scholars for 2021. The Searle Scholars Program makes grants to selected universities and research centers to support the independent research of exceptional young faculty in the biomedical sciences and chemistry. This year, 191 applications were considered from nominations by 137 universities and research institutions.

“Our Scientific Advisory Board has identified 15 outstanding young scientists whose work brings new perspectives to important questions in genetics, immunology, neurobiology among other areas, and that will lead to new fields of study,” said Milan Mrksich, scientific director of the Searle Scholars Program.

Dr. Ding’s lab is working to understand the genetic and neural mechanisms by which animal behaviors evolve, using the courtship behaviors of Drosophila fruit flies and an approach that integrates genetics, molecular biology, and neurobiology.

FactCheck.org: 2020 Sigma Delta Chi Award

FactCheck.org has won a 2020 Sigma Delta Chi Award for fact-checking from the Society of Professional Journalists, its second consecutive annual honor from the organization. The winners of this year’s awards were announced by the SPJ on June 12, 2021.

FactCheck.org’s winning story was titled “Trump on the Stump.” In this October article, six FactCheck.org journalists enumerated and provided context for 46 of the false or misleading claims that President Donald Trump made over a five-day period before the 2020 election. They also published a companion piece about Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s speeches over the same period.

The virtual awards ceremony praised FactCheck.org’s article on Trump’s stump speeches for including “all the necessary elements: originality, significance, depth, sourcing, logic, and clarity while also making the reader want to read on.”

A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, FactCheck.org has been honored by SPJ for excellence in professional journalism three times in all. Before winning the 2020 Sigma Delta Chi award, the site had been honored for an August 2019 story examining President Donald Trump’s claims about the U.S. domestic steel industry, as well as a 2010 non-deadline reporting award for independent news sites for health care reporting.

Founded in the early 1900s, SPJ’s mission states that the organization “promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.”

Alex Hughes: CAREER Award

caption: Alex HughesThe National Science Foundation’s CAREER Award is given to early-career researchers in order to kickstart their careers in innovative and pivotal research while giving back to the community in the form of outreach and education. Alex Hughes, an assistant professor in bioengineering in Penn Engineering and in cell and developmental biology in the Perelman School of Medicine, is among the Penn Engineering faculty members who have received the CAREER Award this year.

Dr. Hughes plans to use the funds to develop a human kidney model to better understand how the development of cells and tissues influences congenital diseases of the kidney and urinary tract.

The model, known as an “organoid,” is a lab-grown piece of human kidney tissue on the scale of millimeters to centimeters, grown from cultured human cells.

“We want to create a human organoid structure that has nephrons, the filters of the kidney, that are properly ‘plumbed’ or connected to the ureteric epithelium, the tubules that direct urine towards the bladder,” said Dr. Hughes. “To achieve that, we have to first understand how to guide the formation of the ureteric tubule networks, and then stimulate early nephrons to fuse with those networks. In the end, the structures will look like ‘kidney subunits’ that could potentially be injected and fused to existing kidneys.”

The field of bioengineering has touched on questions similar to those posed by Dr. Hughes, focusing on drug testing and disease treatment. Some of these questions can be answered with the “organ-on-a-chip” approach, while others need an even more realistic model of the organ. The fundamentals of kidney development and questions such as “how does the development of nephrons affect congenital kidney and urinary tract anomalies?” require an organoid in an environment as similar to the human body as possible.

“We decided to start with the kidney for a few reasons,” said Dr. Hughes. “First, because its development is a beautiful process; the tubule growth is similar to that of a tree, splitting into branches. It’s a complex yet understudied organ that hosts incredibly common developmental defects.

“Second,” he said, “the question of how things form and develop in the kidney has major medical implications, and we cannot answer that with the ‘organ-on-a-chip’ approach. We need to create a model that mimics the chemical and mechanical properties of the kidney to watch these tissues develop.”

The fundamental development of the kidney can also answer other questions related to efficiency and the evolution of this biological filtration system.

“We have the tendency to believe that systems in the human body are the most evolved and thus the most efficient, but that is not necessarily true,” said Dr. Hughes. “If we can better understand the development of a system, such as the kidney, then we may be able to make the system better.”

Dr. Hughes’ kidney research will lay the foundation for broader goals within regenerative medicine and organ transplantation.

“Although regenerative medicine is in its infancy, the kidney is a good candidate for research in this field,” said Dr. Hughes. “When we are born, we have a set number of nephrons, continually degrading over time. If we had the technology and understanding of how to regenerate or replace lost nephrons, we may be able to extend the life of these energetically costly organs, decreasing the need for kidney transplants.”

Donna Huryn: AWIS Lifetime Achievement Award

caption: Donna HurynDonna Huryn, an adjunct professor of chemistry in the School of Arts and Sciences, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). The award is a special honor conferred by the AWIS. Dr. Huryn is honored for excellence in research, teaching, and promoting the advancement of women in science.

Dr. Huryn is an organic chemist who studies the identification, characterization, and optimization of chemical probes of biological systems, including the identification of novel agents to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and the design of novel chemical libraries to probe biological systems. She previously received the 53rd American Chemical Society Philadelphia Section Award, which recognizes an individual who, through research, “has made important contributions to man’s knowledge and thereby aided the public appreciation of the profession.”

