December 13, 2022 Volume 69 Issue 17

Interim Provost Beth A. Winkelstein has announced the reappointments of Dawn Bonnell, the Henry Robinson Towne Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, as Senior Vice Provost for Research, and Ezekiel Emanuel, the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives. 

“Both Zeke Emanuel and Dawn Bonnell have been visionary and energetic leaders of our shared campus mission,” said Interim Provost Winkelstein. “They exemplify our highest campus ideals for faculty research leadership, productive partnerships across our campus and our multiple local and global communities, and making a lasting impact on the most urgent challenges that face our world.” 

Under Dawn Bonnell’s leadership for almost a decade, Penn’s research enterprise has grown and diversified. Penn has increased research funding by more than 60%, while also doubling the number of awards and significantly increasing the share of revenue from corporate partnerships and other commercialization initiatives, with 200+ startups, 6500+ patents filed, $2.5+ billion raised by Penn startups, and $1.5+ billion in total revenues from equity and licenses during her tenure. These advancements have been catalyzed by Dawn Bonnell’s leadership of new interdisciplinary research centers across campus, especially the landmark Penn Health-Tech partnership between PSOM and SEAS—which was launched five years ago to foster new ideas in healthcare—and the Pennovation Center and Penn Center for Innovation, which are driving Penn’s entrepreneurial innovation through start-ups developed from Penn research. These innovations have made Penn a stronger partner in its local, national, and global communities.

Zeke Emanuel’s twelve-year tenure as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives has similarly transformed Penn’s campus and its wider world. With a goal of providing a meaningful global experience to every Penn student, he and the outstanding Penn Global team created the highly successful Global Seminars and Global Research and Internship Program, which enable our students to have substantive global experiences that are both shorter and better integrated with their academic goals than traditional semester- or year-long study abroad programs. He has advanced Penn’s place as a leader in global research and dialogue through two five-year strategic plans that have driven Penn’s progress on three core goals: to educate global citizens, catalyze transformative ideas, and bring the world to Penn and Penn to the world.  

Associate Vice Provost for University Life Sharon Smith has announced that Elise Scioscia has joined University Life as the new director of Penn Violence Prevention.

Ms. Scioscia joins Penn from Women Against Abuse, Pennsylvania’s largest provider of services for people experiencing domestic violence, where she served for the past 11 years, most recently as the chief of staff. Ms. Scioscia’s work at Women Against Abuse was expansive and included organizational strategic planning, operational management, and public policy and prevention education work. In addition to her role as the chief of staff, Ms. Scioscia has also served as a member of the organization’s Racial Equity Audit Task Force, working to unearth and correct for institutional racism and bias that exists in the workplace. 

While at Women Against Abuse, Ms. Scioscia managed the development of Shared Safety: Philadelphia’s Response to Relational Violence, which was awarded the 2017 Barry and Marie Lipman Family Prize at the University of Pennsylvania—a global prize recognizing organizations innovatively solving problems in the social sector.

Ms. Scioscia earned her master of arts in strategic communication from Villanova University while working in Villanova’s gender and women’s studies program. 

“I am honored to be joining the Penn Violence Prevention team, especially at a time when we are looking ahead to what University life looks like post-pandemic and as more members of our community return to campus—it is more critical than ever to promote safety and support in our environment,” said Ms. Scioscia. “Penn Violence Prevention is well-poised to continue its survivor-centered, collaborative programming while investigating new opportunities to engage the full Penn community in deeper violence prevention strategies. I look forward to working with the PVP team, all our many partners, and each member of our campus community in our shared commitment to preventing interpersonal violence.”

The University of Pennsylvania has begun purchasing carbon offsets for its air travel emissions as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2042.

The offsets purchased through the Travel Sustainability Fund—Penn’s first offset purchases related to its air travel emissions—will be supported by a Climate Impact Offset charge (CLIO) applied to Penn’s schools and centers that make travel-related purchases. This will be the first time Penn has purchased offsets specifically related to its air travel emissions.

Air travel comprises 5-10% of Penn’s main campus carbon emissions. Penn faculty, staff and students who travel on University business are encouraged to choose more sustainable transportation methods when possible, but it is acknowledged that some level of air travel will continue within the Penn community.

An Air Travel Working Group of faculty and staff designed the CLIO process. Penn Procurement records the number of domestic and international flights from each school or center and charges them a pre-set fee for each. The funds are gathered into a central Travel Sustainability Fund, which is used to purchase offsets.

Penn is committed to funding only high-quality offset projects. Projects must meet or exceed Second Nature’s Carbon Markets and Offset guidance, address environmental justice impacts, and, where relevant, follow the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The newly established Air Travel Offset Selection Committee is responsible for selecting projects in accordance with these guidelines.

A nitrous oxide (N2O) abatement project is the first investment from Penn’s Travel Sustainability Fund. This is regarded as a compensating action to destroy or eliminate an appropriate amount of nitrous oxide to compensate for the jet fuel burned when Penn faculty and staff fly on planes.

“The University selected this project because we could easily verify the destruction of the nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas,” said Benjamin Pierce, the Henry Salvatori Professor of Computer and Information Science and a member of the Air Travel Offset Selection Committee.

“The Penn Sustainability Office, Penn Procurement, and expert faculty all came together in the Air Travel Working Group to develop and implement this innovative program that can only be found at a few other higher education institutions,” said Nina Morris, director of sustainability with the Penn Sustainability Office. “As we learned from other schools, we hope to help other institutions develop similar programs.”

“I was delighted to see the CLIO charge when I purchased an airline ticket through World Travel for upcoming travel to South Africa,” said Alison Buttenheim, a professor of nursing and health policy and a member of Penn’s Committee for the Institutional Response to the Climate Emergency (CIRCE). “It’s critical that we recognize the climate impact of research-related travel. The CLIO charge is a straightforward and transparent way to do that.”

Penn considers purchasing offsets only in situations where other options are not viable, as supplements to its ongoing and accelerating efforts to reduce emissions, such as through regular, cyclical recommissioning of its campus buildings, and the creation of energy from renewable sources, such as will be generated through Penn’s recent solar power purchase agreement (PPA).

This is Penn’s first carbon offset purchase for air travel, but Penn has previously purchased offsets to address carbon emissions from steam purchased by Penn to heat and cool its buildings.

—Penn Sustainability

This is a summary of the annual report of the University of Pennsylvania Health & Welfare Program, Plan No. 503, sponsored by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, EIN 23-1352685, for the period that began on July 1, 2021 and ended on June 30, 2022. This annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). Please note that not all employees are eligible to participate in all the benefits available under the plan. Please consult your plan materials for specific eligibility information.

Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental, and Long-Term Disability Benefits

The University of Pennsylvania has committed itself to pay certain medical and prescription drug claims, dental benefits and long-term disability benefits incurred under the terms of the plan on a self-insured basis. In addition, the plan has a contract with Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company to pay certain medical claims incurred under the terms of the contract. The total premiums paid for the plan year ending June 30, 2022 to Cigna were $123,992. The plan also has a contract with Standard Insurance Company to pay certain long-term disability benefits incurred under the terms of the contract. The total premiums paid to Standard Insurance Company for the plan year ending June 30, 2022 were $1,216,726.

Vision Benefits

The plan has contracts with Davis Vision Plan and Vision Service Plan to pay vision claims incurred under the terms of the contract. The total premiums paid under these contracts for the plan year ending June 30, 2022 to Davis Vision Plan were $650,055 and to Vision Service Plan were $964,362.

Life Insurance Benefits

The plan has a contract with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company to pay life insurance, dependent life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance claims incurred under the terms of the contract. The total premiums paid under this contract for the plan year ending June 30, 2022 were $7,953,051.

