February 15, 2022 Volume 68 Issue 23

Having now been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Amy Gutmann, who has served so admirably as Penn’s President for the past 17 years, will soon be sworn in as United States Ambassador to Germany. Amy has officially resigned from her position as President and will shortly be departing Philadelphia for Berlin to represent our country’s interests with this important European ally.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the entire University community, I want to thank Amy for the extraordinary work she has done in leading the University of Pennsylvania. Her tenure as President has been among the most impactful in Penn’s history. She has led Penn to new heights of eminence and in doing so established herself as one of the most highly regarded academic leaders in the world.

As she departs for Germany, Amy leaves Penn in exceptional shape. We have a great leadership team in place and are grateful that Wendell Pritchett has agreed to step in as interim President until the planned start of Liz Magill’s presidency on July 1. This transition should be seamless for faculty, staff, and students. Our University’s goals and priorities, articulated so clearly in the Penn Compact, remain in place to guide the important work carried out in all corners of our campus.

President Biden made an excellent choice in selecting Amy to be Ambassador, and I am confident that she will excel in her new position, just as she has at Penn. I hope that everyone in the Penn family will join me in wishing Amy great success and good fortune as she embarks on this important new chapter in her life.

—Scott L. Bok. Chair, University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees

Amy Gutmann’s lifelong dedication to the transformative power of education is captured in a favorite riddle. “What’s the difference between a scrap metal dealer and an Ivy League university president?” she’ll sometimes ask an audience. Her answer comes straight from the heart: “One generation.”

That scrap metal dealer was Dr. Gutmann’s father, who fled Nazi Germany, eventually emigrating to the United States. Hard work and need-based scholarships enabled his daughter to access a world-class education which, said Dr. Gutmann, “utterly transformed my life. It made educational opportunity the driving force and the absolute defining mission of my life.”

Beginning in 2004 as the University of Pennsylvania’s eighth president, Dr. Gutmann immediately set about growing student financial support and bolstering inclusion, innovation, and impact as cornerstones of her strategic vision, which she named the Penn Compact. That concept, holding true after her honorable departure from Penn in February 2022 to become the next U.S. ambassador to Germany, will express and guide the commitment of a world-class urban research and teaching university to improve the lives of individuals and communities, locally, nationally, and globally.

Opening Doors, Transforming Lives

In 2008, Dr. Gutmann made the historic decision to go all-grant in undergraduate financial aid, making Penn one of the largest of only a small number of universities to offer grants rather than loans to all aided students, based on need. As a result, it costs students receiving aid 19 percent less to attend Penn today (in inflation-adjusted dollars) than it did at the start of Dr. Gutmann’s tenure, nearly 18 years ago. To make this possible, Penn more than tripled its undergraduate aid budget, growing from $84 million to $259 million annually and awarding some $2.6 billion to students over the course of Dr. Gutmann’s presidency.

Today, nearly 80 percent of traditional undergraduates leave Penn debt-free and the lives of tens of thousands of students and their families have been transformed for the better. Pioneering initiatives such as Penn First Plus—a comprehensive support system for first-generation and low-income students—propel the success of all students. Applications for admission have grown exponentially in quantity and in every dimension of quality, with a record-breaking 56,333 applications to join the Class of 2025. Penn’s selectivity for the Class of 2005 was 21 percent; it is about 5.7 percent for the Class of 2025. The proportion of students in Penn’s entering class who are low-income, those who are first-generation, and those who identify as minorities all more than doubled over Dr. Gutmann’s presidency.

Innovation and Inclusion

Within a year of her arrival, Dr. Gutmann jumpstarted a university-wide drive to maximize the innovative, life-changing discoveries emanating from Penn. She launched an unprecedented faculty initiative—Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professorships (PIK)—to leverage the University’s considerable strengths in the liberal arts and sciences and the professions. That effort has brought renowned multi-disciplinary scholars to Penn who thrive at the intersection of multiple fields with joint appointments across two or more schools. To date, Penn has named 28 PIK Professors, each of whom shares a fundamental commitment to solving complex, real-world problems by working across disciplinary boundaries.

Dr. Gutmann herself models this commitment with acclaimed scholarship that addresses timely issues including the perils of political polarization and the role of compromise in democracy, the rights and responsibilities of democratic citizenship, and the benefits of equitable access to health care and education. During her presidency, she has published numerous articles and two books—the most recent on bioethics (co-authored with PIK Professor Jonathan Moreno) with an afterword on Pandemic Ethics. Dr. Gutmann remains one of the most widely cited political scientists and theorists.

Dr. Gutmann spearheaded the creation of an innovation ecosystem at Penn, Philadelphia, and beyond by transforming technology transfer at Penn to be both more faculty- and industry-friendly. In the depths of the Great Recession, she had the foresight to purchase a 23-acre abandoned land parcel and lost no time in converting it into a vibrant hub for innovation that anchors Philadelphia’s Lower Schuylkill Innovation District. Dr. Gutmann branded it Pennovation Works. As importantly, she created the Penn Center for Innovation, which expertly aids Penn faculty in advancing paradigm-changing—and often life-saving—Penn discoveries. Life-saving historic innovations by Penn faculty have included CAR T therapy, the first-ever FDA-approved gene treatment for cancer, and the mRNA technology that lies at the heart of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. While annual commercialization agreements numbered in the single digits before Dr. Gutmann’s presidency, in fiscal year 2021, Penn executed 746 commercial agreements that generated more than $300 million in commercialization revenue and garnered 142 patents. Today, Penn proudly acknowledges its ranking by Reuters as one of the most innovative universities in the world. Building on this booming momentum, Dr. Gutmann announced in November 2021 that Penn would invest $750 million in novel therapeutics and health-related initiatives; energy and sustainability; data engineering and science; and infrastructure to support physical science research.

Most notable among many campus opportunities that advance a student culture of putting knowledge to work for good in the world are the President’s Engagement Prize and President’s Innovation Prize, and the more recently announced President’s Sustainability Prize. The $100,000 President’s Prizes—the largest of their kind in higher education—are awarded to student-initiated non-profit and for-profit enterprises with the greatest potential for transforming lives for the better.

Dr. Gutmann’s Penn Compact also spearheaded increasing eminence and innovation among Penn’s faculty and leadership through greater inclusion. “The great challenge of moving the needle on diversity and inclusion within our institutions could not be more urgent,” Dr. Gutmann said. Under Penn’s Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence—a more than $100 million investment—the number of underrepresented racial minorities on the standing faculty grew by 53 percent and the number of women faculty grew by 33 percent at the same time as the faculty grew by 12 percent. Inspiring generous donor support across Penn’s 12 distinguished schools and its health system, Dr. Gutmann has created and named 75 Presidential and Presidential Distinguished Professors, prestigious appointments for recruiting and retaining diverse and eminent scholars.

Under Dr. Gutmann’s leadership, Penn has also strengthened efforts to advance racial equity and social justice within and beyond campus, causes for which Dr. Gutmann has been a lifelong advocate. Among many such initiatives was Dr. Gutmann’s creation of the Office of Social Equity and Community, led by Penn’s first-ever Vice President for Social Equity and Community. Penn’s Projects for Progress, announced in 2020, provide $100,000 grants for student-, staff-, and faculty-designed proposals to reduce systemic racism, achieve educational equity, and reduce health disparities. She also named Penn’s first Chief Diversity Officer. Dr. Gutmann was a lead sponsor of “Changing the National Conversation: Inclusion and Equity,” which brought more than 100 presidents and provosts from across the country to Penn for candid and consequential conversations.

Building a Preeminent Campus and Empowering Community

Dr. Gutmann had a goal to ensure that Penn’s urban campus also embodied its strong international reputation. To that end, Dr. Gutmann set about an unprecedented physical transformation aptly called Penn Connects. An ambitious 30-year campus plan was realized in half that time: 8.6 million square feet of new construction, 3.4 million square feet of renovations, and 30 acres of new open space, representing an investment of $6.8 billion.

These capital improvements have created a paradigm-shifting model of a vibrant, sustainable, and innovative urban university that is deeply connected to its local community while generating far-reaching global perspectives. An astounding array of signature projects range from the transformation of an urban parking lot into Penn Park, a vibrant 24-acre green space open to the public with signature Penn athletics and recreational facilities; to the landmark Singh Center for Nanotechnology; to a new student residential quad on Hill Field with the addition of Lauder College House, renovation of Hill House, and a new student-performing arts building in progress; to New College House West, which enables all sophomores to live on campus (for the first time in Penn’s history); to landmark science buildings in progress (Data Science, recently named Amy Gutmann Hall), and the Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology; to the largest and surely most impactful building project in Penn’s history, the 1.5 million square foot, $1.6 billion Pavilion—designed from the patients’ perspective—that is already charting the course of 21st century medicine. Dr. Gutmann was the first Ivy League president to sign President Biden’s pledge to climate sustainability, and Penn has made significant progress toward becoming carbon neutral by 2042, with every new and renovated building designed for energy sustainability. Dr. Gutmann announced in November 2021 that Penn would be ceasing any new commitments to private equity vehicles dedicated to investments in fossil fuel production.