AWIS champions the interests of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics across all disciplines and employment sectors. Working for positive system transformation, AWIS strives to ensure that all women in these fields can achieve their full potential.

Soojin Jeong and William Weber: CTIC Summer Fellowships

The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition (CTIC) has awarded its Summer Public Interest Fellowships to Soojin Jeong, L’23, and William Weber, L’23.

The CTIC Summer Public Interest Fellowship provides funding for students who secure internships with public interest or government organizations that are doing work relevant to technology policy, intellectual property, cyber law, privacy, and related fields. These fellowships are open to first- and second-year students and offer them the opportunity to gain experience in technology law that might not otherwise be available to them.

Ms. Jeong will be working on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) in Washington D.C. this summer.

Mr. Weber will work with the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in the Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace section, which is responsible for civil antitrust enforcement, competition advocacy, and competition policy.

CTIC is dedicated to promoting foundational research that aims to shape the way legislators, regulatory authorities, and scholars think about technology policy, intellectual property, privacy, and related fields. Through major scholarly conferences, symposia, faculty workshops, educational programs, and other activities, CTIC is committed to providing a forum for exploring the full range of scholarly perspectives on these issues.

Carol Muller and West Philadelphia High School: Provost-Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award

caption: Carol MullerPenn Provost Wendell Pritchett and Netter Center Director Ira Harkavy have named Carol Muller, a professor of music in the School of Arts and Sciences, and her partners at West Philadelphia High School as the recipients of the 2021 Provost/Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award.

Carol Muller is a professor of music and director of the minor in jazz and popular music studies. She is being recognized for her exceptional work on projects that engage Penn graduate and undergraduate students in music, arts, and wellness partnerships with the West Philadelphia/Philadelphia community through Academically Based Community Service (ABCS).

Dr. Muller is being honored for the quality and sustainability of the partnerships she has created over the years with schools and with jazz, gospel, Islamic and recent African diaspora communities in West Philadelphia. Since 2001, Dr. Muller has taught numerous ABCS courses in ethnomusicology, working closely with many West Philadelphia partners, including Millennium Baptist Church, the Quba Institute, Second Antioch Baptist Church, the Sudanese American community in Cobbs Creek, and West Philadelphia High School. Among other things, the collaborative research projects involving Dr. Muller, Penn graduate and undergraduate students, and community partners have produced multiple forms of media that tell the stories of the history and evolution of jazz and gospel music in West Philadelphia.  Dr. Muller’s ABCS work has made a positive and enduring impact on Penn students, community partners, and colleagues who have had the opportunity to work with her.

Herman Beavers, a member of the review committee, stated, “Dr. Muller pioneered the arts-based community service-learning course at Penn. Her ability to establish mutuality and trust is nothing short of miraculous. She approaches every community partner with reverence and respect, and perhaps most importantly, a genuine curiosity about and openness to whatever they are willing to share.”

West Philadelphia High School will be the co-recipient of the financial component of the award. The $10,000 award will be evenly divided between Dr. Muller and her community partners in order to further develop and expand their work together to create a therapeutically informed sustainable music technology program that can serve as a local and national model. This is a collaborative project between Penn faculty, Netter Center University-assisted community school staff, Penn undergraduates, and the teachers, administrators, Support Team for Education Project (STEP) personnel, and students at West Philadelphia High School. The project seeks to address student trauma by combining the School District of Philadelphia’s STEP behavioral health intervention with a fully equipped music technology studio as a gathering space for students to learn how to use the technology, to listen to the creative work of others, to collaborate, and make their own beats/words. The goal is for students to recognize the impact of trauma caused by poverty and violence, and to be given psychological and artistic resources to turn their lives around, to begin to hope, and to imagine a way into a more productive place in their lives.

Three Penn Scientists: 2021 Pew Scholars

The Pew Charitable Trusts have named Kellie A. Jurado, Presidential Assistant Professor of Microbiology, and Colin Conine, an assistant professor of pediatrics and genetics, both in the Perelman School of Medicine, as two of 22 early-career researchers nationwide selected as 2021 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences. The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust have also selected Liling Wan, an assistant professor of cancer biology, to join four other researchers in the U.S. as the 2021 class of Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research.

The 2021 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences were chosen from 198 applicants nominated by leading academic institutions and researchers across the United States. These scientists will receive funding over the next four years as they investigate timely questions surrounding human health and disease. Dr. Conine will investigate how regulatory RNAs carried by sperm influence embryonic development and offspring phenotype. Dr. Jurado will examine how cells in the placenta protect an embryo from being rejected by the maternal immune system.

The five early-career scholars who comprise the 2021 class of Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research will each receive a four-year grant to advance cutting-edge research into the development, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. This is the eighth year that the Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust has partnered with Pew to support researchers as they investigate breakthroughs to advance treatments and cures for the complex disease. Dr. Wan will investigate how assemblies of proteins come together to regulate the expression of genes and how dysregulation of this process contributes to cancer.