Long-Term Care Benefits

The plan has contracts with John Hancock Life Insurance Company and Genworth Life Insurance Company to pay long-term care claims incurred under the terms of the contracts. The total premiums paid under these contracts for the plan year ending June 30, 2022 to John Hancock Life Insurance Co. were $1,212,224 and to Genworth Life Insurance Co. were $967,497.

Your Rights to Additional Information

You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. Insurance information is included in this annual report. The items listed below are included in that report:

1. financial information and information on payments to service providers; and
2. insurance information including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers.

To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of the plan administrator, c/o Joanne M. Blythe, director of retirement and leave administration, 3451 Walnut Street, Franklin Building, 6th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6205, (215) 898-9947. The charge to cover copying costs will be $5.00 for the full annual report or 25 cents per page for any part thereof.

You also have the legally protected right under ERISA to examine the annual report in the offices of the employer at the address for the plan administrator, above, and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department of Labor should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N-1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210.

—Division of Human Resources

As the calendar year comes to a close, you may be thinking about financial goals for the New Year. If so, keep your retirement savings in mind and consider what you can do to plan for and build long-term financial security. The University of Pennsylvania is here to help you give your retirement plan a tune up with changes it will soon make to the Basic Plan that will increase your savings.

Effective January 1, 2023, Penn’s non-matching contributions to the Basic Plan will increase by one percentage point. If you’re eligible for the Basic Plan, Penn makes non-matching contributions for you based on your age. The increase will apply to all age ranges.

You don’t have to take any action to receive this higher contribution from the University. You will see the increase in your Basic Plan contributions reflected in your pay statements. Here is what the contribution increase will look like for different age groups:

*The first weekly pay for this increase will be January 13, which is the first full pay for January.

If your retirement savings aren’t where you would like them to be, the extra 1% to the Basic Plan can add up over the years.

If you’re contributing 5% to the Matching Plan, the additional Basic and Matching Plan contributions from Penn bring your total monthly contributions to 12.5% to 15%, depending on your age.

If you’re eligible for the Matching Plan but aren’t making employee contributions, or are contributing less than 5% and leaving some of Penn’s match dollars on the table, consider whether you could contribute more.

Steps to Enroll 

1. Decide what percentage of your standard gross pay per pay period you’d like to contribute to the Matching or Supplemental retirement plan.  If you’re thinking of contribution in terms of a flat dollar amount, here’s how to convert it to a percentage: (dollar amount of contribution) ÷ (standard gross pay per pay period) = percent. For example: $200 contribution ÷ $4,000 standard gross pay per pay period = 5% contribution
2. Choose whether you want your contributions to be pre-tax or Roth. For help, you can schedule an appointment with a TIAA retirement plan counselor at tiaa.org/schedulenow-upenn.
3. Let the plan choose your investment for you (the Vanguard Target Retirement Fund closest to the year you turn 65), or choose your own fund(s).  A TIAA retirement plan counselor can help you with this, too.
4. Go online to enroll:

              a. Go to the Retirement Plans home page and click on the “Enroll or Make Changes” link in the blue box. 

              b. At the top of the TIAA landing page, click on the Actions button.  

              c. In the Top Actions section on the next page, click on the Contributions button. One of the webpages will ask for an access code, but our plan doesn’t use an access code. Disregard that and click on the yellow Manage My Contributions button. 

              d. Follow the prompts from there.  For assistance, call the TIAA Retirement Call Center at (877) 736-6738.

Consider IRS Limits on Elective Employee Contributions

In 2023, the IRS limits for 403(b) plans will be:

*This limits employer match contributions to $16,500.

Review Your Quarterly Statements

TIAA sends a quarterly statement for your Penn retirement plan account in early January, April, July, and October. The default delivery option is mail, but you can choose to receive an email notice instead by logging into your TIAA account or calling the TIAA Retirement Call Center at (877) 736-6738. Your statements give you a valuable snapshot of how your retirement plan account has performed in the last three months.

If you need help interpreting your statement, or want qualified help with deciding whether there’s any action you should take, you can make an appointment with a TIAA retirement plan counselor at TIAA.org/schedulenow-upenn or call (800) 732-8353. Appointments are confidential, without obligation, and at no additional cost to you.

Check or Set Your Beneficiaries

Take a few minutes to review or change your beneficiary designations. Your beneficiaries are listed on your quarterly statements, and your online Penn retirement plan view at TIAA. You can update your beneficiary designations here, or request a form from the TIAA Retirement Call Center at (877) 8736-6738.

Your beneficiary designation for life insurance does not apply to the retirement plan, so you need to designate beneficiaries separately for your retirement plan savings. You need to designate a beneficiary for each retirement plan contract under each plan in which you’re invested.  Any contracts without a beneficiary designation will default to your estate and be distributed through probate, which costs time as well as money, and may not reflect your wishes. 

If your family situation changes (marriage, divorce, childbirth, etc.), be sure to update your beneficiary designation. Another option is to list your beneficary designation as ‘refer to my will,’ then name your beneficiaries in your will. For more information, contact the TIAA Retirement Call Center at (877) 736-6738.

A Plan to Unlock Campus?

Is there a plan to unlock campus buildings again or is our continued locked-down status just supposed to be our norm now?

I’ve been looking forward to seeing the doors to my academic building return to unlocked as campus activities have resumed following the campus shut-down of 2020, but this hasn’t happened. Our main lobby doors are in sight of a full-time security guard and so it’s been surprising and inconvenient that they have remained locked, particularly given that a PennCard has always been required to enter the floors above the lobby. As winter comes, visitors will have to wait outside until we retrieve them or until they make themselves and their reason for visiting understood on the security boxes outside. Is this necessary when the lobby is already staffed?

Recently, I have had reason to go to Houston Hall to attend campus meetings and work the polls on Election Day and I have been disappointed that all but one entry to the nation’s oldest student union remains locked during business hours. This is both a prominent campus meeting place and also the closest dining location for the tens of thousands of Penn admissions visitors annually. Outside Houston Hall you can spot people tugging on the big, historically unlocked doors in vain.  

Who is making the decision to keep campus buildings locked? Is there a plan to reopen them? These locked buildings are both inconvenient and unfriendly; but also, knowing that our movements around campus can be tracked with every door swipe entry, in addition to the 168 cameras mounted around the core Penn campus alone, is disconcerting. It seems undemocratic that we would move to this continually locked down and tracked status without a broader campus community discussion. Who is making the decisions that are keeping campus doors locked and do we have any say?

—Heather Calvert (GR’14), Staff, School of Arts and Sciences

Response from the Division of Public Safety

We appreciate your feedback about building access. 

The University secures spaces on campus while still allowing for access to the greater community. We call this initiative Operation Building Safe (OBS). An OBS-compliant building provides a welcoming environment by identifying a main entrance staffed by a concierge or security officer; at the entrance, the concierge or officer is responsible for greeting guests, offering PennCard access, and/or operating an intercom that grants guest access. These options are available to all guests during the building’s hours of operation. Additional building access remains available to those with PennCard access and includes signage indicating door locations and guest entrances. All exterior doors are always available for egress.

Data shows that theft and other crimes are reduced when a building practices OBS. This also allows us to quickly secure buildings during an emergency, such as an active threat. Many buildings in the Greater Philadelphia area practice similar security measures. Our goal is to ensure all building occupants are safe and comfortable while working, studying, and researching. 

The University and its Division of Public Safety are committed to the safety and wellbeing of the Penn and West Philadelphia communities. This practice ensures a welcoming and safe environment for students, staff, faculty, alumni, and visitors.

—Division of Public Safety 

Speaking Out welcomes reader contributions. Short timely letters on University issues can be accepted, subject to right-of-reply guidelines.—Ed.