Leading by example, Dr. Gutmann has staunchly defended free speech while also adamantly condemning bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination, making it clear that both open expression and mutual respect are essential to an inclusive community dedicated to the pursuit of truth. She has championed Penn as an outward-looking, world-embracing, global leader. In selecting Dr. Gutmann as one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in 2018, Fortune applauded her being a “vocal backer of international students and immigrants.” The University’s goal, in Dr. Gutmann’s words, is to “bring the world to Penn and bring Penn to the world.” Among her marquee achievements in global impact are the creation of Perry World House, an on-campus hub for international engagement, the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C., and the Penn Wharton China Center in Beijing.

Penn’s health system has expanded in its size and service to diverse populations with the addition of Lancaster General Health System, Chester County Hospital and Health System, and Princeton HealthCare System.

Decision-making across divides has been key to Penn’s success and a unifying theme of Dr. Gutmann’s scholarship, teaching, and leadership. Her philosophy of educating the whole person for citizenship, service, and wellness—guided by values and evidence—led her to create Penn’s SNF Paideia Program, dedicated to teaching all students the skills and attitudes essential to respectful and productive understanding across differences. To model such respectful understanding, Penn’s faculty has welcomed former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Vice President Joe Biden as Presidential Practice Professors (the latter leaving Penn to run for President in 2020). While chairing President Obama’s Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, Dr. Gutmann also put democratic deliberation into practice. The diverse commission conducted all of its deliberation in public and issued 10 unanimous advisory reports on complex issues including testing vaccines and responding to pandemics.

Under Dr. Gutmann’s presidency, Penn’s local engagement in Philadelphia became deeper and broader than ever, spanning Penn’s 12 schools, six resource centers, and its administrative divisions. Over a third of the faculty in Penn’s Graduate School of Education—the top-ranked education school in the nation—work with Philadelphia schools, and education students and staff are now involved in 400 activities in 250 schools. Dr. Gutmann extended and strengthened partnerships with two of Penn’s neighborhood schools: the Blue-Ribbon award-winning Penn Alexander School and the Henry C. Lea School. In 2020, she committed the largest gift in the history of the School District of Philadelphia—$100 million—to abate lead, asbestos, and other environmental hazards throughout the city’s public schools. Another major landmark contribution in 2020 turned around a dying safety-net hospital, Mercy Philadelphia, located in an underserved area of West Philadelphia. When a for-profit venture threatened to end the essential services provided at Mercy, Penn Medicine stepped up with an innovative collaboration among local non-profits that will provide more and better safety-net and behavioral health services.

A Revolutionary University

The dramatic transformations during Dr. Gutmann’s presidency have been supercharged by two record-breaking capital campaigns, Making History and The Power of Penn, raising $9.7 billion, making possible record levels of support for graduate, professional, and undergraduate financial aid and innovative faculty research. The University’s endowment has quintupled, from $4.1 billion to $20.5 billion, making it among the fastest-growing of the nation’s 10 largest university endowments.

Dr. Gutmann credits the ardent dedication and unwavering support of the entire Penn community and her talented leadership team with these impressive achievements. Their mettle was put to the ultimate stress test with the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, Dr. Gutmann and her leadership team deftly steered an enormous urban university and health system through the greatest global health crisis in generations. Penn Medicine served at the forefront of Philadelphia’s pandemic response and Penn professors Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó pioneered the technology that made the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines possible. Throughout, Dr. Gutmann focused the Penn community on being resourceful, resilient, and responsive to everyone’s needs—a leadership philosophy of solidarity in service of core values and an animating spirit of knowledge-based action.

“You see it in the dreams come true of our talented students. And you see it in the life-changing breakthroughs of our brilliant faculty,” is how Dr. Gutmann described it when she received the revered Pennsylvania Society’s highest recognition: its Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement. In contemplating the untold possibilities awaiting Penn’s unsurpassed students, staff, and faculty, Dr. Gutmann captured in a single sentence this unique moment in the University’s history. “At Penn,” she declared with earned—and earnest—heartfelt confidence, “the future truly is wide open.”

Adapted from a Penn Today article, February 8, 2022.

The Penn Libraries is pleased to announce that Sean Quimby, associate university librarian and director of the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, has been appointed Director of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies (SIMS).

An integral part of the Penn Libraries, SIMS is a think tank for manuscript studies in the digital age. Core components of SIMS include the Lawrence J. Schoenberg collection of manuscripts, donated to the Penn Libraries by Mr. Schoenberg in 2011, and the Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts, a free, open-access resource that enables researchers to trace the provenance of manuscripts from their origins to present times.

SIMS publishes the bi-annual scholarly journal Manuscript Studies and hosts, in partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia, the annual Schoenberg Symposium on Manuscript Studies in the Digital Age, which engages scholars from around the world. 

“Sean has been guiding SIMS since he joined the Penn Libraries, from leading the staff and convening SIMS faculty advisory board meetings to hosting and delivering the opening remarks for the Schoenberg Symposium,” said Constantia Constantinou, H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. “His long experience in networking scholars globally and building distinctive collections combined with his technological imagination make him an ideal choice to lead this important area of the Penn Libraries’ work.”

In his role as associate university librarian and director of the Kislak Center, Mr. Quimby leads a staff of 50 curators, archivists, librarians, and researchers—including SIMS staff—and oversees special collections that comprise 300,000 printed books and nearly ten million pieces of manuscript material within Penn’s seven million-volume library system.

The Kislak Center’s collections span the ancient world to the contemporary era and are global in scope. Other special collections in the Penn Libraries are held at the library of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, the Fisher Fine Arts Library, and the Penn Museum Library.

As director of SIMS, Mr. Quimby will lead the SIMS team as they continue to expand their programs, fellowships, and initiatives inalignment with their mission to bring manuscript culture, modern technology, and people together to bring access to and understanding of intellectual heritage locally and around the world. In recent years SIMS staff have spearheaded major digitization and research initiatives, including the Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis collaborative project (2016–2019), and OPenn, the University of Pennsylvania’s open-access digital repository for cultural works.

SIMS projects currently in development include the Digital Scriptorium 2.0 redevelopment planning project, the VisColl collation visualization web app, and the Books as Symbols in Renaissance Art web database.

Reflecting on his new role, Mr. Quimby said, “Larry [Schoenberg]’s vision for SIMS is as powerful and resonant today as it was in his lifetime. I am honored to be named director and to have the opportunity to help advance that vision by working with the talented scholars, curators, and digital humanists at Penn and in the global manuscript studies community.”   

One reassuring part of this year’s cold and flu season is the growing access to COVID-19 tests. Testing—along with handwashing, vaccines, masking, and distancing—continues to help the Penn community reduce risks and overcome the recent case surge.

Now, in addition to on-campus COVID testing and free at-home tests delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, Penn faculty and staff can get over-the-counter (OTC) tests through Penn’s CVS Caremark benefit. This coverage is part of all Penn healthcare plans.

Eight Test Kits a Month

Penn benefits cover up to eight (8) rapid-response test kits per month for enrolled plan participants—no prescription required.* For example, a two-person household may get up to 16 tests while a family of four would be eligible for 32 tests this month. If you buy a multi-pack of tests, each test in the package counts as a single test.

Two Ways to Get Your Test Kits

Plan participants have two options to get the no-cost OTC COVID tests. You can obtain them from an in-network pharmacy without paying upfront or you can pay up front and submit your receipt online and be reimbursed up to a maximum of $12 per test purchased, regardless of the cost.

Zero Out-of-Pocket Cost In-Network

Penn health plan participants can obtain eligible OTC COVID-19 tests* with no upfront out-of-pocket cost directly from in-network pharmacies. Simply present your prescription benefit card to any in-network pharmacy that elects to offer COVID-19 tests through this program. (Be sure to present the CVS Caremark prescription card, not the discount card that generates all those coupons.) The following kits are the only ones available for this option.

The CVS Caremark network includes non-CVS pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite-Aid. To find an in-network pharmacy, visit the CVS Caremark website at www.caremark.com and click on the Pharmacy Locator link near the top of the home page.

The Reimbursement Option

Penn health plan participants can also get reimbursed up to $12** per test for approved OTC COVID tests purchased at pharmacies and stores outside the CVS Caremark network, as well as online retailers. Penn’s plans will reimburse enrolled members for purchases made from January 15, 2022 through the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

Before you submit a claim online at www.caremark.com/covid19-otc, have your receipts ready as proof of purchase and register as a member using your 10-digit Penn ID number. You can also submit claims using the CVS Caremark mobile app (available for Android and Apple) or submit a paper claim for reimbursement.

Download the CVS Caremark reimbursement guide for more details.

Play it safe this cold and flu season. Protect yourself, your family, and your community with over-the-counter COVID-19 tests. For more information visit COVIDtests.gov and the Penn Public Health Guidance page.

If you need assistance, please contact Penn’s Benefits Solution Center at 1 (866) 799-2329.