Recent PSOM Awards and Accolades

Christopher Chesley, a fellow in pulmonary and critical care, was awarded the 2021 ATS Fellowship in Health Equality and Diversity. This fellowship is designed to support the efforts of senior fellows, postdoctoral students, or junior faculty with research, clinical, and policy endeavors to advance health equality for patients with respiratory disease, critical care illness or injury, and sleep disordered breathing. Dr. Chesley’s research focuses on disparities in critical care delivery for patients with sepsis and acute respiratory failure. He also researches the impact of critical illness on hospital readmissions, and the disparities that result in care coordination. The ATS Fellowship in Health Equality and Diversity will provide up to $25,000 to support the efforts of the successful candidate from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

Penn Medicine was recognized by the Pheo Para Alliance, a patient advocacy organization dedicated to supporting those with pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, rare neuroendocrine tumors, as a Center of Excellence. The Center of Excellence Program recognizes institutions worldwide for providing cutting-edge, quality, multi-disciplinary care and participating in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma related research. The Penn Medicine Neuroendocrine Tumor Center, led by Debbie Cohen and Daniel Pryma, has developed an interdisciplinary approach to the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of patients with these rare disorders.

Katalin Karikó, an adjunct associate professor of neurosurgery whose foundational research with Drew Weissman set the stage for the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines, was awarded the 2022 Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Biotechnology. The prize is awarded by the Vilcek Foundation to those who advocate for immigrant causes or who are immigrants to the US and who have had a big effect on both the United States and the world. “Dr. Karikó’s work has obviously had a tremendous impact on science and medicine—but the development of mRNA vaccines based on her research also has a profound humanitarian significance,” said Marica Vilcek, cofounder of the Vilcek Foundation.” The honor comes with a cash award of $100,000.

Renyu Liu, a professor of anesthesiology and critical care, directed an educational short film that recently won two awards at this year’s NYC International Film Festival. The film, titled Wake Up Stroke 120, won the NYC IFF’s Humanitarian Award and the Best Short Narrative Film Award. Dr. Liu has dedicated much of his career to spreading stroke awareness (including as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic), not just to patients and students but also to the community as a whole, especially in his native China.

David Mankoff, vice chair for research in radiology, and Sean Carlin, a research associate professor of radiology, were awarded a five-year, $3.5 million academic-industry partnership grant from the National Cancer Institute between Penn Medicine, Washington University, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Philadelphia-based biotechnology company Trevarx Biomedical. The aim of the grant is to implement and execute a multi-center pilot study of the diagnostic accuracy of a novel PET radiotracer, with the long-term goal of a Phase III clinical trial to bring the agent to the clinic. PARP inhibitors have emerged as an important new therapy that target a broadening class of gene mutations present in ovarian, breast, and a host of other cancers. Identifying patients who might benefit from this treatment is imperfect, and therefore, there is a strong need for the development of a predictive imaging marker.

Nuala J. Meyer, an associate professor of medicine and director of the Center for Translational Lung Biology, was inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigation. She and other new members come from 43 institutions and represent excellence across the breadth of academic medicine. Dr. Meyer is one of 80 inductees out of 245 nominees. Dr. Meyer’s research focuses on genomic and molecular risk factors for acute respiratory distress syndrome and other forms of sepsis-associated organ failure, in order to identify potential biologic subtypes that may warrant precision treatments. More recently, she has investigated COVID-19-related sepsis to identify distinct patterns of immune response. She is committed to the training of future physician scientists and enhancing translational research training and was awarded an NHLBI K24 to support this mentorship. She is a passionate advocate of team science and harmonization between clinical trials and mechanistic investigation, as well as between fundamental and patient-oriented investigations, to accelerate the impact of science for patients.

Jason Moore, director of the Institute for Biomedical Informatics and a professor of biostatistics, epidemiology and informatics, was elected to be a fellow in the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics’ Class of 2021. Formed in 2017 as part of the International Medical Informatics Association, the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics seeks to guide and generate leadership on the study of computational systems and data in health care. Fellows are nominated and elected because of their globally recognized work. “It is an honor to be recognized by my peers from around the world who are advancing the discipline of informatics for the purpose of studying human health and advancing healthcare,” Dr. Moore said.

Joan O’Brien, chair of ophthalmology, and researchers at the Scheie Eye Institute were awarded a five-year, $6.6 million National Eye Institute grant renewal to investigate genetic variants associated with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in Black people. This grant builds upon an original $11.2 million study, funded in 2014, which recruited and genotyped 10,255 patients from Philadelphia. POAG disproportionately affects Black people. Current treatment options aim to lower the pressure in the eye, but are insufficient to prevent vision loss in roughly one-third of patients. The researchers’ long-term goal is to understand the biological importance of the disease variants in order to develop more personalized diagnostic and treatment strategies for this understudied population.

Nicole Rust: 2021 Troland Research Award

Nicole Rust, an associate professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences, received a 2021 Troland Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences. The annual award recognizes unusual achievement by early-career researchers and fosters empirical research in experimental psychology. Dr. Rust, who studies the neural basis of visual memory, was selected for her “contributions to the understanding of how the cortex makes use of complex visual information to guide intelligent behavior.” She received a PhD in neural science from New York University and joined the Penn faculty in 2009.