Arthur Knight Asbury, HON’15, the Van Meter Professor of Neurology Emeritus at the Perelman School of Medicine, former interim dean and vice dean of the school, former executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, and a 2015 Penn honorary degree recipient, died on October 19 from prostate cancer and dementia. He was 93.

Born to two physicians in Cincinnati,  Ohio, Dr. Asbury grew up at the historic Forest Retreat, a thoroughbred horse farm in Carlisle, Kentucky. He attended high school at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, then earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Kentucky in 1951. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1951 to 1953, where, based on his BS degree, he was assigned to the First Guided Missile Group as an instructor. He then graduated first in his class from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1958 and completed an internship and residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, then held research and clinical fellowships at the hospital and Harvard Medical School from 1963 to 1965. In 1969, he became chief of the neurology service at the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center. At the same time, he was first an associate professor, then a professor and vice chair of neurology and a professor of pathology at the Medical School of the University of California, San Francisco.

In 1974, a year-long national search selected Dr. Asbury as the chair of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. During his first decade at Penn, he was active in his field, becoming a leading researcher in peripheral neuropathies like Guillain-Barré Syndrome and writing a book and over 100 articles on the subject. He stepped down as chair in 1982 and was appointed to the Van Meter professorship the next year (Almanac January 17, 1984). His leadership in Penn’s health system was far from over, however: He served as interim dean and executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in 1988-89 (Almanac July 12, 1988; April 11, 1989), then fulfilled a three-year term as vice dean for research and a four-year term as vice dean for faculty affairs. Dr. Asbury retired and took emeritus status in 1997, but remained active at Penn, again becoming interim dean of the School of Medicine in 2000-2001 (Almanac February 22, 2000).

During his periods of leadership of the School of Medicine, Dr. Asbury continued to teach, and in 2000, he won Penn’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (Almanac April 18, 2000). “It was because Dr. Asbury was chairman that I sought out my residency at Penn; he was known as a superior clinician and teacher,” wrote a resident. “He was and is the consummate traditional academic clinician.” A physician wrote, “Because of his combination of academic achievement, intellectual skills and personal qualities, Dr. Asbury is one of the pivotal individuals in my neurological training.” A student said, “Dr. Asbury’s importance as a mentor has never flagged. I still turn to him when I need help with a particularly challenging clinical problem. He is a strong advocate for young scientists and epitomizes excellence in teaching.” The School of Medicine established the annual Arthur K. Asbury Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award and the Arthur Knight Asbury Professorship in Neurology on his honor, and a portrait of him hangs in the second floor of Penn’s Clinical Research Building.

At Penn and in the field, Dr. Asbury was renowned for his clinical and experimental studies of peripheral neuropathies, particularly those seen with chronic kidney failure, and in patients with diabetes mellitus and Guillain-Barré syndrome. This research has continued to impact diverse treatments, ranging as far as swine flu vaccines. Over the course of his career, his work was published in over 230 articles, chapters and books. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, led many editorial boards, and was chief editor of the Annals of Neurology. Dr. Asbury was involved with the World Federation of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, and the Council of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal College of Physicians. Dr. Asbury received the Penn Health System I.S. Ravdin Master Clinician Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the World Federation of Neurology, and the Meritorious Service Award of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. For several years in the 1990s, Dr. Asbury was listed in the annual The Best Doctors in America publication. In 2015, Penn awarded him an honorary doctorate of sciences (Almanac February 17, 2015).

Dr. Asbury skied, played tennis and golf, and had season tickets for the Phillies. He enjoyed the Philadelphia Orchestra, and he and his family vacationed in Maine.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; his daughters Dana and Lyndia; his son, Will; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; a sister; and other relatives. Donations in his name may be made to the GBS-CIDP Foundation International, 375 East Elm St., Suite 101, Conshohocken, PA 19428; Penn Medicine Hospice Services, 150 Monument Rd., Suite 300, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004; and the Arthur K. Asbury Accelerator Fund, Penn Medicine Development, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Stephen Gale, an associate professor emeritus of political science in the School of Arts and Sciences, died on October 30. He was 80.

Dr. Gale received his BS, MA, and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan, then served a postdoctoral fellowship and lectured at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1970, he joined the faculty of Northwestern University at the assistant professor level, then came to the Wharton School at Penn in 1973 as an assistant professor of peace science. In 1977, he was promoted to associate professor and chair of a department that was named regional political science and relocated to the School of Arts and Sciences. He also taught Organizational Dynamics courses. He became political science professor emeritus in 2011.

Dr. Gale was an engaged faculty member, sitting on several Faculty Senate and University Council committees (chairing the Council committees on Research and Student Affairs and the Senate Committee on Students and Educational Policy at various times). He also served on ad-hoc committees, including ones for the selection of high-ranking Penn officials and for the construction of an (unbuilt) campus recreation center in 1990. Dr. Gale also served as the faculty master of Community House in the Quad and was Penn’s judicial administrator from 1993-1995. Dr. Gale helped build the Dynamics of Organization graduate group and was a faculty member in the Foreign Policy Research Institute. In 2012, he retired from Penn and took emeritus status.

While at Penn, Dr. Gale conducted research and teaching in technology transfer and business development, real estate analysis, security, and project evaluation. His work on terrorism dealt with the creation and use of software systems for integrated security analysis, the development and analysis of security scenarios, and the application of negotiation models. Renowned for his research, he testified on Capitol Hill, and appeared frequently in the media, consulted for a variety of corporations and governmental agencies. Dr. Gale worked with Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, the U.S. Department of Energy, and other defense-related agencies. In addition, he has worked on security projects for private sector organizations like Exxon, Johnson & Johnson, and the American Society for Industrial Security. He wrote many peer-reviewed articles and co-authored the book The War on Terrorism: 21st-Century Perspectives in 2012.

A service was held on November 6. Dr. Gale’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Project Gutenberg. 

Charles Jarvis Jenkins, former Penn Libraries operations manager, died on April 22. He was 82.

Born in Rich Square, North Carolina, he moved to Philadelphia with his family in the 1950s. In 1958, Mr. Jenkins graduated from Overbrook High School.

Mr. Jenkins started working at the University of Pennsylvania as a stack attendant before he was promoted to the Van Pelt Library night supervisor. He was the first African American library administrator in charge of operations, maintenance, and security in all of Penn Libraries. He was promoted to manager of operational services at Van Pelt Library before retiring in 1999 after 41 years of service.

At Penn, he oversaw visiting dignitaries, including Presidents and Vice Presidents of the United States and other celebrities, but he considered his most memorable guest to be movie star Cicely Tyson. He served as a member of Penn’s Librarians’ Assembly Executive Board.

Mr. Jenkins is survived by his sister, Brenda Kay Jenkins; his children, Crystal Richardson, Tonya West (Jimmy), and Charles Anthony Jenkins; his grandchildren, Christopher West (Stacey), Nicolle Jones (Mike), India Harris, Jamie West, and Brooke Richardson; his great-grandchildren, Mia Harris and Zoey Harris; his former wife, Catherine Blackman; stepsons, Curtis Jennings, Paul Blackman, Ronnie Blackman, and Walter Blackman; and several nieces, nephews, cousins, family, and close friends.

Marc Lapadula, C’83, a former lecturer in the School of Arts and Sciences’ cinema and media studies department, died on August 9. He was 62.

Mr. Lapadula was born in 1960. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Penn in 1983, an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia in 1984, and an MFA in theater arts and dramaturgy from the University of Iowa Playwrights’ Workshop in 1987. He was a visiting lecturer at Penn between 1992 and 2009, and from 1991 to 2013, he created and ran Johns Hopkins’ screenwriting program. He taught screenwriting seminars in Yale University’s film studies program from 1992 until his death.