The Penn Be in the Know wellness campaign allows benefits-eligible staff and faculty to earn rewards for completing qualifying activities during each campaign year. Participants receive these rewards in the form of “Pulse Cash,” which is redeemable on the Virgin Pulse platform.

Per IRS guidelines, these rewards are considered a monetary gift and are subject to applicable payroll taxes at the time they are earned and rewarded to you—even if you have not redeemed (i.e., spent) them yet.

While the rewards are provided through the Virgin Pulse Rewards Program, mandatory payroll taxes on the value of the reward are processed through your Penn paycheck on a quarterly basis throughout the year.

The second quarter of the 2021–2022 campaign year ended on December 31, 2021, and the quarterly rewards taxation cycle will be processed in January 2022. If you earned rewards between October 1 and December 31, 2021, you saw the tax on the value of the rewards deducted from your January 2022 paycheck.

Important details:

• Taxes are processed on the value of your rewards as you earn them, not when you redeem them.
• Participants who earned any reward amount between October 1 and December 31, 2021 saw applicable rewards taxes deducted from their January 28, 2022 (weekly paid) or January 31, 2022 (monthly paid) paycheck.
• Paystubs will note “Imputed Income: Wellness” plus the amount of earned rewards for this tax cycle.

How to Redeem Your Earned Pulse Cash Rewards

If you’ve earned Pulse Cash reward dollars as a Be in the Know participant, don’t forget to take the next step and spend your rewards!

To redeem your rewards, sign in at https://join.virginpulse.com/penn. Look for the Home tab on the main page and click on Rewards from the drop-down menu. For complete instructions, visit the Penn Be in the Know website and scroll down to the “How to Redeem Pulse Cash Rewards” section.

For any questions, please contact the Virgin Pulse Member Services Team by using the green Live Chat button, found on the right side of the platform. For complete Be in the Know details, please visit www.hr.upenn.edu/beintheknow.

—Division of Human Resources

Amy C. Brodkey, M’75, an eminent psychiatrist, an advocate for women’s mental health services, and a former clinical associate professor of psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine, died on November 22, 2021, of heart failure. She was 72. 

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Dr. Brodkey suffered from type 1 diabetes and spent a week in a coma when she was a child. She recovered and went on to an illustrious academic career; she was a high school debate champion, then obtained an undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College of Harvard University and a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1975. During her college years, she spoke out passionately against the war in Vietnam and took part in early International Women’s Day protests. Early in her career, she served as a family physician at Philadelphia’s Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women. After leaving the Blackwell Health Center, Dr. Brodkey established a private practice. During her entire career, she also conducted research on the conflict of interest between pharmaceutical companies and the medical field. 

In 1985, Dr. Brodkey joined the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now the Drexel University College of Medicine), where she served as director of medical student education and as a faculty member in the department of psychiatry. In 1997, she returned to Penn’s School of Medicine as a clinical associate professor of psychiatry. The next year, she was promoted to an associate clinical professor at Penn. While there, she helped write original psychiatric curriculum for medical school graduates, lectured on a variety of medical and social topics around the world, and wrote more than 30 journal articles and book chapters about psychiatry and related subjects. Dr. Brodkey left Penn in 2010 and retired in 2014 as the medical director of behavioral health at the Family Practice and Counseling Network, a group of centers that provide primary care and mental health services for residents of Philadelphia housing projects.

She is survived by her daughter, Emily (Joseph Hernandez); two brothers; and nieces and nephews. A private memorial service was held. Donations in Dr. Brodkey’s name may be made to Physicians for a National Health Plan, 29 E. Madison St., Suite 1412, Chicago, Ill. 60602, and the National Women’s Health Network, 1413 K Street NW, 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005.

George Crumb, an influential American composer and the Annenberg Professor Emeritus of the Humanities in the department of music in the School of Arts and Sciences, passed away on February 6 at home in Media, PA. He was 90. 

Born in West Virginia, Dr. Crumb was the son of a cellist and a clarinetist. He composed music at an early age, attending the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan in 1947. He graduated in 1950 from the Mason College of Music and Fine Arts in Charleston, West Virginia (now part of the University of Charleston) and received a master’s degree two years later from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. On a Fulbright Scholarship, he then studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. He received his doctorate in composition at the University of Michigan in 1959. Dr. Crumb maintained a long relationship with academia. He first taught at a college in Virginia, then became a professor of piano and composition at the University of Colorado in 1958. In 1965, he joined Penn’s faculty as an assistant professor of music, then was promoted shortly thereafter to associate professor. Dr. Crumb received a Pulitzer Prize in 1968 for his piece Echoes of Time and the River, an orchestral suite first performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Three years later, Dr. Crumb was promoted to a professor of music at Penn. He was eventually named the Annenberg Professor of the Humanities in 1983 (Almanac September 20, 1983). 

Dr. Crumb’s compositions were heavily influential to generations of musicians. “While audiences could find some of his music forbidding or opaque, it often mined a deeply felt and uniquely American vein of emotion,” said NPR writer Anastasia Tsioulcas in a tribute to Dr. Crumb. After Echoes, Dr. Crumb’s next landmark piece was Black Angels (Thirteen Images from the Darkland) (1970), a piece written in protest of the Vietnam War that featured unconventional instrumentation like bowed water glasses and electronics (a concept that would become a theme in Dr. Crumb’s work). Excerpts from Black Angels were included in the popular 1973 thriller film The Exorcist, gaining Dr. Crumb a mainstream audience. Eugene Namour, chair of Penn’s department of music during the early 1980s, noted that American audiences considered Dr. Crumb’s work “the pinnacle of the avant-garde.” Dr. Crumb’s music appealed to sophisticated concertgoers because of its artistry and its radical approach to instrumentation endeared it to a wide swath of the music-listening public. “It is a study in spiritual annihilation,” said pop musician David Bowie of Black Angels of 2003. “It scared the bejabbers out of me.” 

Also in 1970, Dr. Crumb’s piece Ancient Voices of Children premiered at a Library of Congress chamber festival, and a recording released in 1971 became one of the best-selling albums of classical music released in the 20th century. Next, he composed Makrokosmos (1972-1979), a four-volume work for piano and percussion that required its musicians to shout, whistle, and play pianos in non-traditional ways. Dr. Crumb’s piece Star-Child (1977), a choral and orchestral work, was also performed widely. In the early 1980s, Dr. Crumb became one of very few living composers to have all of the “big six” philharmonic orchestras (New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston and Los Angeles) perform his music, and his music remained popular enough with audiences that nearly all of it remained in print (both in sheet music and recorded form) during his lifetime. In 2004, he arranged several Civil War-era songs for a piece called The Winds of Destiny, which was adapted for a theater production in 2011. He returned to American hymns and spirituals throughout the 2000s for his American Songbook series, observing in the process that the divisiveness of the U.S. in the period when these songs were written is still alive and well. Dr. Crumb was well-known for producing elaborate, artistic musical scores, and many of the pieces of sheet music he designed are on display at museums today. 

Dr. Crumb retired from Penn in 1997, and twelve years later received an honorary doctorate of music (Almanac February 24, 2009). Dr. Crumb also won the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers Award, the Koussevitzky Recording Award, the 1998 Cannes Classical Award for Best CD of a Living Composer, and a 2001 Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition (for Star-Child). He also received grants from the Rockefeller, Guggenheim, Fromm and Ford Foundations for his exemplary work and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Several of Dr. Crumb’s students, including Christopher Rouse, Osvaldo Golijov, and Jennifer Higdon, went on to become successful composers themselves. Penn Live Arts (formerly the Annenberg Center) honored Dr. Crumb in 2019 with a three-day festival showcasing his music, titled “Zeitgeist: George Crumb at 90” (Almanac October 1, 2019). 

Dr. Crumb is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; and his sons, David and Peter. 

John J. “Jack” Downes, the anesthesiologist-in-chief and director of the department of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1996, passed away peacefully on December 17, 2021. He was 91. 

Dr. Downes received a medical degree from the Loyola University School of Medicine, then interned at the Indianapolis General Hospital. He did two years of public service with the Indian Health Service in South Dakota and in Tacoma, Washington. He then came to the University of Pennsylvania for his residency training in anesthesiology from 1959 to 1963. The last two years of his residency were funded by a National Institutes of Health fellowship in pharmacology. In 1963, he was recruited to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as an assistant professor of anesthesiology. Four years later, he inaugurated CHOP’s pediatric intensive care unit, the first of its kind in North America. CHOP’s pediatric intensive care unit and Dr. Downes’ leadership of it earned national acclaim. Dr. Downes was promoted to an associate professor of anesthesiology in 1971 and a full professor three years later. In 1972, he also became anesthesiologist-in-chief and director of the department of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at CHOP, a position he held for over twenty years. 

Over his career at CHOP, Dr. Downes developed a multidisciplinary approach to caring for seriously ill hospitalized children, whether post-surgery or with life-threatening medical illnesses. He and his colleagues inspired and trained multiple generations of pediatric anesthesiologists and intensivists, setting a standard of care and professionalism. 