Arts & Sciences Office of Advancement Communications Team: Four CASE Awards

The Penn Arts & Sciences Office of Advancement Communications team has been recognized with four Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The team received:

  • A gold award for cover design for the spring/summer 2020 issue of OMNIA: The judges commented on the wonderful illustration as well as the designer’s “deft touch” in handling a lot of type and creative use of metallic ink, which they said “adds a luminosity that comes through even in the PDF.”
  • A silver award for feature writing for “Between Critique and Action,” the story that was featured in the spring/summer cover illustration. The feature described how student researchers with the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities partnered with community leaders to imagine a “future beyond refining” after the explosion of the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refining complex. The judges called it “an excellent piece of journalism” and “a model for others.”
  • A bronze award for feature writing for “The New Cartographers,” also from the spring/summer 2020 OMNIA.  This feature showed the ways Penn faculty are using maps to understand and communicate information, and evaluate it across space and time. The judges loved the creative approach to big data and said, “If there was an award for pure surprise this would win it, simply for presenting a subject that took us by surprise and delight.”
  • A bronze award in the podcast category for the first season of In These Times, which used COVID as a platform to explore the science, social science, and history that shaped events in 2020. Drawing on the talents of everyone in the editorial, digital media, and design teams, In These Times was commended for helping “listeners understand complicated information that might otherwise be over their heads.”

CASE is a global non-profit association dedicated to educational advancement: alumni relations, communications, development, marketing, and advancement services who share the goal of championing education to transform lives and society. The Circle of Excellence awards “acknowledge superior accomplishments that have lasting impact, demonstrate the highest level of professionalism, and deliver exceptional results.” This year, there were 2,900 entries from 27 countries in 100 categories.

Matthew Stitt: Fels Distinguished Fellow

caption: Matthew StittThe Fels Institute of Government announced the appointment of Matthew Stitt, MPA ’12, as a distinguished fellow. The appointment is a recognition of Mr. Stitt’s work and multiple contributions to Fels and the broader University of Pennsylvania community.

As a distinguished fellow, Mr. Stitt will help equip Fels students to engage in today’s critical policy issues and to create a more diverse and equitable public sector. His efforts will include leading a speaker series on racial equity and social justice, supporting internships and student mentorship, and connecting students and alumni. While this is an expanded role for Mr. Stitt, he has long been an important part of the Fels community, having previously served as an adjunct lecturer, student mentor, and Capstone advisor.

“Matt’s track record in advancing public policy with a lens on equity, along with his steadfast support for training new leaders, makes him a true asset to the Fels community,” said faculty directors Matt Levendusky, Penny and Robert A. Fox Director of the Fels Institute of Government, and John Lapinski, Robert A. Fox Leadership Professor of Political Science. “We are excited for him to formalize this role as a distinguished fellow and look forward to him working with Fels students for many years to come.”

The newly created distinguished fellow position is supported by the Fels Institute of Government and is part of Fels’ continued commitment to advancing racial equity and social justice. In addition to continuing the speaker series, Mr. Stitt and Fels will support other specific programming focused in these areas.

Landscape Architecture Faculty: World Landscape Architecture Award

The 2021 World Landscape Architecture Awards were recently announced and a project by PEG office of landscape + architecture, the firm of Karen M’Closkey and Keith VanDerSys, associate professor and senior lecturer, respectively, in the department of landscape architecture in the Weitzman School of Design, received an honorable mention.

Their project, Fantasy Island: The Galápagos Archipelago, which was one of over 400 entries, is one of five projects selected in the Concept - Analysis and Planning category of the awards. Award winners included designs focused on sites across the world and included submissions from such firms as Sasaki and Change Studio.

Fantasy Island builds on work begun in a landscape architecture studio course offered in 2017-2018 that sought to address challenges related to population growth in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, on San Cristóbal Island. That course was part of a Penn partnership called the Galápagos Education and Research Alliance and a four-part publication documents the design proposals from the studio.

Fantasy Island grew out of conversations between Ms. M’Closkey and Michael Weisberg, whose initiatives with the Galápagos Alliance include community science, climate-resilient design, and public health. The alliance has involved faculty from five schools at Penn, including Weitzman. Its primary focus has been on helping the people who live on the islands build a better understanding of the protected lands, which they are rarely able to access.

Five Philadelphia Teachers Awarded National Fellowships

Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) Fellows and local educators Alex de Arana, Matthew Menschner, Christopher Sikich, Charlette Walker and Lisa Yau have been chosen to participate in national seminars hosted by TIP’s parent organization the Yale National Initiative to strengthen teaching in public schools. The summer intensive program provides public school teachers deeper knowledge of the subjects they teach and an opportunity to learn from internationally renowned Yale faculty members and colleagues around the nation.

The 2021 fellows, who all teach in the School District of Philadelphia, are:

  • Alex de Arana is enrolled in U.S. Social Movements through Biography, led by David Engerman, and plans to write a curriculum unit entitled Who Built the American Economy. Mr. de Arana currently teaches 11th and 12th grade social studies at William W. Bodine High School.
  • Matthew Menschner is enrolled in Gender, Race, and Class in Today’s America, led by Frances Rosenbluth of Yale, and plans to write a curriculum unit entitled Who Writes Our History? Gender, Race, and Inequality in the United States. Mr. Menscher is a 10th grade history teacher at Kensington CAPA High School.
  • Christopher Sikich is enrolled in The Sun, the Solar System and Us, led by Sarbani Basu of Yale, and plans to write a curriculum unit entitled Lead, Evolution. He teaches 9th-12th grade biology at Philadelphia High School for Girls.
  • Charlette Walker is enrolled in Human Centered Design of Biotechnology, led by Anjelica Gonzalez of Yale, and plans to write a curriculum unit entitled Biotechnological Advances: Blessing or Behomoth? Ms. Walker teaches 5th-8th grade digital literacy at Tilden Middle School.
  • Lisa Yau is enrolled in Yale professor Ian Shapiro’s seminar Democracy and Inequality: Challenges and Possible Solutions and plans to write a curriculum unit entitled Still Separate, Still Unequal. Ms. Yau teaches 4th grade students at Francis Scott Key School.