Mr. Lapadula was a prolific playwright and screenwriter. His work includes award-winning stage plays, screenplays, and film productions. His plays, including StripHer, Not by Name, and Two Shakes, have been produced in New York off-Broadway, England, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Iowa. He had several screenplays commissioned or optioned, including Distant Influence and At Risk, and screen adaptations of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog and Miguel de Unamuno’s Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr. He produced Angel Passing, starring Hume Cronyn and Teresa Wright, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the grand prize at WorldFest Houston. He also co-produced Mentor, which premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival.

His former students wrote, directed, or produced dozens of critically acclaimed films including La La Land, (500) Days of Summer, The Disaster Artist, and The End of the Tour, and have scripted for television shows including Family Guy, Scrubs, Law and Order: SVU, and Queen Sugar. In 2009, Mr. Lapadula received a Distinguished Faculty Award from the University of Pennsylvania. He received the 2009 Outstanding Teaching Award from the Hopkins Masters in Creative Writing and the Heritage Commission of Delaware County Award for Outstanding Contributions to Historic Architectural Preservation in 2011.

He is survived by his wife, Jami.

---

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.

Looking for that perfect holiday gift idea for your literary friend or family member? Penn faculty, staff, alumni, and students have been busy writing books in all genres. Somewhere in our annual book supplement is sure to be the perfect stocking stuffer for all kinds of readers! 

View our book supplement here: https://almanac.upenn.edu/uploads/media/121322-supplement.pdf

The University of Pennsylvania’s 2022 Green Purchasing Awards, presented by Penn Procurement Services and Penn Sustainability, were recently announced.

The award recipients, who are recognized for their outstanding contributions that significantly advance the development of sustainable purchasing at Penn, are Danielle Cavalcanto, associate director of interiors with the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM), and the Division of Finance’s disbursements department. 

Ms. Cavalcanto is being honored for her outstanding contributions to projects where she brings her expertise in planning and knowledge of sustainable practices to advance the many initiatives that support PSOM’s research and academic community. 

As a talented interior designer, Ms. Cavalcanto instills sustainable factors in her designs, frequently matching inventory in storage to newly configured workspaces. In FY22, her reuse of PSOM furniture saved over $230,000.  In addition, she participated in specifying $3 million in sustainable furniture selections as well as approximately $1 million of sustainable finishes within most of the $28 million of FY22’s capital projects. Her work has led to sustainably sourced products for over 14% of PSOM’s total capital purchases in FY22.

Among Ms. Cavalcanto’s other accomplishments are spearheading PSOM e-waste collections and larger lab-clearing efforts. She also helped review the School’s lab-clearing process, culminating in a web-based resource utilized across PSOM.  Other noteworthy contributions in the area of sustainability include warehouse product disposal and electronics and battery recycling.

The staff of the disbursements department, in the division of finance includes Tamiko Allen, Yvonne Allen, Bob Bonhage, Sarah Boyer, Virginia Drier, Laurissa Helton, Crystal High, Donna Jastrzebski, Michelle Miller, Kim Montgomery, Renee Nowaczyk, Shanel Plummer, Mike Popko, Ty Saekouay, and Lisa Smith.

The disbursements team is recognized for three key accomplishments where advances were made in achieving their sustainability goals. One significant achievement was going 100% paperless in its processing of Purchase Order and Non-Purchase Order invoices.  By transitioning to a complete electronic system and process, approximately 172,000 invoices which typically are generated on an annual basis, are now submitted electronically. This change went into effect on July 1, 2022.

Several benefits have been realized by moving to electronic invoicing:

• Eliminates supplier paper and postage cost
• Reduces fuel consumption from transportation
• Removes the delay formerly experienced in receiving an invoice via postal mail
• Expedites the time to load invoices in the system, resulting in quicker payment to suppliers

The team also focused on decreasing the number of paper checks issued to suppliers.  Over the past year, electronic payments increased by 18%.  Suppliers are paid more quickly and safely while sustainably reducing costs. In addition, disbursements has increased the use of Zelle and Paypal/Venmo payments.

In February 2022, the team launched the new Greenphire ClinCard platform that offers a virtual VISA ClinCard in addition to the physical VISA ClinCard. Of the 295 University clinical studies and programs in this card platform, there are 7,910 card participants; 4,699, or 59%, of the card population received a virtual card in place of plastic.

These noteworthy accomplishments from the 2022 recipients of the Green Purchasing Award align with Penn’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0, Penn’s comprehensive strategic roadmap for environmental sustainability.

Matthew McHugh, the Independence Chair for Nursing Education, professor of nursing, and director of the school’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, is renowned for his program of research that addresses critical problems that affect the nursing profession and enhances health system quality. The biennial award honors the best scholarly qualities that Dr. Fagin, the school’s third Dean, exemplified. It is given to a Penn Nursing faculty member, or a graduate from the school’s doctoral program, who has made a distinguished contribution to nursing scholarship.

Dr. McHugh’s impactful program of research has demonstrated in large-scale studies that almost all policy mandated healthcare quality performance measures are associated with nursing care and nurse resources. His work with multiple populations and health systems shows that a broad range of patient outcomes are better in institutions where nurses care for fewer patients, where a higher proportion of nurses have bachelor’s degrees, and where the quality of the nurse work environment is supportive of professional nursing practice. His research shows that nursing care is a major driver in improving patient satisfaction, reducing hospital mortality and failure-to-rescue rates, readmissions, poor glycemic control and other adverse outcomes, and high cost-low value care including excessive ICU use. Cumulative knowledge from his research makes a convincing case that treating nursing as a soft target for cost reductions actually increases rather than decreases costs due to expensive adverse outcomes. Dr. McHugh’s research on Magnet-recognized hospitals has increased adoption of Magnet best practices in U.S. and abroad. His research evaluating outcomes of health system redesign shows that replicating the structure of successful integrated systems often fails to translate into better outcomes if not accompanied by investments in nurses and nurse-led interventions. Dr. McHugh has demonstrated causal linkages between improvements in nurse staffing and improved patient outcomes by using natural experiments like legislation mandating safe nurse staffing levels, and this work has been a catalyst for more recent legislation around nurse staffing.

As recognition of the impact of his work, a selection of Dr. McHugh’s accolades include election as a fellow of the National Academy of Medicine (2020) and the American Academy of Nursing (2012), and being named a Fulbright Scholar (2001), and a Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Faculty Scholar (2011-2014). He has received top awards and recognition for his publications such as the top 10 papers for Health Affairs (2013 and 2011) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation top five most influential research articles (2011). He has led six NIH-funded R01 grants over the last 10 years and served as co-investigator on four other R01s. He has been funded in excess of $70 million for his research and published over 100 papers in high-profile, peer reviewed journals such as Health Affairs, The Lancet, The Lancet Global Health, Medical Care, and JAMA Surgery.

The award will be presented on April 13, 2023.

Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein and Netter Center Director Ira Harkavy have named Loretta Flanagan-Cato, associate professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences, and the science program at Paul Robeson High School, led by Louis Lozzi, Brian Horn, and David Rowe, as the recipients of the 2022 Provost/Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award.

The Provost/Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award is an annual award that recognizes sustained and productive faculty-community partnership projects. This recognition awards $10,000 ($5,000 to the faculty member and $5,000 to the community partner) in order to further develop the partnership project.

Dr. Flanagan-Cato is an associate professor of psychology and co-director of the Undergraduate Neuroscience Program at Penn. She and the science program teachers at Paul Robeson High School have partnered together since 2018 for the Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course “Everyday Neuroscience.” This award recognizes the quality and far-reaching impacts of “Everyday Neuroscience,” the additional Penn-Robeson partnerships cultivated by this faculty-community team, and Dr. Flanagan-Cato’s leadership in advancing research on community-engaged scholarship at Penn.

