November 21, 2023 Volume 70 Issue 15

November 17, 2023

Advancing Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism, Penn President Liz Magill has announced the members of the University Task Force on Antisemitism. The task force, a centerpiece of the plan President Magill announced earlier this month, is charged with engaging broadly and deeply with all members of the Penn community to better understand how antisemitism is experienced on campus and to provide critical feedback and actionable solutions as part of Penn’s ongoing efforts to counter and combat antisemitism.

Guided by the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, the task force will work in close consultation with campus leaders, as well as local, regional, and national subject matter experts to identify best practices for countering antisemitism. The task force will use these insights and its collective expertise to recommend programmatic strategies to counter antisemitism on campus.

Chaired by Mark S. Wolff, the Morton Amsterdam Dean of the School of Dental Medicine, the task force is comprised of faculty, students, staff, alumni, and members of Penn’s Board of Trustees.

“Penn’s campus cannot and will not be a comfortable or uncontested space for antisemitism,” said President Magill. “The task force is critical to Penn’s commitment to counter this threat. I am grateful to Dean Wolff and the members of the task force for committing their time and expertise to this work. I also encourage the Penn community to engage with the task force’s efforts. I believe Penn can become a higher education leader in the fight against antisemitism, but it will take all of us working together to make serious and lasting change.”

The task force will provide regular updates to President Magill. The task force will submit a preliminary status report to President Magill no later than February 15, 2024 and a final report no later than May 17, 2024. Input and suggestions for the task force can be sent to antisemitism-taskforce@upenn.edu. Additional opportunities to engage with the task force will be shared soon.

“I am honored to be leading this critical effort for Penn,” said Dean Wolff. “As we listen to and learn from voices across campus, I am eager to put insights into action so that members of our community know they are valued, respected, safe, and secure.”

In addition to the work of the task force, President Magill will soon convene and charge a Presidential Commission that will examine the interconnectedness of antisemitism and other forms of hate, including Islamophobia.

“It is critical,” said task force member Charles L. Howard, University Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity and Community, “that we educate our community on antisemitism and how it relates to other forms of hate and bias so that we can combat it together and make Penn a safer and more inclusive place for everyone.”

The full membership of the task force is:

Chair

Mark S. Wolff, Morton Amsterdam Dean of the School of Dental Medicine

Faculty Representatives

Eric A. Feldman, Heimbold Chair in International Law and professor of law; professor of medical ethics and health policy; chair-elect, University Faculty Senate
Karen Glanz, George A. Weiss University Professor, School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine
Joshua Teplitsky, Joseph Meyerhoff Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History; director of the Jewish Studies Program
Steven Weitzman, Abraham M. Ellis Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and Literatures; Ella Darivoff Director of the Katz Center of Advanced Judaic Studies
Beth S. Wenger, Moritz and Josephine Berg Professor of History; associate dean of graduate studies, School of Arts & Sciences
Beth A. Winkelstein, deputy provost; Eduardo D. Glandt President’s Distinguished Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Abraham J. Wyner, professor of statistics and data science, Wharton School

Student Representatives

Maya Harpaz, C’25
Michael Krone, C’19, L’24, WG’24

Staff, Alumni, and Trustee Representatives

Brett H. Barth, W’93, Alumni Trustee
Rabbi Gabe Greenberg, executive director of Penn Hillel
Rev. Charles (Chaz) Lattimore Howard, University Chaplain and Vice President for Social Equity and Community
Susanna Lachs, C’74, ASC’76, Former Trustee
Rev. Marshall H. Mitchell, Commonwealth Trustee
Joann Mitchell, Senior Vice President for Institutional Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer

Ex-Officio

Vijay Kumar, Professor and Nemirovsky Family Dean, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Katharine O. Strunk, dean of the Graduate School of Education and the George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education
Wendy S. White, Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Staff to the Committee

Seth Zweifler, Office of the President

To read Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism in its entirety, visit https://antisemitism-action-plan.upenn.edu/.

November 17, 2023

To the Penn Community,

Yesterday, President Magill convened and charged our University Task Force on Antisemitism, a key component of Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism. A full listing of task force membership can be found here. I am writing today as chair of the task force to share a few important messages.

First, I join the President in reemphasizing the urgency of our work and Penn’s shared commitment to counter antisemitism on our campus and more broadly in our nation and throughout the world.

Second, I am grateful to the faculty, students, staff, and alumni who have stepped forward to serve as task force members, and I look forward to working with them. Many others volunteered their time and commitment as well, which does them and this University enormous credit.