The Teachers Institute of Philadelphia (TIP) enables Philadelphia public school teachers to enroll in semester-long seminars taught by University of Pennsylvania and Temple University professors. During the seminars, teachers engage intensively with a topic that is on the cutting-edge of knowledge in the sciences, arts, humanities or social sciences, and write an original curriculum unit based on what they have learned. Teachers then implement their units in the classroom and share them with their colleagues through an online curriculum repository. The program is free of charge, and those who complete it receive a stipend and Act 48 professional development credits. Participating teachers (called fellows) are encouraged to become leaders, sharing their curriculum ideas with peers and shaping the TIP program.

Features

A Tale of Two Surgeries at Penn Vet

caption: Veterinarians Amanda Watkins, Alycia Crandall, and Angela Gaesser with Osada. All photos in this article courtesy of Penn Today.

Twice board-certified—by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation—Kyla Ortved is a rising star in equine sports medicine and large animal surgery. She runs the Ortved Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center, which studies post-traumatic osteoarthritis and explores regenerative medicine therapies to benefit horses and humans.

Osada

Recently, Osada, a two-month-old Friesian horse with a left tibial fracture, was under her care.

“She was kicked by another horse,” said Daniel Lapp, owner of Red Crest Stables and a breeder in Gordonville, Pennsylvania. “Our vet came to the farm to check her and asked if we’d want to pursue surgery, although she said it was a long shot.”

Mr. Lapp thought a long shot better than no shot, and the referring vet sent Osada’s X-rays to Dr. Ortved for an opinion.

“It was a really severe fracture that was complicated by a second fracture at the growth plate at the top of the bone,” said Dr. Ortved. “In foals we usually see one or the other but rarely both. I knew it would be a bit more challenging to repair.”

She put Osada’s prognosis at 50%.“I said go for it,” recalled Mr. Lapp.

The New Bolton Center surgical team, which included radiology and anesthesia specialists and surgical nurses, prepped the horse. Dean Richardson, the Charles W. Raker Professor of Equine Surgery, also scrubbed in.

Osada was placed under general anesthesia. Two long, locking compression plates were carefully screwed into the bone in two places, a fracture repair approach for humans that Richardson adopted for equines early in his career. After a lengthy, complex procedure—“the tibia is a hard bone to work with because access is difficult,” explained Dr. Ortved—they closed the incision in several layers, covering it with a light bandage. The filly sailed through the surgery and subsequent recovery, but she wasn’t out of the woods. “The thing we’re most worried about in these cases is the implant becoming infected and the repair staying together,” Dr. Ortved said.

To mitigate the risk of infection, Osada received antibiotics, as well as anti-inflammatory medication and morphine for pain. A few days post-op, Dr. Ortved’s fears came true. The wound opened and fluid leaked from Osada’s leg. The team cleaned the incision and performed a vacuum-assisted closure therapy to encourage drainage and healing. A bacterial culture found infection, so Dr. Ortved changed the horse’s antibiotics.

When Osada’s comfort didn’t improve, Dr. Ortved took her back to the operating room to lavage the wound. “She had an infection in the joint. We flushed the joint and placed antibiotic-impregnated bone cement in the wound to help with healing.”

The treatment worked. The wound started to close, and Osada slowly improved. She was discharged a few weeks after her last procedure.

“In the horse world, many people still think that fractures mean euthanasia,” Dr. Ortved said. “One of the takeaways from Osada’s case is that over the past several decades there have been so many advances in nursing care materials, in anesthesia, in surgical approaches that fractures don’t have to mean death. There are more options today.”

Daisy

caption: Daisy after the porcupine encounter.Ryan Hospital surgical resident Chiara Curcillo has conducted fewer surgeries than Dr. Ortved. But she has been around the specialty for many years, in a sense having grown up at Penn Vet. Dr. Curcillo’s physician parents pioneered a single incision, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical technique for humans. Jeffrey Runge brought it to animals when he was an assistant professor of surgery at Ryan Hospital.

Dr. Curcillo had one of her trickiest surgeries yet with Daisy, an American Staffordshire Terrier who had an altercation with a porcupine right after Thanksgiving. The run-in resulted in what seemed like an endless number of quills stabbing the dog’s face and traveling throughout her body.

“We were visiting rural New York State and took her to an ER immediately, where they removed quills from all over her face and body,” said Katie Leonard, who, along with her husband, Franklin Donn, adopted Daisy in 2019. “As soon as we picked her up, we noticed more quills poking from her chin and pulled them.”

Additional quills surfaced when the couple, along with Daisy and Daisy’s canine brother Dexter, returned home to Baltimore. Daisy’s breathing was labored, and she had lost interest in food and water. At an ER in Baltimore, she was diagnosed with a pneumothorax, a dangerous condition of air in the chest cavity that can cause the lungs to collapse if untreated. Using a minimally invasive procedure called thoracocentesis, the ER vet placed a needle through Daisy’s chest wall into her chest cavity to remove air. Daisy was referred to a specialty practice, the third vet stop.