In “Everyday Neuroscience,” Penn students develop science communication and teaching skills by implementing hands-on labs with 10th graders at Paul Robeson High School that develop foundational STEM skills and scientific curiosity. Dr. Flanagan-Cato and the science teachers at Robeson work together each year to align the labs with the high school students’ classroom instruction. Louis Lozzi, the Paul Robeson High School school-based teacher lead for science/mathematics, noted that the Penn-Robeson STEM partnerships his team cultivated with Dr. Flanagan-Cato has significantly contributed to the growth in Robeson students’ scores on the Pennsylvania Keystone exam in recent years.

Dr. Flanagan-Cato has also published research on the course’s impacts on Penn students, which found preliminary indicators of growth in Penn student well-being, confidence in expressing their own ideas, and social awareness/informed citizenship. This partnership exemplifies a meaningful and mutually transformative integration of research, teaching, learning, and service.

An award ceremony was held on December 12 in Houston Hall, during which Vice Provost for Faculty Laura Perna and Netter Center founding director Ira Harkavy presented the Provost/Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award.

Penn senior Chin Chin Choi and alumni Aaron Guo, Moksh Jawa, Jiaqi Liu, and Edward Zhi En Tan have been named to the eighth class of Schwarzman Scholars and will enroll at Tsinghua University in Beijing in August.

The program’s core curriculum focuses on leadership, China, and global affairs, according to the Schwarzman program. The academic program is updated each year to align with current and future geopolitical priorities. The coursework, cultural immersion, and personal and professional development opportunities are designed to equip students with an understanding of China’s changing role in the world.

This year, 151 Schwarzman Scholars were selected from a pool of 3,000 applicants from 36 countries and 121 universities.

Chin Chin Choi, from Hong Kong, is in the Nursing and Health Care Management dual-degree program, administered through the School of Nursing and the Wharton School. She served as the president of the Wharton Council and is a member of the Wharton Junior-Senior Advisory Board. Last summer, she worked for J.P. Morgan in its health care investment banking division. Outside of school, Ms. Choi spends time volunteering with the Yleana Leadership Foundation, where she serves as a college mentor for underserved, low-income high school students. She is a Girls Who Invest Scholar, a Gates Scholar, and a QuestBridge Scholar. She hopes to use her experience as a Schwarzman Scholar to improve global health care policies and access.

Aaron Guo graduated in 2017 from the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, a dual-degree program between the Wharton School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. He currently works on Google’s central growth team. Mr. Guo also works with One Million Lights Philippines, a nonprofit organization developing zero emissions rural electrification infrastructure. At Penn, he was a research assistant in Adam Grant’s Impact Lab, a fellow at the Schwarz Family Penn Social Impact House, and a lead consultant with Penn International Impact Consulting. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he hopes to gain insight into China’s environmental sustainability infrastructure initiatives.

Moksh Jawa graduated summa cum laude from Penn’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology in 2021 with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science from the School of Engineering and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Wharton School with a concentration in management entrepreneurship. At Penn, Mr, Jawa served as class president his freshman year, built StoreWith Penn, a summer storage business, and developed a free AP computer science curriculum used by more than 50,000 students. Mr. Jawa currently works as a software engineer at Retool, a low-code startup based in San Francisco. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he plans to better understand how tech policy drives outcomes in an increasingly tech-driven society and how to best position a government to be technically forward and leverage software in supporting its citizens.

Jiaqi Liu earned his master’s degree in bioengineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2021. After graduation, he returned to China and works in global early-stage venture capital. Mr. Liu is passionate about promoting medical equality and affordable health care solutions and has experience in medtech startup, global pharmaceutical company, health care consulting, and health care venture capital.

Edward Zhi En Tan graduated in 2022 summa cum laude from the College with a major in international relations. At Penn, Mr. Tan was a student fellow at the Perry World House, an associate editor of the Sigma Iota Rho Journal of International Relations, and an editor of the Harvard Kennedy School Singapore Policy Journal. Before coming to Penn, Mr. Tan served as a Singapore Armed Forces Commando. He was subsequently awarded an overseas public service scholarship by the government of Singapore. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in regional studies—East Asia (China, social science) at Harvard. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he hopes to deepen his understanding of China’s growing presence in international organizations. Upon graduation, Mr. Tan will begin his public service career at the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s Air Transport Division.

Two iconic Philadelphia institutions are teaming up to provide public access to an extraordinary historical collection. The University of Pennsylvania Libraries have acquired the archives of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Academy of Music in an agreement that will facilitate research and access to more than a century of Philadelphia’s rich musical history.

“These archives are an invaluable resource for scholars and a treasured part of the cultural life of the city of Philadelphia,” said Penn President Liz Magill. “Through this unique partnership, Penn is helping to preserve these materials and provide access that will spur new research in music, history, architecture, and other fields. We are honored to have the Penn Libraries serve as home to these important historical treasures.”

The materials document the early history of both institutions, starting with the time leading up to the Academy of Music’s opening in 1857 and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s founding in 1900, and trace the development of both organizations through the early twenty-first century. The Philadelphia Orchestra has owned the Academy of Music since 1957 and performed there for 101 seasons before moving to the Kimmel Center in 2001.

“The cultural history of Philadelphia is in many ways defined by stories of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Academy of Music,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. “That this rich history will now be widely available to anyone interested in learning more about music and culture in Philadelphia and beyond is entirely thanks to this flagship collaboration.”

The archives will become part of the Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, where they will be made accessible to the public after being processed and catalogued. The Kislak Center is also home to the personal papers of legendary Philadelphia Orchestra conductors Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977) and Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985) and many other collections relating to the city’s musical and artistic heritage.

“The Penn Libraries is eager to begin the work of accessioning, processing, preserving, and making this remarkable collection newly available for research and discovery,” said Constantia Constantinou, H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and director of the Penn Libraries. “It is sure to inspire critical inquiry and creative expression by students and faculty at Penn, partner organizations in Philadelphia, and researchers around the world.”

At more than one thousand linear feet, this collection is prodigious in both physical size and in its research significance. With records that include everything from early stock certificates and bylaws to conductors’ files, photographs, programs, and sound recordings, the archive will enable research by musicologists, architectural and urban historians, and practicing musicians and conductors.

“The Philadelphia Orchestra played a crucial role in the complex unfolding of western art music in the 20th century: it was equally important to such disparate composers as Sergei Rachmaninoff and Edgard Varèse,” said Jeffrey Kallberg, a specialist in music of the 19th and 20th centuries and Associate Dean for Arts and Letters in the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn. “Musicologists will now have the opportunity to explore in depth the inner workings of one of the world’s great musical institutions, and thereby expand on and deepen our understanding of a significant era in music history.”

The Penn Libraries has already begun processing the collection and will gradually allow for access as descriptive guides, known as finding aids, are published to help researchers navigate the large collection. The process is expected to take several years to complete. As materials are made available, there will likely be an immediate demand for their use: the collections have been closed to researchers for the past fifteen years and the Philadelphia Orchestra has fielded almost-daily requests from those hoping to access its archives.

The partnership will also allow for continued growth over time: the institutions will collaborate to archive new materials produced by the Philadelphia Orchestra and will explore digitization of especially valuable research materials in all formats.

The Academy of Music, a National Historic Landmark, is the oldest continuously operating opera house in the United States. Its archive extends back to its planning in the early 1850s and documents the opening of the building in 1857 and its functions, events, and activities thereafter. Records consist of administrative and financial documents; daily logbooks and journals of concerts and events; concert and event programs; correspondence; seating and subscription records; scrapbooks and clippings; prints, illustrations, and photographs.

The records of the Philadelphia Orchestra encompass a wide range of formats: printed and published matter, manuscript materials, photographs, original audio/visual materials, commercially released LPs and recordings, and more. There are account books and ledgers dating from 1900 that document the early finances of the orchestra, as well as early administrative, legal, and personnel records. Major categories include board minutes, concert programs, and files of conductors, musicians, and guest artists.