Dr. Downes advocated for improving healthcare for children, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania launched a pioneering home care program for the care of disabled children in the 1970s, largely thanks to his efforts. He was the medical director of the Pennsylvania Ventilator-Assisted Children’s Home Program initiative for over 25 years. 

Dr. Downes received many awards for his work, including a 1995 award from Penn Medicine for distinguished teaching (Almanac April 18, 1995). In his award citation, a colleague described him as “undeniably the father of pediatric critical care medicine in this country. A productive and active member of the HUP/CHOP faculty for over thirty years, he has served as a beacon of enlightenment in the field of pediatric anesthesia and critical care medicine. His leadership has been responsible for the advancement of the academic and clinical practice in both these areas.” In 1996, Dr. Downes retired from Penn and took emeritus status. A portrait of him, painted by famous American artist Nelson Shanks, still hangs in the CHOP auditorium today.  

Dr. Downes is remembered as a kind teacher and a giant in his field. “If there was such a thing as a Mount Rushmore of Pediatric Anesthesia, and/or Pediatric Intensive Care Medicine, Jack would be a prominent figure carved into that stone,” said Dr. Downes’ former colleague, Ron Litman, a former CHOP anesthesiologist, in an online tribute. “Despite his enormous contributions, he remained remarkably humble and was a gracious mentor, colleague, and friend. Even as a visiting medical student, Jack took me aside and said, ‘call me Jack, not Dr. Downes. You are a student today, but we’ll be colleagues in the future.’” 

Another colleague, Alan J. Schwartz, said, “I reflect that I was blessed to have been Jack’s student and colleague and that he was a great ‘parent’ from whom I learned an enormous amount. Children worldwide have been and will continue to be the beneficiaries of Jack through his teachings.” Several other reminiscences of Dr. Downes’s kindness to students, patients, and colleagues can be found at https://ronlitman.substack.com/p/readers-response-jack-downes. 

In his free time, Dr. Downes was an avid skier and runner (often running charity runs with friends and peers). He was also known to serenade partygoers on the piano. 

A memorial service has yet to be scheduled. Dr. Downes was preceded in death by his wife and survived by their four children, Maggie Downes-Angus (Jeff), Kate Downes (Matt), John Downes, and Peter Downes (Ivana); eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Photo Courtesy of Legacy Center Archives, Drexel University College of Medicine.

Mary Bagan Dratman, CW’40, an internationally celebrated research scientist and a former adjunct professor in Penn’s School of Medicine, passed away on January 17 due to heart failure. She was 101. 

Raised in Strawberry Mansion in a Yiddish-speaking home, Dr. Dratman graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls, earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Penn in 1940, and got her medical degree from Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1945 (after she had been denied admittance to Penn’s School of Medicine because of quotas for women and Jewish students). She was the founding director of the division of endocrinology in the department of medicine at Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in the 1960s and chief in the 1970s of the endocrinology section at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, both of which are now part of the Drexel University College of Medicine. Over the course of Dr. Dratman’s career, she conducted extensive research in endocrinology, specifically the T3 and T4 thyroid hormones, publishing dozens of book chapters, journal articles, and research papers about the endocrine system and other medical topics. In 1978, she became a professor in the department of medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania.

In 1981, Dr. Dratman joined Penn’s School of Medicine faculty as an adjunct professor in the departments of medicine and psychiatry. She joined Penn’s 25-Year Club in 1996. She also worked for the Veterans Administration Medical Center and taught at Rockefeller University. Dr. Dratman lectured about her research across the United States and in Japan, Africa, Europe, and elsewhere. Her work received many awards, including the 2013 Women in Medicine Award from the Drexel University College of Medicine. “Her prolific and cutting-edge career was a groundbreaking model for the role of women in science,” said Joseph Martin, an emeritus professor of biology at Rutgers University and one of Dr. Dratman’s many coauthors. Dr. Dratman was curious her entire life; she published a scholarly article in 2021, when she was 100 years old.

Outside of academia, Dr. Dratman supported liberal political causes and was an early proponent of abortion rights. According to her colleagues, she remained mindful of her early professional experiences as a woman and paved the way for other trailblazing women and scholars to follow her professional path. “Women looked up to her,” said her son Ralph.

Dr. Dratman is survived by her son, Ralph; a grandson; a great-grandson; and other relatives. Services were held privately, but donations in Dr. Dratman’s name may be made to Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc., Attn: Online Services, P.O. Box 97166, Washington, DC 20090.

Samuel Zundel Klausner, an emeritus professor of sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences, passed away on December 27, 2021. He was 98. 

Dr. Klausner was born in Brooklyn. His father was a structural engineer and his mother was one of the earliest women literary agents. Dr. Klausner interrupted his undergraduate studies at New York University to serve in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, where he became a decorated war hero; he eventually earned a BS in mathematics in 1947. He was a volunteer air navigator in what became the Israel Air Force from 1947 to 1948. After he returned to the United States, he earned an MA (1950) and EdD (1951) in psychology at Columbia Teacher’s College. He was certified as a clinical psychologist in New York and Washington, D.C. Subsequently, he shifted his academic focus to sociology, earning a PhD in sociology at Columbia University in 1963. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, Dr. Klausner conducted research in Israel, at the Bureau of Applied Social Science Research at Columbia, and with the Bureau of Social Science Research in Washington, D.C. In addition, he taught from 1951 to 1963 at the City College of New York, Hebrew University, Columbia, and the Union Theological Seminary. Five years later, he was recruited to Penn’s department of sociology, where he began as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 1972. Upon joining Penn, Dr. Klausner immediately dove into campus involvement, co-chairing the Faculty Advisory Committee. He also created and directed the Center for Research on The Acts of Man (which he led until 1988).

In 1971, Dr. Klausner published a book, Man and His Environment, that raised questions of humans’ environmental impact and uniquely (for the time) framed it as a sociological issue. Dr. Klausner continued to research this subject throughout the 1970s, positing that energy usage per capita did not depend on the number of people in a household, but the number of roles (parent, child, etc.) present (Almanac March 6, 1980); he wrote several more books on the topic over the ensuing years. In 1972, he was chosen as the social impact advisor to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System. He kept engaging with other areas of sociology during this era; in 1972, he was elected vice president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and three years later, he was elected president of the Association for the Sociological Study of Jewry. He also participated in the much-publicized Penn-Israel Exchange Project in 1976. During the 1970s, Dr. Klausner served on Penn’s University Council Steering Committee, and later served in a number of positions in the Faculty Senate.

In 1982, Dr. Klausner published Eskimo Capitalists: Oil, Politics, and Alcohol, a book for which he stayed in Point Barrow, a headland on the Arctic coast, for six months at a time, living among the Inuit community. The next year, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research in Egypt. He still remained involved in Penn life, though. He wrote a “speaking out” piece in Almanac (Almanac September 19, 1989) to urge Penn’s admissions office not to discriminate against highly qualified Asian and Asian American applicants because of quota systems. He used his sociological credentials to weigh in on a proposal to require undergraduates to take classes in “minority history” (Almanac April 19, 1988): “Studying China using European concepts is not the same as adopting a Chinese perspective.” In 1992, Dr. Klausner joined Penn’s Twenty-Five Year Club. 

The 1990s saw Dr. Klausner study the experiences of religious converts, mainly from Judaism to Christianity and vice-versa. He retired from Penn and took emeritus status in 1996. He continued to engage (as he had been doing since the 1980s) with several universities in the Middle East as a visiting professor, including the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he taught in Hebrew; Al-Mansoura University in Egypt; and Muhammad V University in Rabat, Morocco, where he taught in Arabic. In addition to these languages, Dr. Klausner was also fluent in French, Yiddish, Dutch, Spanish, and Aramaic. In 2005, Dr. Klausner served as the first secretary-treasurer of the newly-formed Penn Association of Senior and Emeritus Faculty. Dr. Klausner published ten books during his lifetime and was working on another at the time of his death. 

Dr. Klausner was predeceased by his daughter, Rina. He is survived by his wife, Roberta Sands; his sister, Deborah Reiser; his children, Jonathan, Daphne, and Tamar; two stepchildren, Bonnie Moskoff and Philip Wilhelm; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. 

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University Council Meeting Agenda
Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall
February 23, 2022, 4 p.m.

I. Approval of the Minutes of February 2, 2022. 1 minute 

II. Follow-up Questions on Status Reports.  5 minutes

III. Campus Iconography and Expressive Spaces. 30 minutes

IV. Open Forum. 70 minutes

V. New Business.  5 minutes

VI. Adjournment

The following topics have been submitted for the Open Forum at the February 23 Council meeting in Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall.