Third, the President has charged the task force to engage broadly and deeply, identify best practices for countering antisemitism, and recommend programmatic strategies. As we pursue these goals, I encourage and welcome your participation. You can submit your ideas, experiences, and perspectives to antisemitism-taskforce@upenn.edu. We will keep the Penn community updated on other opportunities to engage.

Please keep in mind that this task force does not serve a bias reporting or public safety function, nor does it adjudicate disciplinary issues. If any Penn affiliates experience an act of bias or discrimination, including antisemitism or Islamophobia, please report it through Penn’s Bias Incident Reporting process. If there is any threat to your physical safety, or you are being harassed online, please contact the 24/7 PennComm Emergency Call Center at (215) 573-3333 immediately. Additional information on University resources for safety and support can also be found on Penn’s website.

Among leading universities, Penn is distinguished by our proud history as a welcoming place for all communities. So, it is even more incumbent upon Penn that we take a leadership role in combatting antisemitism on our own campus and campuses everywhere. With this action plan and this task force—which I am proud to lead with the combined expertise of our entire community, students, faculty, staff, and alumni—I believe we will succeed.

—Mark S. Wolff, Morton Amsterdam Dean, School of Dental Medicine

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research has provided nearly $1 million in funding to support research through Discovering the Future and Accelerating From Lab to Market research grants. Both funding opportunities are financially supported and overseen by the OVPR.

The Discovering the Future Grant Program aims to fund exciting research that traditional funding sources may find too high risk. The aim is to strike a balance between what more conservative funders might avoid with supporting research that has the potential to be transformative and offer a high reward. The Discovering the Future Grant Program will continue to award funds to Penn faculty for targeted, creative, outside-the-box ideas with the potential to alter the trajectory of research across many fields.

The Accelerating From Lab to Market Grant Program provides pre-seed funding for research with commercialization potential. Penn makes significant commitments to academic research one of its core missions, including investment in faculty research programs. In some disciplines, discovery makes an impact on society through commercialization. Pre-seed grants are often the limiting step for new ideas to cross the “valley of death” between federal research funding and commercial success. Accelerating From Lab to Market pre-seed grants are awarded to Penn faculty for promising inventions disclosed to Penn Center for Innovation (PCI) and to Penn faculty with existing Penn spinout companies based on Penn-owned intellectual property. 

2023 Awards

Discovering the Future

George M. Burslem
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Perelman School of Medicine
Intracellular Protein Editing

Joshua B. Plotkin
Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor of the Natural Sciences, Department of Biology
School of Arts and Sciences
Studying Language Evolution with GPT3: A New Frontier

Accelerating From Lab to Market

Chinedum Osuji
Eduardo D. Glandt Presidential Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Large Area Fabrication of Precise Self-Assembled Membranes

Andrew Tsourkas
Professor
Co-director, Center for Targeted Therapeutics and Translational Nanomedicine (CT3N), Department of Bioengineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Precise Labeling of Protein Scaffolds with Fluorescent Dyes for Use in Biomedical Applications

Mark Anthony Sellmyer
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology
Perelman School of Medicine
Development of GMP eDHFR Vector for Clinical Monitoring of Cell Therapies

Rahul M. Kohli
Associate Professor
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine
Perelman School of Medicine
Next-Generation Liquid Biopsy Diagnostics with DNA Modifying Enzymes

Sarah Kavanagh, an associate professor in the learning, teaching, and literacies division of the Graduate School of Education, has been appointed director of the Collaboratory for Teaching and Teacher Education. The collaboratory is committed to advancing teacher education and supporting the K-12 educator community. As a center and a lab, it provides hands-on training, relevant research, and teacher education programs.

Dr. Kavanagh’s new position aligns well with her commitment to educators, research, and continuing education. “I have always strongly advocated for partnerships that bring together educators, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners,” she said. “I saw this role as an opportunity to foster meaningful partnerships that can amplify our impact.”

As educators face new pressures in the classroom and their field, they need more training and support than ever. The collaboratory, Dr. Kavanaugh noted, provides essential resources, including teacher training, related research, events, and conferences.

“The collaboratory’s commitment to conducting meaningful research and fostering public discourse means that our work has the potential to influence policies and practices that shape the future of education,” Dr. Kavanagh said.

Dr. Kavanagh hopes to expand the collaboratory’s lineup of events, including the biannual Research Exchange event, focused on pressing issues in teaching and educator learning, and December’s Research Designs & Measurement for Teacher Education conference, a partnership with several universities, to explore improving research methodologies in teaching and teacher education.

The center’s mission comports with Dr. Kavanaugh’s view that long-term strategies are essential to address teacher shortages and nurture educators. “Investing in teacher professionalism is key to the lasting improvement of education systems,” she said.