The orchestra archive also contains materials from individuals and groups affiliated with the organization: images by Adrian Siegel (1898–1978) who began his Philadelphia Orchestra career as a cellist in 1922 and later became its official photographer until the mid-1970s; a complete set of the orchestra’s original 78 rpm recordings from the collection of Donald Wetzel, audio engineer for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s radio broadcasts from 1962 to 1977; and files from the Philadelphia Orchestra Women’s and Volunteer Committees.

The 2023 January AT PENN calendar is online. To view a web version of the calendar, click here. To download a printable PDF of the calendar, click here. 

The December AT PENN 2022 calendar can still be viewed at https://almanac.upenn.edu/at-penn-calendar/december-at-penn-2022. 

Please note: Visit https://aarc.upenn.edu for up-to-date information. Events are sponsored by the African American Resource Center and MLK Executive Planning Committee with additional sponsors listed in parentheses.

Ongoing Penn Reads Book Donation Project; this service activity supports Philadelphia preschools/daycare centers/local bookstores; help a young child develop a love of reading by purchasing books from a curated list of short multicultural, anti-bias children’s books; book donation info: https://tinyurl.com/PennReadsBookList2023; ship books to African American Resource Center, 3643 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Through February 3.

14           MLK Sports & Wellness Event; YoungQuakers Community Athletics’ (YQCA) annual MLK Sports & Wellness Event serves as a kickoff for the month-long symposium; YQCA invites families from across Penn and West Philadelphia to engage in sports and wellness activities under the guidance and encouragement of Penn students and staff; participating families will join us at Pottruck Health and Fitness Center for yoga, bodyweight fitness exercises, and sports performance activities; participants will also hear from speakers about how they’ve embraced Dr. King’s principles; 10:30 a.m.-noon; Pottruck Health and Fitness Center; info: https://tinyurl.com/y5dad7y7 (Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics, Netter Center for Community Partnerships).

16            MLK Day of Service Kick-Off Breakfast; includes guest speakers David Johns and Senator Vincent Hughes; entertainment provided by violinist Jack Drummond and vocalist Jade Winn-McNeil; 8:30-10 a.m., doors open at 8 a.m.; Hall of Flags, Houston Hall; register: https://bit.ly/MLKDayofServiceKickOff2023.

                Free Dog and Cat Wellness and Vaccination Clinic; the clinic will be run by appointment “only”; appointment calls will be accepted between 8-10 a.m. weekday mornings; call the veterinary hospital’s appointment desk at (215) 898-4680 to schedule a visit; clinic is limited to two pets per household; clients should wear masks when interacting with the volunteers; 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; 3800 Spruce St.

                City-Wide Donation Project; donors can choose from pre-selected donation sites, purchase items from their site “needed supply” list and photograph document the donation with a photograph using  #upennmlk to post these pictures to your social media platform; for more information, email uofpmlk@gmail.com; register: https://bit.ly/CitywideDonations2023. Through February 3.

                Beautification Project: Henry C. Lea Elementary School; volunteers will paint, move items, clean designated areas and tile; daycare will be provided for youth 4 and over; dress appropriately; light refreshments and water will be provided; 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.; meet at 9:45 a.m. at Houston Hall for transportation to school; for more information, contact Darin Toliver at toliverd@upenn.edu or 215-898-0105.

                Community Wellness + Colon Cancer Screening; a health and colon cancer prevention event including free at-home colon cancer screening kits, scheduling a mammogram, learning about your family history of cancer, and finding out how to participate in cancer research; 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Class of ’49, Houston Hall.

               Prediabetes Workshop; prediabetes means your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough for type 2 diabetes; this workshop will discuss risk factors and identify preventative measures to cut these risks; 11 a.m.-noon; 2nd floor, Golkin, Houston Hall; info: (215) 898-0104; register: https://bit.ly/CommunityWellnessEvents2023.

               Stop the Bleed; learn how to save a life with the Stop the Bleed campaign, whose purpose is to make our nation more resilient by better preparing the public to save lives if people nearby are severely bleeding; noon-1 p.m.; 2nd floor, Class of ’49, Houston Hall; info: (215) 898-0104; register: https://bit.ly/CommunityWellnessEvents2023.

               A Pocketbook Full of Toiletries Project; volunteers will fill pre-constructed bags with personal items that will be donated to area shelters for women; 10:30-11:30 a.m.; Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall; info: (215) 898-0104; no registration needed.

               Sock Stuffing Project; volunteers will assemble and stuff “wearable” crew socks and fill with personal items; these items will be donated to area shelters; 10:30-11:30 a.m.; Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall; info: (215) 898-0104; no registration needed.

              Penn Reads Literacy Project; Martin Luther King, Jr. imagined a world where his four little children would “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”; children, ages 3 to 8, are invited to come imagine with us while we create and learn more about Dr. King’s vision; young readers will be able to participate in a theatrical storytime experience (beginning at 11:15 a.m.), explore the uniqueness of a university library, and even illustrate and write about their vision–creating a book to take home; storytellers, literacy coaches & librarians will guide us in this creation; pizza and snacks will be provided; 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, 6th floor, Van Pelt Library; register: https://bit.ly/PennReadsLiteracyProgram2023.

              So You Want To Go To College? A Virtual Workshop; the college admissions and financial aid application process can be overwhelming, time consuming and confusing; this workshop was designed to assist parents and students to better understand and navigate the college and admissions process; 1-2:30 p.m.; register: https://bit.ly/SoYouWantoGotoCollege2023; for more information, email aarc@upenn.edu.

              Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Virtual Vigil; walkers will join the distinguished gentlemen of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity’s Mighty Psi chapter for the annual candlelight vigil; the vigil will begin outside Du Bois College House and proceed with songs and quotes from Dr. King during the walk through the campus that will end at College Green; 7-8 p.m.; Du Bois College House; for more information, email mcgruder@sas.upenn.edu; register: https://bit.ly/MLKCandlelightVigil2023.

17          King the Preacher Series; Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor and preacher; his work for justice was grounded in his faith, yet we hear less about his sermons than we do about his speeches; hear a sermon Tuesdays and Fridays, and a link will be posted online; noon-1 p.m.; Christian Association, 118 S. 37th St.; for more information, email lecluyse@upenn.edu. Through February 3.

18          Women of Color at Penn WOCAP/MLK Program: Resetting and Relaxing with Crystals, Gemstones, and Color; Martin Luther King, Jr., stated, “of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death”; with the ancient world and Dr. King’s words as your inspiration, come out to learn about an alternative healing…the healing power of gemstones; this session will be facilitated by trained gemologist, Adrianne Sanogo; 5:30-7 p.m.; location TBA.

              Trigger: A Documentary; featuring storytellers from Philadelphia sharing their lived experiences with gun violence and their shared search for hope with a vengeance; there will be a talk back after showing; 5:30-8 p.m.; Paul Robeson High School, 4125 Ludlow St.; for more information, email uofpmlk@gmail.com; register: https://bit.ly/TriggerDocumentaryonViolence2023.

19          Financial Wellness; an Introduction to Personal Finance presentation by Financial Wellness @ Penn; after the presentation, break out rooms will be available for more personalized financial assistance; dinner provided; 5-6:30 p.m.; Student Service Center, Franklin Building; register: https://bit.ly/s231-reg (Financial Wellness @ Penn).

               The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: An Interfaith Commemoration and Awards Presentation; the Interfaith Commemoration and Conversation in Social Justice will honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King; the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Involvement Awards will be presented along with musical entertainment; this event will feature a conversation with Nipun Mehta, founder of ServiceSpace, and performances by The Inspiration, Shabbatones, and Penn Masti; 6-7:30 p.m.; Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall; for more information, call (215) 898-8456 (Office of the Chaplain, Office of the President, Center for Africana Studies).