1. Ethanol purchase policy (Jasmine Shong, Research Coordinator, SEAS)

2. Mask protocols (Harry Friedman, GSE’22)

3. Vaccine mandate (Michael Zeoli, Library Service Assistant, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center)

4. COVID-19 booster mandate (Vincent D. Kelley, GAS’26)

5. Establishing an off-ramp for COVID-19 restrictions (Aden Yacobi, C’22)

6. Fossil fuel divestment (Katie Collier, C’22)

7. Next steps in the investigation of Amy Wax (Apratim Vidyarthi, L’22)

8. Computational resources available at Penn (Christian Tabedzki, GEN’23)

9. Need-blind admissions for international students (Prabh Dhaliwal, W’24)

10. Threat of eviction of the residents of the University City Townhomes (Jack Starobin, C’24)

11. Survivor and sexual misconduct reporting policy and resource centralization (Candy Greczylo, NU’22)

12. Broadband and mobile device use on campus (Naveen Albert, ENG’23)

Penn has a variety of activities available for young children and students of every age this summer. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, many camps may undergo a change of dates or venue. Check the URLs provided in each listing for updated information. Information about additional camps and programs will be provided as it becomes available.

Enrichment & Education

Morris Arboretum Summer Adventure Camps. Awaken the mind, nurture the spirit, and energize the body of your child! Led by experienced educators, we inspire new generations of citizen scientists by tapping into their natural curiosity about the world around them. Little Lightning Bugs is open for children aged 4-5. Bloomfield Buddies is open to children aged 6-11. Fees and to apply: https://morrisarb.org/camp. Early bird pricing ends February 15; regular pricing begins February 16. 

Little Lightning Bugs 2022

July 5-8: Little Explorers. 
July 11-15: Nuts About Nature. 
July 18-22: Flying Friends.
July 25-29: Legends and Lore.
August 1-5: Bee Great.
August 8-12: Nature Jams.

Bloomfield Buddies 2022

July 5-8: Into the Wild.
July 11-15: Great Garden Adventure.
July 18-22: Brilliant Birds.
July 25-29: Wild Wizardry.
August 1-5: Insect Detectives.
August 8-12: Art at the Arboretum.

Penn Museum Anthropology Camp. Celebrate summer fun and learning through the Penn Museum’s world-renowned collections. Each week features an exciting theme with hands-on workshops, expert talks, gallery exploration, and more. Open to children aged 6-13 who are entering grades 1-8. Information and to apply: https://www.penn.museum/events/kids-family/summer-camp. 

Penn Museum Camp Themes 2022

June 27-July 1: Stories from the Earth.
July 5-8: Building Bridges, Pyramids, and Temples.
July 11-15: Who’s Who in Ancient Egypt.
July 18-22: Signs and Superstitions.
July 25-29: Beats, Ballads, and Bards.
August 1-5: Powerful People: Kings, Queens, Pharaohs, and Shamans.
August 8-12: Stories from the Earth. 
August 15-19: Building Bridges, Pyramids, and Temples. 

Academics

Penn Carey Law School Pre-College Academy. Residential Session: July 10-30. Commuter Session: July 11-29. Ready for a focused summer experience at one of America’s oldest and most selective law schools? Join the Pre-College Law Academy at the #7 ranked Penn Law School at the University of Pennsylvania. Connect with our internationally renowned faculty through full-day intensives. Experience an accelerated version of the first-year law school curriculum at an Ivy-League university. Students learn from renowned faculty and thought leaders about cutting-edge legal issues. Open to students entering grades 10-12. Fees and to apply: https://www.summerdiscovery.com/penn-law#campusDatesRates. Deadline: TBA. 

Penn Medicine Summer Program. June 26-July 23, 2022. Spend four weeks experiencing the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine intensive summer program designed for high school juniors and seniors interested in medical careers. Modeled after actual first-year Penn medical school classes, you’ll gain exposure to the basics of medical training including practical experiences, simulations, and live demonstrations. Plus, you’ll live the life of a college student on Penn’s campus, located in University City in Philadelphia, PA. Open to students entering grades 11-12. Fees and to apply: https://campscui.active.com/orgs/BoldSummers#/selectSessions/3065444. Deadline: March 1. 

Penn Summer High School Programs. Penn offers academically talented high school students seeking a pre-collegiate experience the opportunity to challenge themselves with a rigorous Ivy League curriculum. Students engage with leading faculty and build intellectual connections within accelerated two-, three-, or six-week Penn Summer High School Programs. Info: https://summer.sas.upenn.edu/programs/high-school.

Penn Summer Prep Program. Session A: July 4-16. Session B: July 18-30. This two-week program offers non-credit, immersive study in disciplines across the sciences, arts, and humanities. Students choose two modules to focus their studies as they experience college life on Penn’s historic campus and explore the vibrant city of Philadelphia. Open to students entering grades 10-12. Info: hs.sas.upenn.edu/summer-programs/summer-prep. 

Penn Summer Academies. July 10-30. Subject intensive programs fusing scientific or social theory with relevant application. Select from American Sign Language, biomedical research, chemistry research, experimental physics research, global culture and communication, mathematics, neuroscience research, and social justice research. Open to students entering grades 10-12. Info: hs.sas.upenn.edu/summer-programs/academies.

Pre-College Program. June 28-August 6. For the full undergraduate residential experience, the Pre-College Program allows high school students to live, dine, and study on campus as they take six-week, for-credit courses alongside Penn undergraduates. Open to students entering grades 11-12. Info: hs.sas.upenn.edu/summer-programs/pre-college-program.

Penn Summer Global Institute. June 28-August 6. Comprehensive for-credit academic experience from the School for Arts and Sciences for top international undergraduates from around the world with high English language proficiency. Students have the option to enroll in an on-campus or online version of the program for summer 2022. Fees and to apply: summer.sas.upenn.edu/programs/international-students/psgi. Deadline: April 1. 

Penn Summer Science Initiative (PSSI). July 5-28. Penn offers a free, four-week summer program for local high school students interested in materials science and engineering. Students will attend lectures in materials, a computer lab, experimental labs, and field trips to industrial and Penn facilities. Open to students entering the 11th-12th grade. Fees and to apply: https://www.lrsm.upenn.edu/outreach/pssi/. Deadline: March 1. 

Penn Summer Sessions. 11-Week Session: May 23-August 5. Session I: May 23-June 29. Session II: June 30-August 5. Penn Summer Sessions offers undergraduate classes in the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Weitzman School of Design, Penn Law, and the Wharton School—daytime, evening, and online. Open to all Penn undergraduates and visiting undergraduates. Fees (program-specific) and to apply: https://summer.sas.upenn.edu/programs/penn-summer-sessions. Deadlines: May 1 for 11-Week Session and Session I; June 17 for Session II. 

Penn Vet Canine Handler Academy. Sessions 1: July 11-15. Session 2: July 18-22. Advanced Session: July 25-29. Students will gain hands-on training experience, learn from guest presentations, and enjoy various working dog demonstrations. Open to students entering 7th-9th grade. Info: https://www.vet.upenn.edu/research/centers-laboratories/center/penn-vet-working-dog-center/learn-about-working-dogs/canine-handler-academy. Deadline: TBA.

Summer Workshop for Young Writers at the Kelly Writers House. July 10-22. The Kelly Writers House offers an intensive workshop for students who show promise and a passion for writing. Instruction is at the undergraduate level, with an emphasis on creative nonfiction writing, supplemented by sessions in poetry, fiction, and other genres. Open to students entering the 11th-12th grade. Financial aid available. Fees and to apply: http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/summer. Deadline: mid-March. 

Wharton Summer High School Programs. The Wharton School offers immersive experiences for high school students. Led by renowned faculty and instructional staff, programs explore topics that align with Wharton’s research and teaching. Pre-collegiate students engage with our rigorous business education before making a post-secondary choice and get the chance to study and network with global peers. Open to students entering the 10th-12th grade. Fees and to register: https://globalyouth.wharton.upenn.edu/summer-high-school-programs/. 

Essentials of Entrepreneurship. Session 1: June 5-18. Session 2: June 19-July 2. Session 3: July 10-23. Session 4: July 24-August 6. With a two-week schedule filled with lectures, recitations, and activities, students will walk away with a better understanding of how to design a creative and useful product from scratch and what it takes to truly be an entrepreneur. Final deadline: April 7. 

Essentials of Finance. Session 1: June 5-18. Session 2: June 19-July 2. Session 3: July 10-23. Session 4: July 24-August 6. Essentials of Finance provides an introduction to the theory, the methods, and the concerns of the world of finance. Learn about the fundamentals of both personal and corporate finance. Delve into the topics such as the time value of money, the trade-off between risk and return, equities, and corporate accounting. Final deadline: April 7.

Leadership in the Business World. Session 1: June 5-25. Session 2: June 26-July 16. Session 3: July 17-August 6. Designed to provide students with a glimpse of Wharton’s undergraduate curriculum, LBW offers opportunities to learn about leadership in 21st-century organizations through a dynamic and rigorous mix of classes with Wharton professors and business leaders, real-time business simulations, and team-building activities. Final deadline: April 7.

Data Science. July 10-30. Penn brings state-of-the-art machine learning and data science tools to high school students. We aim to stimulate curiosity in the fast-moving field of machine learning through this rigorous yet approachable program. The primary theme throughout the program will be building up statistical foundations together with empirical analysis and critical thinking skills. Final deadline: April 7.