“Given the complexity of Daisy’s case, this last veterinarian then referred Daisy to us for further imaging and surgery,” Dr. Curcillo said.

This was the hope the family needed. “We weren’t feeling confident until we got to Ryan,” said Ms. Leonard. “Dr. Curcillo was very clear about the severity of Daisy’s situation but optimistic that all was not yet lost.”

After sedating the canine under general anesthesia and conducting a CT scan, Dr. Curcillo and Lillian Aronson, professor of surgery, opened Daisy’s chest and abdominal area. David Holt, professor of surgery, offered a hand. Inside, the surgeons found a body riddled with quills—they were in the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidney, diaphragm, and body wall.

“We removed each gingerly,” said Dr. Aronson. “We identified penetrating wounds in one of her lung lobes and performed a lung lobectomy. And we leak tested the other lobes, repairing a defect in one.” Before finishing the procedure, they placed a chest tube to help expel air.

Post-op, Daisy woke up from anesthesia uneventfully and was transferred to the intensive care unit for monitoring. But, as with Osada, another hurdle was soon to come. Day three after surgery, she developed abdominal discomfort and had fluid in her abdomen, as well as a suspected second attack of pneumothorax. Drs. Curcillo and Aronson opened her chest and abdomen again to evaluate the situation. After removing a few migrated quills, they examined her lungs, which had no apparent leaks, and replaced the old tube with a new one.

But air continued to escape post-surgery. In a minimally invasive procedure, “We then inserted an autologous blood patch to seal the sites in her lungs that were possibly leaking,” said Dr. Curcillo. This did the trick. The rest of Daisy’s hospitalization progressed smoothly, and she was discharged a few days later.

Quills continue to surface even months after Daisy’s face-off with the spiky rodent—her owners estimate well more than 100 quills have been removed in total since November. And she has been back to Penn Vet several times for follow-ups and removal of aberrant spikes.

“Penn Vet is the only place we’ll go for our girl,” said Ms. Leonard. “We have wonderful pet insurance, thankfully. And Drs. Curcillo and Aronson and all of the clinicians who have worked so hard for Daisy are our ‘Team Daisy.’ We adore them.”

For Dr. Curcillo, Daisy is an unforgettable pup. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see another case like this,” she said. “It was intense, challenging, and pretty cool—a perfect example of the type of surgery I’d hoped to experience at Penn Vet.”

Adapted from a Penn Today article by Sacha Adorno, July 6, 2021.

caption: Surgeon Chiara Curcillo and colleagues evaluate the healing of Daisy, an American Staffordshire Terrier who had an unfortunate run-in with a porcupine. Painstaking surgical procedures and rigorous follow-up care have put Daisy on the path to good health.

Events

Update: Summer AT PENN

Conferences

7/14      Celebrating the Manuscripts of the Muslim World Project (2018-2021); celebrate the completion of a digitization project with several contributors discussing findings; 2-4 p.m.; Zoom meeting; register: https://libcal.library.upenn.edu/event/7980517 (Penn Libraries). 

Exhibits

Penn Museum
Online and in-person events. For more information and to register, visit https://www.penn.museum/calendar.

7/16      Virtual Global Guide Tour: Middle East Galleries; 2:30 p.m.

7/17      Highlights Tour; 11 a.m.

             Global Guide Tour: Africa Galleries; 2:30 p.m. Also July 18, 2:30 p.m.

7/18      Asia Galleries Tour; 11 a.m.

Fitness and Learning

7/15       On-Campus Tour of Penn’s Green Stormwater Infrastructure; will start in front of The Palestra 223 S 33rd St., rain or shine; 6 p.m.; info: https://watercenter.sas.upenn.edu/events/ (Penn Water Center). 

7/16       Admissions Information Session: Doctorate in Clinical Social Work; noon; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/sp2-info-july-16 (SP2). 

7/20       Master in Law Information Session for General Audiences; an overview of the Master in Law (ML) degree; noon; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/law-info-july-20 (Penn Law). 

              Intellectual Property with a Patent Attorney & Corporate Attorney; learn from speakers Gunjan Agarwal and Liz Sigety, Fox Rothschild; 2 p.m.; online event; register: https://tinyurl.com/agarwal-sigerty-july-20 (Esther Klein Gallery).

              Admissions Webinar - Accelerated Nursing Program; join Penn Nursing admissions staff members for an overview this program’s options, admissions, and financial aid; 4 p.m.; online event; register: https://tinyurl.com/nursing-info-july-20 (Penn Nursing). 

Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (CURF)
Online events. Info and to register: https://www.curf.upenn.edu/curf-events.

7/20      From Research to Innovation: Making a Real-World Impact With Your Ideas; noon.

College of Liberal & Professional Studies (LPS)
Online events. Info and to register: www.upenn.edu/lps-events.

7/13      Organizational Dynamics Virtual Information Session; 6 p.m.

Human Resources Workshops
For faculty and staff. Online events. Info and to register: www.hr.upenn.edu/registration.

7/13     The Starting Line - Beginning to Save for Retirement; noon.

            Mindful Communication; 12:30 p.m.

            Strategies For Staying on Track; 3 p.m.

7/14     Chair Yoga; noon.