20           Live Arts Program: Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance, and Talk Back; the iconic Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to Penn Live Arts’s stage with the world premiere of Blake Works IV (The Barre Project) by William Forsythe; 8-9:30 p.m.; Annenberg Center; info: https://pennlivearts.org/event/dance-theatre-of-harlem-2022 (Penn Live Arts). Also January 21.

23           Hallmark Program-The Role of Religious Communities in Social Justice; 5-7 p.m.; 2nd floor, Penn Hillel; for more information, call (215) 898-2020.

24           Access to Reproductive Care: Past and Present; join Elisa Foster (Penn Women’s Center) and Jackie Recktenwald (Student Wellness) for a conversation about reproductive healthcare at Penn and beyond, including the impact of the Dobbs decision, background on reproductive healthcare resources at Penn, and the reproductive justice movement’s connection to civil rights and MLK; 4-5:30 p.m.; Penn Women’s Center, 3643 Locust Walk; info: elisaf@upenn.edu (Penn Women’s Center, Wellness at Penn).

25           Creating the Beloved Community; moderated by the Rev. Dr. Joe E. Nock, Pastor 2nd Antioch; refreshments served 5:10-5:30 p.m.; event from 5-7 p.m.; Paul Robeson House & Museum and livestreamed; info: https://www.nettercenter.upenn.edu/get-involved/upcoming-events/creating-beloved-community (Community Advisory Board, Anti-Racism Working Group of the Netter Center).

                Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture in Social Justice; the 2023 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture in Social Justice will feature Nikole Hannah Jones, professors and journalist; 5-7 p.m.; Zellerbach Theater, Annenberg Center, Penn Live Arts; for more information, email africana@sas.upenn.edu (Center for Africana Studies, Annenberg School for Communication, Office of the Provost, Black Alumni Society).

26            Men of Color Series: Our Responsibility to Young Men; 1-2:30 p.m.; register: https://bit.ly/MOCOurResponsibility2023 or call (215) 898-0105.

                Jazz for King; join us for our annual jazz event; enjoy the sweet sounds of Glenn Bryan & Friends and MC Diane Leslie; 6 p.m.; for more information, call (215) 898-0104; register: https://bit.ly/JazzForKing2023.

Exhibits

17        Smell That?: An Afternoon in Celebration of Sissel Tolaas: RE_________; test and visualize your own sense of smell in a nose print workshop, listen to poetry readings about smell and memory, and tour the exhibition with chemosensory scientists from Monell Chemical Senses Center as your guides; 3-6 p.m.; ICA; register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-for-all-smell-that-tickets-476706139897 (Institute of Contemporary Art).

Penn Museum

In-person events at Penn Museum. Info: https://www.penn.museum/calendar.

16        Global Guide Tour; 2:30 p.m.

17        Egypt Galleries Tour; 11 a.m.

            Eastern Mediterranean Gallery Tour; 2 p.m.

            Global Guide Tour; 2:30 p.m.

18        Rome Gallery Tour; 11 a.m.

            Eastern Mediterranean Gallery Tour; 2 p.m.

            Global Guide Tour; 2:30 p.m.

23        Global Guide Tour; 2:30 p.m.

30        Global Guide Tour; 2:30 p.m.

Fitness & Learning

13        International Reporting Student Fellowship Information Session; meet the 2022 fellows, learn about their projects and the mentoring they received, and find out how you can become the next Pulitzer Center Student Fellow; noon; room 473, McNeil Building, and online webinar; register: https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/details/forms.php?id=178 (Nursing).

14        Cocoa Kickback; study break featuring hot chocolate bar, snacks and holiday crafts; noon-3 p.m.; 1^st floor lounge, ARCH (Cultural Resource Centers).

Graduate School of Education

Online events unless noted. Info: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/events-calendar.

14        GSE's Staff & Faculty Holiday Party; for faculty and staff; 4 p.m.; World Café Live.

            Learning Analytics Virtual Information Session; 7 p.m.

15        Education Entrepreneurship Program Information Session; noon.

            Independent School Teaching Residency Information Session; 5 p.m.

16        Friday Virtual Chat; noon.

Special Events

13        Cultural Resource Centers Ugly Sweater and Karaoke Party; put on your ugliest sweater and come join the Cultural Resource Centers for an evening of karaoke and hot chocolate; 7-9 p.m. lobby, ARCH (Cultural Resource Centers).

Talks

14        Roundtable Discussion on Annie Ernaux; Jacqueline Dougherty, French & Francophone studies; Max Cavitch, English; Sam Martin, French & Francophone Studies; noon; events room, 2^nd floor, Penn Bookstore (French & Francophone Studies).

            Electronics 5.0: New Materials and Devices for Edge Intelligence; Tomás Palacios, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 12:30 p.m.; room 337, Towne Building (Electrical & Systems Engineering).

15        Designing and Evaluating Pragmatic Trials of Behavioral Science-Based Interventions to Support Deprescribing; Julie Christine Lauffenburger, Harvard University; 9 a.m.; BlueJeans webinar; join: https://bluejeans.com/873734674/4747 (Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics).

            Special Briefing: 2023 Outlook for States and Localities; panel of speakers; 11 a.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/iur-talk-dec-15 (Penn Institute for Urban Research).

            From Brains to Bandgaps: How Novel Materials Synthesis can provide New Semiconductor Platforms for Optoelectronics, Acoustics, Electronics and Neuromorphic Computation; Alan Doolittle, Georgia Institute of Technology; 12:30 p.m.; room 225, Towne Building (Electrical & Systems Engineering).

16        How Climate Change Media Can Evoke Emotions and Motivate Public Support for Climate Action; Lauren Feldman, Rutgers University; 12:15 p.m.; room 500, Annenberg School, and Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/feldman-talk-dec-16 (Elihu Katz Colloquium).

This is an update to the December AT PENN calendar. To submit events for an upcoming AT PENN calendar or weekly update, send the salient details to almanac@upenn.edu.

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 November 28-December 4, 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 November 28-December 4, 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: 6 incidents (4 assaults, 1 domestic assault, and 1 robbery) were reported for November 28-December 4, 2022 by the 18^th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th St & Market St to Woodland Avenue.

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

Now that Thanksgiving is over, holiday gift purchasing is beginning in earnest. Keep the following in mind to make your shopping scam-free:

1. Do not make purchases from unfamiliar websites. Just because a website advertises on social media does not mean it is legitimate.
2. Check prices. A rock-bottom price for a hot item might not be legitimate. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
3. If you are buying used or vintage, make sure you know the condition of what you are buying, and check that it is documented in the listing.
4. Ensure you understand the store’s purchase, shipping, and return policies. When buying from an auction or marketplace site, purchase using the method suggested by the platform to avoid problems. For example, are there restocking fees for returns? Do you pay shipping fees to return an item? What documentation or packaging do you need to return something? How are complaints or concerns handled?
5. Make holiday purchases using a credit card instead of a debit card or payment apps. Debit cards take money directly from your bank account, so it might take a while to get your money back in a dispute. Payment apps may be irreversible in some instances. Some credit cards offer extended warranties or price protections.

This holiday season, make sure you get the gifts without getting scammed.

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.

This is a listing of the hours of several Penn offices, buildings, and institutions during winter break. These hours are subject to change; therefore, links to find more up-to-date information have been provided.

Arthur Ross Gallery: Closed December 19-February 2. New exhibit opens February 3. Info: http://arthurrossgallery.org/.

Hillel: Closed December 23-January 2. Open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. January 3-10. Normal hours resume January 11. Info: http://www.pennhillel.org/.

Hilton Inn at Penn: Open and operating on a regular schedule. Info: www.theinnatpenn.com. 

Hospitality Services: Closed December 23-January 2; re-opens January 3 at 9a.m. Info: www.upenn.edu/hospitalityservices.