Moneyball Academy. July 10-30. Moneyball Academy is a three-week summer program that provides an opportunity to study sports analytics at the Wharton School. This program focuses on using data to make deep discoveries in sports while becoming a data-driven decision-maker. Instruction will focus on fundamentals of statistical thinking, real applications employed by statistics professionals in sports analytics, and an introduction to statistical programming languages. Final deadline: April 7.

Sports Business Academy. July 10-30. Examines various academic disciplines as they apply to the sports industry with an overview of the business and legal aspects of various intercollegiate, Olympic, and professional sports enterprises. Students ultimately gain insight into the leadership, management, and increasingly global nature of the sports business. Through academic and co-curricular activities, WSBA students have the opportunity to test their potential as future sports business leaders. Final deadline: April 7.

Management & Technology Summer Institute. July 10-30. A rigorous and rewarding for-credit summer program for rising high school seniors and a select number of rising high school juniors interested in exploring the integration of technological concepts and management principles. Final deadline: April 1. 

Future of the Business World. Online. Session 1: June 6-17. Session 2: June 20-July 1. Session 3: July 11-22. Session 4: July 25-August 5. A dynamic learning experience for exceptional high school students from around the world. It is designed to introduce students to areas of research by Wharton faculty and engage them as the next generation of global business leaders. Students attend live daily online events and work independently. Priority deadline: March 15. Final deadline: May 5.

Essentials of Leadership. Online. Session 1: June 6-17. Session 2: June 20-July 1. Session 3: July 11-22. Session 4: July 25-August 5. An intensive, two-week summer opportunity for a select group of rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors seeking an introduction to outstanding undergraduate business education. Participants will develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills, while learning from and collaborating with Wharton faculty, guest speakers, and other talented high school students from around the world. Priority deadline: March 15. Final deadline: May 5.

Understanding Your Money. Online. Dates TBA. A self-paced online program for high school students. Offering an introduction to fundamental economic concepts, including investing and basic money management skills, this program is designed to help students make smarter financial decisions. In addition to online video lessons delivered by Wharton faculty, the program also includes related readings, activities, glossary terms, and quizzes to test learning. Deadlines: TBA.

Moneyball Academy: Training Camp. Online. Session 1: June 27-July 1. Session 2: July 25-29. Moneyball Academy: Training Camp offers a one-week introduction to statistics and coding. By the end of the program, students will better understand sports analyses in articles, and will create their own sports analysis project. Students will also learn the basics of how to read and write code in R, the advanced statistical programming language used by professional statisticians. Priority deadline: March 15. Final deadline: May 5.

Athletics

Campus Recreation Adventure Camp. Session 1: July 11-15. Session 2: July 18-22. Session 3: July 25-29. Engages with the West Philadelphia and Penn Community to provide a safe and fun-filled sport and recreation experience that will ensure lifelong memories. Open to children aged 6-12. Info: https://pennreccamps.com/. Early bird deadline: today, February 15. Final deadline: TBA.

John Yurkow Baseball Camp. Session 1: June 20-23. Session 2: July 18-21. Session 3: August 8-11. Gives campers the opportunity to compete, learn and improve their game with a high level of instruction. Athletes will receive an understanding of the game in a fun and exciting environment and a great experience in college baseball. Open to students entering grades 9-12.  Info: www.pennbaseballcamp.com. Deadline: TBA. 

Steve Donahue’s Quaker Basketball Camps. June 11-12, June 28-30, August 15-17. Spend a day with Penn staff receiving quality individual instruction and learning what it takes to compete at the Division 1 level. Sessions will include skill development, 3v3, and full court competition. Open to boys entering grades 9-12. Info: https://pennbasketballcamp.com/mensbball/camp-elite.php. Deadline: June 1. 

Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camp. Weekly sessions from June 13 to September 2. The Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps is the nation’s most popular tennis camp. Hosting close to a thousand campers each summer, the camp has built a reputation for top-flight instruction, fun and well-organized days. Open to boys and girls, aged 5-18. Info: https://www.wilsontenniscamps.com/penn/. Deadlines: Vary by session.

To view a PDF of the supplement, click here.

When it comes to being divisive, it doesn’t get more literal than a wall. Walls exist as a means of separation, creating a sense of security by keeping something—or more typically someone—out. Noting the strong reactions that many people have toward border walls, Penn researchers Diana Mutz and Beth Simmons wondered if walls carried a more universal meaning in the human mind, regardless of a person’s nationality. And as it turns out, they do—with real implications for international influence and soft power.

Dr. Mutz, the Samuel A. Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communication and director of the Institute for the Study of Citizens and Politics at Annenberg and the department of political science in SAS, was interested in the political psychology of distance and separation. Dr. Simmons, a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor with appointments at SAS and Penn Carey Law School and a secondary appointment at the Wharton School, had an ongoing project involving the consequences of increased national border infrastructure around the world. 

These related research interests converged as Drs. Mutz and Simmons developed an experiment to assess how border walls influence the way that individuals regard a foreign country—and crucially, in a way that steers clear of highly polarized political feelings about border policies where they live. 

Their findings, “The psychology of separation: border walls, soft power, and international neighborliness,” were recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). The study revealed that the presence of walls lowered participants’ evaluations of the bordering countries, and implied hostile international relationships.

The consistent negative impressions that participants had of countries with border infrastructure, the co-authors say, are important for policymakers to bear in mind. These findings speak directly to the potential impact of border security policies on a country’s “soft power” – the kind of influence, both on leaders and the public, that a country gains when seen favorably by those in other countries. Soft power is determined by foreign perceptions of the attractiveness of a society’s culture, foreign policies, and values.

Working with a team of graduate students, the co-authors assembled found footage from the internet on Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, two countries that they felt respondents were likely to know very little about. Drs. Mutz and Simmons wanted participants to be unfamiliar with the locations involved, so their judgments wouldn’t be swayed by prior knowledge of that country’s reputation.

With the help of Waldo Aguirre and Anna Gamarnik from Annenberg’s IT department, they created a short documentary about Tajikistan’s culture and history. Respondents were shown one of three versions of the film, then asked to rate their impressions of the countries depicted. In one version, the narrator mentions that Tajikistan shares a border with Kyrgyzstan, shown as a valley between two mountains. In another version, the video refers to a “border wall” and an image of a wall is presented. The third version also shows a wall, and explicitly mentions that neighboring Kyrgyzstan originally built it.

In addition to participants having negative perceptions of countries with border walls, the results showed that the government of the country responsible for erecting the wall was regarded especially unfavorably. And while walls increased perceptions of a country’s border security, it lowered respondents’ perceived security of the people who live there.

As the co-authors note, these reactions were consistent regardless of participants’ political views, the political contexts of their home countries, and their distance from an international border.

Adapted from an Annenberg School for Communication news release published on January 28, 2022. 

In many friend groups, politics is not the most popular topic of discussion. The potential for tension puts a damper on informal political conversations which might have valuable democracy-sustaining benefits. Nevertheless, mutual respect between peers may prevent the kinds of explosive disagreements commonly seen online, and those who share nonpolitical similarities may be more likely to bend towards more moderate stances.

But will this same openness translate to situations where politically different individuals remain strangers? And, if so, could this effect be significant enough to contribute to depolarization?

In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and led by Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor Duncan Watts in collaboration with colleagues from Heidelberg University, University of California Santa Cruz, and Microsoft Research, the researchers explored how the mechanisms behind intra-group receptivity can be applied to anonymous, informal political communication. The study shows that by fostering feelings of closeness through incidental similarities, those with strong beliefs on either end of the political spectrum can begin to converge upon more moderate views.

The co-authors used a large-scale, two-phase experiment to determine how individuals’ receptiveness to political arguments is influenced by feelings of closeness with the people presenting them.

In the first phase, participants were asked to answer a series of questions about their nonfocal attributes—or features unrelated to political issues—including demographics, hobbies, and personality. Immediately afterward, they were asked a separate set of questions assessing their political leaning, perception of inequality in the U.S., and stance on wealth redistribution. Finally, they were asked to describe their views on the topic in their own words via a short essay.

About six months later, the second phase of the experiment used this information to match the respondents with a new set of participants. After administering the same nonfocal and stance-measurement surveys as in Phase 1, the authors randomly assigned every new participant to a Phase 1 participant with either high or low non-political similarity and high or low agreement on the focal issue. Each new participant then saw a profile page of their match highlighting all of their common answers to the nonfocal survey, and were asked to rate how connected they felt with their match on a seven-point scale. Finally, the Phase 2 participants read the essays written by their matches, and were once again asked about their own political stances and how they perceived their match.

The results of these updated survey responses revealed intriguing insights into the mechanics of political depolarization. As can be expected, Phase 2 participants with strong political views became more extreme when matched with same-stance Phase 1 respondents. Contrary to previous research, however, the team found that interactions between participants with differing stances depolarized strong views on both ends of the spectrum, with both anti- and pro-redistribution respondents reporting more moderate updated stances. This effect was strongest among participants who indicated feeling closer or more connected to their Phase 1 matches based on their profiles; every unit increase in closeness corresponded with a 16.3% increase in the odds of reducing the pair’s consensus gap.