             Quarterly Economic and Market Update; noon.

             Gaining Insight: Navigating Debt Consolidation and Understanding the Mortgage Process; 3 p.m.

7/15      Investing 101; 11 a.m.

             Social Security Basics; noon.

             Workparent: A Go-To Guide for Caregivers; noon.

             Fundamentals of Strategic Planning; 12:30 p.m.

             The Power of Saving; 3 p.m.

7/16      30-Minute Guided Meditation; noon.

7/19      30-Minute Chair Yoga plus Core; noon.

Penn Libraries
Online workshops. Info and to register: https://guides.library.upenn.edu/workshops.

7/15     Digital and Remote Methods for Ethnography; 11:30 a.m.

Talks

7/15     Special Briefing on the Biden Infrastructure Plan: Resilience, Equity, and Federal Investment; Laura Curran, Nassau County, NY; Manny Diaz, Florica Democratic party; Thomas Doe, Municipal Market Analytics; 11 a.m.; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/iur-talk-july-15 (Penn Institute for Urban Research). 

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

7/16     TMJ in Health, Disease and the Influence on Occlusion; David Hatcher, dentist; 7 p.m.

--
AT PENN Deadlines 

View the full Summer AT PENN calendar. The deadline for the September AT PENN calendar is August 16.

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 June 28-July 4, 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 June 28-July 4, 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.

06/28/21

2:20 PM

3001 Walnut St

Various tools taken from van

06/28/21

2:53 PM

3680 Walnut St

Image drawn on wall

06/29/21

10:32 AM

4042-4044 Chestnut St

Unsecured package stolen from outside building

06/29/21

10:33 AM

4101 Spruce St

U-lock secured bike stolen

06/29/21

1:12 PM

3400 Spruce St

Complainant harassed by known offender

06/29/21

8:34 PM

3925 Walnut St

Merchandise taken without payment

06/30/21

12:49 AM

239 S 41st St

Unexplained damage to door and frame

06/30/21

5:17 PM

3400 Spruce St

Complainant threatened by male

07/02/21

8:39 AM

3910 Irving St

Cable lock-secured bike stolen

07/02/21

6:58 PM

3200 Chestnut St

Offender sprayed mace into victim’s face

07/02/21

10:24 PM

3420 Sansom St

Credit cards stolen from unsecured purse

07/03/21

9:07 PM

3925 Walnut St

Offender removed merchandise without payment

07/04/21

2:05 AM

1 S 43rd St

Offender assaulted PPD officer/Arrest

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 9 incidents (5 aggravated assaults, 3 robberies, and 1 assault) were reported for June 28-July 4, 2021 by the 18th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th St & Market St to Woodland Avenue.

06/28/21

1:49 PM

514 S 46th St

Robbery

06/29/21

1:47 PM

3400 Spruce St

Assault

06/29/21

5:22 PM

4847 Walnut St

Aggravated Assault

06/29/21

11:19 PM

4632 Walnut St

Aggravated Assault

07/02/21

7:46 PM

3200 Chestnut St

Aggravated Assault

07/03/21

6:21 PM

4823 Greenway Ave

Aggravated Assault

07/03/21

10:26 PM

4600 Baltimore Ave

Robbery

07/04/21

2:36 AM

9 S 43rd St

Aggravated Assault/Arrest

07/04/21

9:41 PM

4411 Walnut St

Robbery

Bulletins

Women Of Color at Penn Leadership Academy

The Leadership Academy, a new initiative of Women of Color at Penn, is a leadership development program for women of color who wish to understand, navigate, and develop skills essential for a successful career in higher education. The program consists of five seminars led by influential thought leaders with expertise in various subject areas. This year the program is offering individual leadership coaching.

The dates for the academy are as follows:

  • October 19 - Cohort Intro
  • November 16 - Strategic Planning
  • December 7 or 14 - Branding
  • January 18 - Communication
  • February 15 - Networking
  • March 22 - Managing Up
  • April 12 - Graduation Date

The application is now open at https://forms.gle/vXwK8hsLYVnakxo57. The deadline to apply is October 1. Contact Desirae Cesar at desirae@seas.upenn.edu with any questions.

Human Resources: New Be in the Know Campaign Year

In 2012, Penn launched the Be in the Know wellness campaign with a one-step biometric screening and $75 incentive for participants. Today, Be in the Know is a thriving year-round well-being initiative that offers a multitude of activities and resources to support your overall health, and a chance to earn up to $300 in rewards. July 1 kicked off the start of the Be in the Know 2021-2022 campaign year, in partnership with Virgin Pulse. It marks the 10th anniversary of the wellness program.

Be in the Know is available for all benefits-eligible staff and faculty. This year’s campaign will run from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022.

For details on how to get started earning your rewards, visit the Be in the Know website.

Pennsylvania Adopts Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget

Governor Tom Wolf signed the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s $40.8 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 on June 30. The spending plan preserves the state’s non-preferred appropriation to the School of Veterinary Medicine at $31.955 million, as well as $7.35 million to the Pennsylvania Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission, of which approximately half is allocated to the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at the New Bolton Center. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center will receive $250,000 from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to support its research and training of scent detection canines. The Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory, which Penn Vet manages, will be supported through a portion of $10.066 million transferred from the Race Horse Development Trust Fund to the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund.