The University of Pennsylvania invites applications for the 2024-2025 Provost’s Predoctoral Fellows Program. These awards are designed to provide mentorship and access to Penn’s resources for doctoral students in the humanities or social sciences, enrolled in graduate or professional programs at universities other than Penn, as they complete their dissertations. The fellowships are intended to support talented scholars with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

These residential fellowships support graduate students in the final stages of dissertation research or writing at Penn for an academic year. They offer an opportunity for scholars planning an academic career to leverage Penn programs and faculty expertise, as well as access to libraries and resources in the Philadelphia region. Each scholar will be selected and hosted by a department or school and work with a faculty mentor. Recipients must be in the stage of advanced dissertation research or writing.

The fellowship provides a stipend of $42,000, health insurance, library privileges, and a $5,000 research and travel fund. The application deadline is January 16, 2024.

This year, up to five fellowships will be awarded.

Qualifications

Candidates for the fellowship must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, enrolled in a PhD program in the humanities or social sciences at an accredited university graduate or professional school other than Penn. Candidates must have passed any PhD qualifying examinations and be in an advanced stage of research and writing on an approved dissertation topic. Candidates must be students of exceptional academic merit with a commitment to advancing inclusive excellence in higher education and improving understanding of the perspectives and experiences of diverse populations.

Application

Applicants should submit:

• A letter from a Penn faculty member with compatible research interests stating their agreement to serve as a mentor for the duration of the fellowship.
• Two letters of recommendation, signed and on official letterhead. One must be from the dissertation advisor, commenting on the student’s performance, potential, and expected time to degree. At least one of the letters must address the applicant’s contribution to advancing inclusive excellence and improving understanding of the perspectives and experiences of diverse populations.
• Graduate transcript(s).
• Current curriculum vitae.
• Responses to Predoctoral Fellowship Application Questions in Interfolio:
  • Describe your dissertation’s aims and methodology. (No more than 500 words)
  • Explain how your dissertation advances knowledge in the field of study. (No more than 250 words)
  • Explain how your dissertation contributes to understanding the perspectives and experiences of diverse populations. (No more than 250 words)
  • Describe your future research and professional goals. (No more than 250 words)
  • Explain how the Penn fellowship will support your goals. (No more than 250 words)
  • Indicate your expected date of graduation. (Month and year)

Applications will be accepted at: http://apply.interfolio.com/136522.

Questions can be addressed to the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty at: provost-fac@upenn.edu.

We invite your organization/department to plan a program in conjunction with this year’s symposium. Programs can include reflection, action, and response on/to contemporary issues and should raise issues of social change and social justice while incorporating Dr. King’s challenging visions to end racism and poverty, to strengthen and embrace diversity, and to support free expression.

For date availability, visit aarc.upenn.edu/events.

If you are interested, contact the African-American Resource Center no later than December 15, 2023 with your program idea. Email Colleen Winn at cowinn@upenn.edu or call (215) 898-0104.

—African-American Resource Center

Edgar Luzete Monteiro, a graduate student in department of biology in the School of Arts and Sciences, died on October 29.

Mr. Monteiro was born in Brazil and graduated from the University of Brasilia, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and teaching degree in biological sciences. During his time at the University of Brasilia, Mr. Monteiro received a Science Without Borders scholarship, which brought him to Penn for a year of academic research.

As a graduate student in the School of Arts and Sciences’ department of biology, Mr. Monteiro conducted research in the Perelman School of Medicine’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine, focusing on identifying pioneer transcription factors’ domains responsible for chromatin interaction. His research played an integral role in the gene regulatory research of Kenneth Zaret, the Joseph Leidy Professor and director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

“Edgar was creative and diligent on his projects, which revealed fundamental new insights into gene regulation and biology,” Dr. Zaret said. “He selflessly helped others in the lab. He successfully managed collaborations with other labs. He wrote a published review article virtually all on his own and was highly appreciated by all who knew him. His main thesis project was near completion. Our hearts go out to him, his family, and his friends.”

Penn’s biology department held a gathering for community support on November 1.

---

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.

The following agenda is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Any member of the standing faculty may attend SEC meetings and observe by contacting Patrick Walsh, executive assistant to the Senate, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda

Wednesday, December 6, 2023
3–5 p.m. EDT

1.    Finalize SEC meeting minutes of November 1, 2023
2.    Tri-Chairs’ Report
3.    Consideration of Draft Resolution
4.    New Business
5.    Faculty Senate Seminar: Generative AI in Your Teaching. Open to all faculty via https://provost.upenn.edu/senate/faculty-senate-seminar-series.

Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Hall of Flags, Houston Hall
4–6 p.m.

1. Welcome.
2. Approval of the minutes of October 18, 2023.
3. Follow up comments or questions on Status Reports.
4. Response to the New Business topic raised at the October 18, 2023 University Council meeting.
5. Focus Issue: AI and Machine Learning.
6. Open Forum.  
7. New Business.
8. Adjournment.

The following topics have been submitted for the Open Forum at the November 29, 2023 Council meeting in the Hall of Flags, Houston Hall.

1. Business Brilliance, Shane Gardner, C’26
2. Free Access to Menstrual Products, Stephanie Schreiner, PSOM’28
3. Supporting Teaching and Research Assistants, Taja Mazaj, C’24
4. Topics Regarding University Administration, Karen Redrobe, SAS/Cinema and New Media Studies, Professor
5. State of the Penn Jewish Community, Noah Rubin, ENG’25 and W’25
6. Combatting Anti-Semitism on Campus, Eyal Yakoby, C’24
7. Penn Jewish Community, Sydney Freedman, W’25
8. Penn’s Communications Regarding the Israel/Hamas War, Jacob Brooks, Penn Residential Services, Business Administrator
9. Penn Middle East Center’s Response to Recent Events, Harun Küçük, Middle East Center, Faculty Director
10. Penn’s Communications Regarding the Israel/Hamas War, Asia Kopcsandy, Penn Vet, Administrative Assistant
11. Combatting Islamophobia, Anne Norton, SAS/Political Science and Comparative Literature, Professor
12. Supporting Muslim and Arab Students, Nahrin Ahmed, PSOM, Regulatory Affairs Specialist
13. Safety of the Jewish Community, Beaue Bernstein, C’26
14. Effect of Campus Protests, Kayla Bleier, ENG’26
15. Penn Chavurah and Other Opportunities for Jewish Students, Henry Planet, C’27

Throughout the fall semester, the following Penn Nursing faculty have been honored with national awards and appointments.

Kathryn H. Bowles, a professor of nursing and the van Ameringen Chair in Nursing Excellence in the department of biobehavioral health sciences, received the Welch/Woerner Path-Paver Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research. The award is given to a mid-to-late career nurse scientist who has achieved one or more breakthroughs in theory development, research methods, instruments, or subject matter that has paved the way for other scientists and who has influenced and mentored the next generation of nurse researchers.

Kenrick Cato, a member of the standing faculty on the clinician-educator track in the department of family and community health and a professor of informatics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics. Fellows represent excellence from academia, government, and industry, demonstrating thought leadership, stellar experience, and established scholarship.

Charlene W. Compher, a professor of nutrition science in the department of biobehavioral health sciences, received the 20th Annual Elaine R. Monsen Award for Outstanding Research Literature by The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Sara F. Jacoby, an associate professor of nursing in the department of family and community health and the Calvin Bland Fellow, was honored with the Trustees Council of Penn Women Award for Undergraduate Advising. This award recognizes faculty advisors who have distinguished themselves in providing assistance and advice to their undergraduates and who have made a significant impact on the academic experience of these students.

Laura Starbird, an assistant professor in the department of family and community health, was awarded the 2023 Marianne Marcus Award by the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA). This award is given to a registered nurse who is a first-time AMERSA conference attendee and who is committed to clinical practice, research, policy development, and/or education related to substance use disorders.

Colleen Tewksbury, an assistant professor of nutrition science in the department of biobehavioral health sciences, was inducted as a fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This designation recognizes academy members who have distinguished themselves among their colleagues and in their communities with their service to the dietetics profession and by optimizing the nation’s health through food and nutrition.

Erin Purvis was named the predoctoral recipient of the 2023 Next Generation Award by the Society for Neuroscience. She received the award on November 14 at the Society for Neuroscience (SfN)’s annual international meeting.

The Next Generation Award recognizes SfN chapter members who have made outstanding contributions to public communication, outreach, and education about neuroscience through activities such as classroom engagement, social media campaigns, etc., typically at the high school level or below.

Ms. Purvis is a doctoral candidate in the neuroscience graduate group, specifically in the Cullen Neural Engineering and Neurotrauma Lab in the Perelman School of Medicine. She is also a 2022-2024 Provost’s Graduate Academic Engagement Fellow (PGAEF) at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships.

Through PGAEF, Ms. Purvis has worked with Loretta Flanagan-Cato to launch a graduate certificate in community-engaged STEM and also developed an academically based community service course for graduate students called biomedical science in the urban curriculum.