This research has important implications for reducing political polarization on online media platforms.

Adapted from an Annenberg School for Communication news release published January 21, 2022 and a Penn Engineering Today news release published on January 25, 2022. 

Telemedicine appears to be a key to reducing racial inequities in follow-up care after hospitalization, according to numbers collected amid the pandemic by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As 2020 progressed and telemedicine became one of the main modes for primary care visits, attendance or “show” rates at follow-up appointments after hospitalization climbed among Black patients from 52 to 70 percent. This was comparable to white patients, whose visit completion rates at primary care follow-up appointments were 67 percent by the middle of 2020. The research was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

“While there remain important open questions about the relative quality of different kinds of telemedicine appointments, our findings show reduced time to follow-up and improved appointment show rates, which is certainly encouraging,” said the study’s lead author, Eric Bressman, a fellow in the National Clinician Scholars Program and an internist at Penn. 

The sudden onset of COVID-19 resulted in a telemedicine boom as health care offices sought to slow the virus by limiting in-person visits. Amid this, Dr. Bressman and his fellow researchers—including the study’s senior author, Srinath Adusumalli, an assistant professor of clinical medicine in cardiology—looked at whether telemedicine improved access in the critical recovery period following a hospitalization.

Data from five Penn Medicine hospitals on post-hospitalization primary care follow-up appointments from 2019 through 2021 was pulled for the study. Overall, post-discharge primary care visit completion rates climbed from 62 to 72 percent from January to June 2020. They remained significantly high for the rest of the year. But the greatest boost appeared to come from Black patients increasing their visit completion rate from 52 to 70 percent. For white patients, by contrast, there was little change, from 68 percent in January 2020 to 67 percent in June 2020.

Regardless of race, some overall benefits were seen after June 2020. The time between discharge and the first primary care appointment follow-up fell by a day-and-a-half when the appointment was held via telemedicine. Completion rates of the follow-up appointments were 22 percent higher via telemedicine, and the rate of follow-up within a week of hospitalization was eight percent higher, too.

Adapted from a Penn Medicine news release published on January 19, 2022. 

Every Thursday during Black History Month, the African American Resource Center is hosting a virtual Black Movie Night.

AARC invites you to join them as they watch Black cinema and share in discussions throughout the movie. Bring your popcorn and laugh (or cry) together while enjoying each other’s presence.

The remaining movies include Hidden Figures on Thursday, February 17 and I Am Not Your Negro on Thursday, February 24.

To join, visit https://bit.ly/BlackMovieNight2022. 

For more information, visit https://aarc.upenn.edu/events.

Exhibits

Penn Museum

Online and in-person events. Info: https://www.penn.museum/calendar. 

18        Virtual Global Guide Tour: Mexico & Central America Gallery; 2:30 p.m.

19        Greece Gallery Tour; 11 a.m.

            Global Guide Tour: Middle East Galleries; 2:30 p.m.

20        Mexico & Central America Gallery Tour; 11 a.m.

            Global Guide Tour: Mexico & Central America Gallery; 2:30 p.m. 

Fitness & Learning

18        Publishing Workshop for Early Career Scholars; Walter Biggins, Penn Press, leads a workshop discussing how to prepare manuscripts, how to select a publisher, and more useful information for burgeoning academic authors; noon; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/wolf-workshop-feb-18 (Wolf Humanities Center). 

Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships (CURF)

Zoom webinars. Info: https://www.curf.upenn.edu/curf-events.

17        Behind the CV: Stories from Faculty - Joshua Gold; 4 p.m. 

Graduate School of Education (GSE)

Unless noted, online events. Info: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/events-calendar.

18        Penn GSE Live Webinar: What Creative Drama Can Do for You and Your Students; 12:30 p.m.

            Penn GSE LGBTQAI+ Community Engagement; 4 p.m.

22        Resilience Workshop: Avoid Thinking Traps; for staff and faculty; 12:30 p.m. 

Music

18        Penn Symphony Orchestra: Schubert & Belioz; performance of Schubert’s sublime Symphony No. 5, featuring Penn's own chamber orchestra musicians, and Belioz’s Harold in Italy performed by the Penn Symphony Orchestra featuring Rachel Ku of the Philadelphia Orchestra; 8 p.m.; Irvine Auditorium (Music). 

On Stage

17        The Kitchen Sink; a tender comedy about family, class and dreaming of better things - even when there’s no running water; 7 p.m.; Bruce Montgomery Theater, Annenberg Center; tickets: https://pennlivearts.org/event/the-kitchen-sink (Penn Live Arts). Also February 18, 7 p.m.; February 19, 7 p.m.; February 20, 2 p.m. 

22        No Ocean Between Us: Performance by the Pan-Asian Dance Troupe; 5:30 p.m.; Arthur Ross Gallery; RSVP: sabrady@upenn.edu; Zoom screening; register: https://tinyurl.com/padt-performance-feb-22 (Arthur Ross Gallery). 

Readings & Signings

21        Taking Stock of Shock: Social Consequences of the 1989 Revolutions; reading by Kristen Ghodsee and Mitchell Orenstein, Russian & East European Studies; 6 p.m.; room 209, College Hall (Russian & East European Studies). 

Talks

16        Health Equity: A Call for Action in Health Systems; Marshall Chin, University of Chicago; 9:30 a.m.; BlueJeans webinar; register: https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/udpkazcv (Penn Nursing). 

17        Robot-Assisted Imaging of Neuromuscular Function: New Insights on the Neural Substrates of Motor Control; Fabrizio Sergi, University of Delaware; 10 a.m.; Glandt Forum, Singh Center for Nanotechnology (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics). 

            Certifiable Outlier-Robust Geometric Perception: Robots that See through the Clutter with Confidence; Heng Yang, MIT; 11 a.m.; room 225, Towne Building, and Zoom webinar; join: https://tinyurl.com/yang-talk-feb-17(Electrical & Systems Engineering). 

            Improving Forensic Decision Making: A Human-Cognitive Perspective; Itiel Dror, University College London; 1 p.m.; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/dror-talk-feb-17 (Criminology). 

            End-to-End Precision Medicine: Personalized Sensing, Targeted Diagnostics, and Therapeutic Discovery; Ava Soleimany, Microsoft Research; 3:30 p.m.; room 337, Towne Building (Bioengineering). 

            So-and-so Made This: A Research Methodology for Finding and Being with the Potters and Painters of Ancient Athens; Sanchita Balachandran, Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum; 4:45 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/classical-studies-spring-2022 (Classical Studies). 

            Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Itch, Pain and Inflammation; Diana Bautista, UC Berkeley; 5 p.m.; GoToWebinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/bautista-talk-feb-17 (Wistar Institute). 

            Design With, Not For; Dennis Milam and Paola Aguirre Serrano, Borderless; 6 p.m.; room B3, Meyerson Hall; register: https://tinyurl.com/milam-serrano-feb-17 (Landscape Architecture). 

18        From Surveying Farms to Tidying Our Homes with Robots; Volkan Isler, University of Minnesota; 10:30 a.m.; Wu and Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (GRASP Lab). 

            Quantitative Social Media Research Practices; Deen Freelon, University of North Carolina; noon; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/freelon-talk-feb-18 (Annenberg School for Communication). 

21        Type 2 Immunity: Learning from Helminths; Judith Allen, University of Manchester; noon; Zoom webinar; join: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/91921012177 (Penn Vet). 

22        The Once and Future Kings: A History of the Frustrating (and Futile) Search for the Next Martin Luther King, Jr.; Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown; 3:30 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/chatelain-talk-feb-22 (Africana Studies). 

            Deprovincializing the Police: Towards a Transnational Solidarity Against Brutality; Daniel Agbiboa, Harvard; 5:30 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/agbiboa-talk-feb-22 (Africana Studies). 

Asian American Studies (ASAM)

Online and in-person events. Info: https://asam.sas.upenn.edu/events.

22        Race and Faith; Kameelah, Mu'min Rashad, Muslim Wellness Foundation; noon; Zoom webinar. 

Computer and Information Science (CIS)

Wu and Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall, and Zoom webinars. Info: https://www.cis.upenn.edu/events/.

16        Principled Algorithm Design in the Era of Deep Learning; Surbhi Goel, Microsoft Research; 3:30 p.m.

17        Learning-Based Program Synthesis: Learning for Program Synthesis and Program Synthesis for Learning; Xinyun Chen, UC Berkeley; 3:30 p.m.

22        Modern Fine-grained Algorithms for Classic Problems; Saeed Seddighn, Toyota Technological Institute; 3:30 p.m. 

Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies (CLALS)

Unless noted, Zoom webinars. Info: https://clals.sas.upenn.edu/events.

17        Challenges to Democracy in the Andes; Maxwell A. Cameron, University of British Columbia; 3:30 p.m.; room 473, McNeil Building. 

Mathematics

Online and in-person events. Info: https://www.math.upenn.edu/events.

15        Scaling Limits of the Laguerre Unitary Ensemble; Xuan Wu, University of Chicago; 3:30 p.m.; room 4C8, DRL. 

            Accumulation and Maintenance of Information in Evolution; Michal Hledik, IST Austria; 4 p.m.; online webinar.