Of Record: FY2022 Postdoctoral Stipends

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research, in consultation with the Provost Council on Research, is responsible for setting minimum stipend levels for postdoctoral trainees across the University.  The levels are informed by federal agency guidance, foundation requirements and national trends.   This annual process facilitates equal treatment of postdoctoral compensation across the University.

The stipend levels starting July 1, 2021 (FY2022) are listed below.

Years of Experience Stipend Level
0 $53,760
1 $54,144
2 $54,540
3 $56,712
4 $58,698

 

Stipends should be adjusted upwards at the time of the annual postdoctoral reappointment.

Penn investigators are also expected to comply with any postdoctoral stipend guidelines promulgated by their sponsors, if sponsor-specified guidelines exceed the Penn minimum stipend levels.

Those stipends funded partly or wholly from the NIH, must follow the current NIH NRSA minimum stipend guidelines. See: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-049.html.

Last year, as a consequence of the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research operations, exceptions to the stipend level requirements were allowed. In rare circumstances exceptions can be made this year but all stipends will be required to meet the levels stipulated at the end of 2022. 

—Dawn Bonnell, Senior Vice Provost for Research

Update on the Issuance of New PennCards or Replacement of PennCards that are Expired, Lost or Damaged

In order to make obtaining replacement PennCards as efficient as possible for the large number of faculty and staff who are returning to campus and need replacement PennCards, the PennCard Office has pre-printed cards for individuals with an active faculty (FAC) or staff (STAF) affiliation in Workday whose cards expired before June 21, 2021.  [Note—this does not include temp (TEMP) and contingent workers (CTWK)].

Note: It is particularly important to update WorkDay records for faculty, staff, and sponsored individuals who are no longer affiliated with Penn. The replacement cards will match the previous card unless the affiliation has changed since the previous card was issued. Unless the records are updated, these individuals will continue to have access to buildings on campus.

Sponsored Individuals

Academic affiliates (such as adjunct and visiting faculty and visiting scholars) along with guests of the University and contracted employees have always been able to obtain or replace a PennCard provided that a PennCard Request Form has been submitted to the PennCard Office from their sponsoring Penn department, school, or center.

To increase the efficiency of the process, a new online PennCard Request Form has been created to make it easier for departments to provide the PennCard sponsorship information. This new web-based form replaces the previous paper form that departments were required to complete and provide for the sponsored individuals. Once the form is processed, the designated contact within the department will receive communication via email which they can then forward to the sponsored party with instructions on obtaining the new/replacement PennCard.

Additional Information

In addition to the above form, and in support of the University’s return-to-campus efforts, the PennCard Office has instituted several enhancements to make this process easier both for administrators and for the individual card holders, including those that are being sponsored:

  1. A newly implemented online application process to accommodate online photo submission for new faculty, staff as well as Penn affiliates who will be receiving their first PennCards. This easy-to-use process saves significant time as it alleviates the need to have a photo taken at the PennCard Office.
  2. An online appointment scheduling system which allows patrons to choose the most convenient pick-up time during the PennCard Office’s normal hours of operation (Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.).  (Given the high volume of card creation as a result of campus reopening, pre-scheduled appointments are now required.) All applicants will also need to bring either a current PennCard, a valid U.S. or state government-issued photo ID, or a valid passport with them.
  3. A special webpage provides quick access to information relative to all PennCard’s ID services.

Questions or concerns can be directed to penncard@upenn.edu.

—PennCard Office

Sustainability Tips for Returning to Campus

Know Your Commuting Options & Benefits

Visit the Commuting Resources page for information about discounted public transit, the bike commuter reimbursement program, and Penn Transit routes that can serve commuters who reside near campus.

Re-Familiarize Yourself with Your Office’s Waste Practices

If you’re in a Penn-owned building, you can find signage about what can be recycled in our campus waste stream on the FRES website. If you’re in a leased space, ask your building manager.

Bring Your Own Reusable Supplies

Bring your own reusable travel mug, water bottle, bowl/plate, utensils, and shopping bag to cut down on single-use disposables in the office and around campus.

Purchasing Practices

Consolidate orders to reduce emissions from shipping, buy in bulk, and eliminate unnecessary orders. Use Ben’s Attic to list or find used furniture, equipment, and supplies. Use Catering@Penn to find vendors with sustainability practices when ordering food.

Green Office Certification

Has your Green Office certification lapsed during remote work? Re-certify as a way to re-introduce sustainability practices into your workplace. If your office wasn’t previously certified, now is a great time to start.

Reduce Your Waste

Learn more about sustainability at Penn by visiting sustainability.upenn.edu.

—Penn Sustainability

2021 Football Season Tickets

The 2021 season of Penn Football promises to be an exciting one as fans return to Franklin Field to cheer on the Quakers in person.

The Red and Blue return to their home field for the first time since 2019 on Friday, October 1 to take on Ivy League opponent Dartmouth in a nationally televised game.

The 2021 five-game home schedule also features a non-conference game against Lehigh, plus Ancient Eight battles against Brown, Cornell and Princeton.

Penn football season ticket holder benefits include:

  • A concessions credit
  • Merchandise discounts
  • Vouchers for game programs
  • A customized digital Penn football jersey
  • Free ticket transfers
  • And more!

To join the #UPrising, call the Penn Ticket Sales Office at (215) 898-6151 or click here.

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