Morris Arboretum: Open to the public daily from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; last ticketed entry at 3 p.m. Closed December 24, December 25, December 31, and January 1. Info: www.upenn.edu/arboretum.

Newman Catholic Center: Closed December 24-January 1. Normal hours resume January 2. Info: https://newman.upenn.edu/.

Off Campus Services: Closed December 23-January 2; re-opens January 3 at 9a.m. Iifo: www.upenn.edu/offcampusservices.

Penn Bookstore: Closed December 25 and January 1. Open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on December 24 and 26-31. Normal operating hours resume January 2. Info: www.upenn.edu/bookstore.

Penn Ice Rink at the Class of 1923 Arena:  Closed December 24-25, January 1. Check public skating and freestyle sessions at www.upenn.edu/icerink.

PennCard Center: Closed December 24-January 2. Normal operating hours resume January 3.  To report a lost or stolen PennCard when the PennCard Center is closed, call Penn Public Safety at (215) 573-3333. Info: www.upenn.edu/penncard.

Penn Dining: Dining cafés open normal hours through December 22. All cafés closed December 23-January 2.  Service resumes with limited hours/locations on January 3. A complete list of winter break dining hours can be found here.

Penn Live Arts Box Office: Closed December 23-January 3. Info: PLA-BoxOffice@upenn.edu.

Penn Mail Services: Outgoing mail received to Penn Mail Services after 11a.m., December 23 will be delivered to the USPS on December 27. Closed December 26. A special delivery schedule is in effect on December 28 and 30 (no delivery or pickup unless special arrangements have been made). December 30 mail will be delivered to USPS on January 3. Closed December 26 and January 2. Regular hours resume January 3. USPS Priority Express Mail will be processed until December 21 at 1 p.m. and will resume January 3. Permit mailings needing Penn Mail Services signatures must have paperwork completed and signed by 4 p.m. on December 21. Info and requests: mailservices@upenn.edu.

Penn Museum: Closed December 24, December 25, December 31, and January 1. Otherwise open regular hours. Info: http://www.penn.museum/.

Penn Parking Services: Closed December 24-January 2. Regular hours resume January 3. Permit holders will always have access to their garage during the Winter Break. Info and assistance: (215) 898-6933.

From December 24-January 2 (excluding Sunday, December 25 and January 1), the Penn Museum and Walnut 40 Garages will be open for visitor parking from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Regular hours resume January 3.

Penn Transit Services: Closed December 24 at 3 a.m.-January 3 at 3 a.m. Limited transportation service available December 26-January 2 from 6 p.m.-7 a.m., excluding Dec. 31. Request service on PennTransit Mobile or call (215) 898-RIDE (7433). Info: www.upenn.edu/PennTransit.

Procurement and Travel Services: Closed December 26 and January 2. Open December 27-30 from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Normal hours resume January 3. Info and assistance: sourcing@upenn.edu.

Residential Services: Closed December 24-January 2. Normal hours resume January 3. www.upenn.edu/housing.

Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel: Open and operating on a regular schedule. Info: http://www.philadelphiasheraton.com/.

World Travel: Agents available 24/7; book travel online through Concur or call World Travel directly at (888) 641-9112.

PennCard Access: Access will be restricted to residents of the open buildings and authorized staff. Access to Du Bois, Lauder, Gregory, Gutmann, Mayer, Harnwell, Harrison, and Rodin, will be restricted to only those residents who have registered with Residential Services as staying in the building during the break. Sansom West will be restricted to residents of that building only. Those who have not registered and who will live in the building for the spring semester will be required to register online in order to enter the building. PennCard access for live-in faculty or staff will not change. Residential Services, College Houses, Public Safety and Facilities Services staff, and any University office tenants such as those in Sansom Place, will also have PennCard access. Allied Universal security staff will visually check PennCards at the building entrances as they monitor swipe access.

Information Center and residential mail and package operations will be available in these buildings on a limited basis; hours are posted at www.upenn.edu/housing Resources, Mail & Packages.

Facilities issues in a residence hall during the break should be called in directly to Facilities Services at (215)-898-7208.

During the break, the front desks of open buildings will be staffed around the clock. Additionally, a housing manager on duty may be reached in an emergency by calling the Sansom Place West Information Center at (215) 898-6873.

Complete information can be found at www.upenn.edu/housing.

Wishing you a happy holiday season and a restful and restorative winter break!

The Division of Public Safety is committed to the safety and well-being of the Penn and West Philadelphia communities which we serve. Know that DPS maintains the same staffing level of police and security officers throughout the winter break. If you should have any concerns or see someone exhibiting suspicious behavior, call the PennComm Emergency Communications Center at (215) 573-3333.

We are here for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, call anytime.

Special Property Checks: We offer our Special Property Checks for residents in our patrol zone during the winter break. Under the special checks program, DPS officers check the exterior of registered properties for signs of safety or security breaches. This free program is available to all residents in the Penn patrol zone, the area from 30th Street to 43rd Street and from Baltimore Avenue to Market Street.

Walking Escort Program: An excellent resource for Penn and the local community. Uniformed Allied Universal Public Safety Officers provide free walking escorts, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Escort services also extend west to 50th Street and north/south from Spring Garden to Woodland Avenue between 10 am and 3 am via the University’s partnership with the University District Ambassador Program. Again, anyone in the community regardless of whether they have a PennCard, can use these services.

Request a Walking Escort:

• Ask any Public Safety Officer on patrol or inside a building.
• Call (215) 898-WALK (9255) or 511 from any campus phone.
• Use building and blue-light emergency phones located on and off Penn’s campus.

Also, we offer special walk backs during reading days and finals at Van Pelt Library. A Public Safety Officer will be posted at the “Split Button” on Woodland Walk from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. from December 13-December 22, 2022. Approximately every half hour, the officer will enter Van Pelt-Dietrich Library to offer walking escorts to anyone in the building. The officer will then perform the escort and return to repeat the process.

Package Theft: Avoid Package Theft – Have a plan! Arrange to be home for delivery or have your packages delivered to a secure location.

Theft of Occupied Vehicle: Also known as carjacking, these thefts are often crimes of opportunity. Be mindful in situations including when entering and exiting your vehicle, parking (look for well-lit areas), double-parked vehicles or faked car accidents ("fender-benders").

Phone and Email Fraud: Fraud attempts may spike during the holiday season. As you filter your email and phone calls, remember that legitimate businesses and government agencies would never solicit/initiate account administration activities or ask you to provide confidential information or money via phone or e-mail. As a reminder, malicious and misleading emails, also called “phishing" emails, are the number one way that cyber-criminals begin their attacks. Even if unsure, please call us immediately at (215) 573-3333 if you think you may have experienced such an encounter.

While it is never the fault of the victim/survivor of a crime, there are specific patterns of criminal activity that we are mindful of during the winter holiday season. Consider these steps you can take to empower and protect yourself as you travel near and far:

• Awareness
  • Stay alert and be aware of individuals who may be shadowing you as you travel.
  • Stay off your cell phone when shopping and keep it out of view.
  • Familiarize yourself with your surroundings (location, garages, parking lots, etc.) 
  • If you encounter someone aggressively asking for money, do not engage with them; walk away – go into a business or other safe place.
  • If you feel that you are being followed walk towards a well-lit, populated area.
• Shopping
  • Limit the amount of cash you carry during your shopping.
  • Carry purses close to your body and place wallets in an inside pocket.
  • Take a family member or friend with you as you conduct your holiday shopping.
• Vehicles
  • Have keys ready as you approach your vehicle.
  • Place all packages out of view and secure them in the trunk.
  • Lock the doors as soon as you get into your vehicle.

Have a wonderful winter break, stay safe and be well!

—Division of Public Safety