16        Topological Defects in Smectic Liquid Crystals: Applied Measured Foliations; Randy Kamien, mathematics; 3:45 p.m.; room A6, DRL. 

Middle East Center

Unless noted, online webinars. Info: https://mec.sas.upenn.edu/events.

22        British Power and the Shaping of Iranian Identity in Early 20th-Century Bahrain; Lindsey Stephenson, Princeton; 5:30 p.m.

Sociology

Unless noted, in-person events at room 367, McNeil Building. Info: https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/events.

18        Geneticizing Tropicality: Malaria, Monkeys and Mahars in Early Postcolonial India; Projit Mukharji, history and sociology of science; noon. 

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 January 31-February 6, 2022. 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 January 31-February 6, 2022. 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.

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 8 incidents (4 assaults, 2 aggravated assaults, and 2 robberies) were reported for January 31-February 6, 2022 by the 18^th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th St & Market St to Woodland Avenue.

University of Pennsylvania students, faculty, and staff can now download the full version of EndNote 20 courtesy of the Penn Libraries. 

EndNote is a reference and full-text organizer that allows users to create bibliographies and format documents in a large number of output styles. 

Learn More and Download 

EndNote has both a desktop and online component (EndNote Online). Users should create their accounts from within the desktop version for full functionality, including the ability to synchronize references between desktop and online accounts and to share their library with other EndNote users. 

Access download instructions through the Penn Libraries (PennKey Required).

Penn’s license allows for upgrades to new versions, remote access, unlimited storage, and use from three devices per user for one-at-a-time use. For further assistance with installation, contact Penn’s Tech Center.  

Citation Management Tools and Support

For assistance in making the best use of EndNote for a research project, visit the EndNote library guide. EndNote can also be accessed and downloaded through a keyword search in the Franklin catalog.  

The Penn community can also access institutional accounts for RefWorks, PowerNotes, and NoodleTools, and the Penn Libraries offers introductory information, tutorials, workshops, and support for various citation management tools.  

Please note that EndNote subscription access is restricted to current students, faculty, and staff. Affiliated employees with PennKey access to other Penn Libraries electronic resources—from the University of Pennsylvania Health System (HUP, Pennsylvania, and Presbyterian Hospitals) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—are also eligible to create accounts. For more information, visit the Penn Libraries’ guide to accessing electronic resources.

Dear Penn Community,

Thank you for your continued generosity. It is especially notable during the holiday season, but evident at all times. There are no words to adequately describe your generosity. Many continue to benefit from your willingness to give. 

Thank you to former President Gutmann for having sponsored the toy donation during the pandemic (normally held during the holiday party). These toys along with many others were donated to local agencies and families in the surrounding community. 

Thank you to the following departments; they brought joy to families during the holidays by “adopting” them:

• African American Resource Center coordinated by Valerie Allen and Colleen Winn
• Alyssa Atzeff Pope Family coordinated by Alyssa Atzeff Pope
• School of Arts & Science coordinated by Danielle McNinch
• Career Services coordinated by Jamie Grant
• Chris Connor Family coordinated by Chris Connor
• Facilities and Real Estate Services coordinated by Cheryl Smith and Chloe Cerwinka
• Fels Institute of Government coordinated by Ambika Singh
• Office of General Counsel coordinated by Helen Logan
• GSE’s CPRE Consortium coordinated by Katarina Suwak 
• HR Finance coordinated by Richard Le
• Institutional Research and Analysis coordinated by Patricia Diehm
• Mark Sellmeyer Family coordinated by Mark Sellmyer
• Netter Center for Community Partnerships coordinated by Deb Sokalczuk 
• Office of the Comptroller coordinated by Celestine Silverman
• Office of Gift Planning coordinated by Lorleen Finor-Maxwell
• Office of the Provost coordinated by Carolyn Raft
• Online Instructional Design coordinated by Jessica E. Morris
• Pamela Robinson and Donald Smothers Family coordinated by Pamela Robinson
• Penn Band coordinated by Adam B. Sherr
• Penn Champions Athletics Development coordinated by Emily Shields
• University Communications coordinated by Lauren Summers
• Penn Fund coordinated by Joshua Nay
• Penn Human Resources Employee Solution Center coordinated by Amma Napier
• Penn Museum coordinated by Karen Klaverkamp
• Penn Women Center coordinated by Sherisse Laud-Hammond
• Perelman School of Medicine coordinated by Rachel McGarrigle
• Perelman School of Medicine coordinated by Francia Portacio
• Perelman School of Medicine coordinated by Anne Levy
• Research Services coordinated by Tina Nemetz and Evelyn Ford
• Residential and Hospitality Services coordinated by Linda M. Kromer
• SAS Programs and Events coordinated by  Danielle McNinch
• HR Training and Development HR coordinated by Holly Morrone
• University Life Division coordinated by Andrea Alhadari Patton 
• Wharton Customer Analytics coordinated by Rachel L. Dutcher
• Wharton Executive Education coordinated by Anne Corcoran-Petela
• Wharton External Affairs coordinated by Beth Truta Morris
• Wharton Marketing and Communication coordinated by Sara Mangat
• Wharton School Dean’s Office coordinated Jennifer O›Keefe

Several departments adopted multiple families and additional families were able to be adopted because of generous donations of gift cards.

A special thank you to the dedicated Dropsite Committee Volunteers without whom the holiday donation initiative would not have been possible. This is partial list:

• President’s Office: Brenda Gonzalez    
• FMC 1st Floor: Maryanne Nuzzo
• Franklin Bldg: Chris Hyson/Sharon Barkley/Eric Stewart    
• Comptroller’s Office: Celestine Silverman
• Van Pelt Library: Rachelle Nelson and Illene Rubin    
• Nursing: Pat Adams    
• Franklin Building Front Desk: Eric Stewart    
• Wharton: Jennifer O’Keefe
• Physics & Astronomy: Michelle Last    
• Residential Services: Linda Kromer
• Research Services: Evelyn Ford/Tina Nemetz    

The efforts of this special group resulted in the collection of all the toys/gifts. They made it possible for us to respond to requests for donations from the neighbors listed below: People’s Emergency Center; Parents Against Drugs; Baring House; Salvation Army; Mill Creek Coalition; Christ Lutheran Church; Potter’s Mission House; and many local families.

A very special thanks to Physics and Astronomy coordinated by Michell Last for providing supermarket gift cards that helped to feed many families. Thank you Franklin Building Group, Human Resources, Penn Engineering and others for the generous sneaker donations to benefit the homeless served by St. Francis Inn. Special thanks to Carisma Therapeutics coordinated by Kara Collins who generously participated in the program. Special thanks to Interius Bio Therapeutics, Inc. coordinated by Patricia Greely who generously participated in the holiday program. Thank you to the entire University community for donating over 700 gifts and toys.

Additionally, the following pantries benefitted from the University’s Annual Food Drive: Potter’s Mission House; People’s Emergency Center; St. Francis Inn; Alpha Phi Omega Home Holidays Meals Initiative; Baring House Crisis Nursery; and many families who needed emergency food supplies.

Thank you to all the special people, both named and unnamed, for their remarkable generosity. Please forgive any oversights, and send corrections to Isabel Sampson-Mapp sammapp@upenn.edu.

—Isabel Sampson-Mapp, Associate Director, Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Security, Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy.

Recently there has been a sharp rise in financial scams propagated via social media, email, text messages, and phone calls. Social media platforms and online dating sites make it easy to create a fake persona and mislead people with bogus investment opportunities or fictional financial emergencies. Scammers identify targets via social media or online dating and meetup sites, using pretexts ranging from romance to “accidentally” dialing or direct-messaging victims to initiate contact. After rapidly cultivating the victim’s trust by feigning friendship or courtship, scammers will reap financial gains by:

• Requesting money or gift cards, often to resolve a sudden emergency, or to facilitate travel and other steps towards a shared future life.
• Sending a link to a bogus website that shows a hard-to-believe return on an investment. Posing as an experienced, successful cryptocurrency trader, the scammer vouches for the site, introducing the victim to others who claim the investment is legitimate and highly profitable. The victim then converts their own cash into untraceable cryptocurrency to invest—and incur 100% loss—in this scheme.

To protect yourself from these socially engineered financial scams:

• Limit who sees your social media posts to your friends, and avoid posting sensitive personal information. 
• If someone urges you to respond to an investment opportunity, independently verify the company and the caller. Don’t rely on assurances or testimonials from the person offering you the investment, or from their associates.
• Before entering your personal and financial information on any website, verify the legitimacy of both the company and the site.
• Protect your cryptocurrency wallet by not responding to any emails, texts, phone calls, or other requests asking for your seed phrase, even from friends. 
• Contact your bank to stop any erroneous transfer or payment you made to a fake investment or scheme and contact the police to file a report if you believe you fell victim to a scam. 
• Contact your IT support staff on how you can protect your information and computing assets. 

For additional information, contact security@isc.upenn.edu.

For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/security/news-alerts#One-Step-Ahead.