This fall, Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2) welcomed its third cohort of Social Justice Scholars, a competitive scholarship program that aims to enhance SP2’s ongoing commitment to the recruitment and retention of students with a particular interest in, and demonstrated capacity for, social justice leadership in their field.

Social Justice Scholars receive full tuition benefits, are supported through an enriched structure of mentorship and additional training opportunities, and are part of a dynamic cohort of scholars. SP2 associate professor Yoosun Park is the faculty director of the program and Jessie Harper is the director of the program.

SP2 welcomed the first cohort of three Social Justice Scholars in the fall of 2021, and the program has since experienced tremendous growth, with nine students in the 2023-2024 cohort. Scholars’ social justice leadership interests range from socioeconomic inequality to anti-racism to community development.

To be eligible for consideration for the Social Justice Scholars program, a student must apply by the priority deadline to one of SP2’s three master’s degree programs, demonstrate financial need, and demonstrate an interest in and capacity for social justice leadership. The priority deadline in 2023 is December 1 for all three master’s programs.

New Scholars

Myles Browne
MSSP Program
Interests: civic engagement, LGBTQ+ youth, and community organizing
Education: Hampton University, international relations and minor in Spanish

Mariel Edokwe
MSSP Program
Interests: criminal justice reform and racial equity
Education: Middlebury College, BA in sociology and minor in education studies

Matthew Encarnación
MSSP Program
Interests: economic inequality, guaranteed income, and affordable housing
Education: Mercer University, BS in psychology

Hallela Hinton-William
MSSP Program
Interests: educational justice, anti-racism, and community development
Education: Grinnell College, BA in Spanish and religious studies with a concentration in American studies

Shug Miller
MSW Program
Interests: abolitionist social work
Education: University of Chicago, BA in sociology; University of Miami, MSEd in education and social change

Ajanee Russell Hopkins
MSW Program
Interests: women’s reproductive rights, socioeconomic equity, and anti-racism
Education: Rutgers University-New Brunswick, BS in public health with a concentration in medical ethics and Africana studies

Davina Scott
MSW Program
Interests: mass incarceration, school-to-prison pipeline, urban poverty, and trauma
Education: Howard University, BA in political science and minor in criminology

Breanna Sheehan
MSSP and NPL Programs
Interests: Tribal sovereignty, community development, and cross-cultural engagement
Education: Dartmouth College, BA in anthropology and Native American studies

Tamara Sonera Serrano
MSW Program
Interests: Education equity and accessibility, community organizing, and anti-racism research
Education: Florida State University, BSW and minors in psychology and education

Returning Scholars

Mayowa Fageyinbo
MSSP Program
Interests: education policy, economic justice, anti-racism, international education, and public health
Education: Howard University, BS in psychology and minor in sociology

Sparsh Maheshwari
NPL and MSSP+DA Programs
Interests: socioeconomic inequality
Education: Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, bachelor of engineering; Indian School of Development Management, MBA

Joelle Lingat
MSW and NPL Programs
Interests: immigration, health access, transformative justice, and community care
Education: Oberlin College, BA in environmental studies and comparative American studies and minor in gender, sexuality and feminist studies with a concentration in peace and conflict studies; CUNY School of Law, JD

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

The November AT PENN 2023 calendar can still be viewed at almanac.upenn.edu/at-penn-calendar/november-at-penn-2023. 

An open session of the WXPN Policy Board will meet Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at noon at WXPN. For more information, email abby@xpn.org or call (215) 898-0628 during business hours.

Fitness & Learning

28        T32 Best Practices Discussion; special session on training grants and the SCOTUS decision on Students For Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College AND SFFA v. University of North Carolina; 3:30 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3FWLBRN (Perelman School of Medicine).

29        Behind the CV: Stories from Faculty; Rakesh Vohra, economics and electrical & systems engineering, share his stories, with a focus on the unspoken challenges of a life in academia; 5 p.m.; Café 58, Irvine Auditorium (Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships).

30        You Do-Nut Have to Be in STEM; join humanities & social science RPAs to discuss opportunities and enjoy donuts; 7-9 p.m.; RDDSx, first floor, Van Pelt Library (Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships).

Graduate School of Education

Online webinars. Info: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/events-calendar?date=2023-11.

30        Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership Virtual Information Session; 7 p.m.

Special Events

26        Family Game Day; learn more about games played around the world: Challenge the family to a friendly game of mancala, learn how to play the ancient games of knucklebones (Greece/Rome) and Senet (Egypt), and design your own board game to take home; 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Penn Museum; included with admission (Penn Museum).

Talks

27        Dawn of the Anthropocene: How Humans in a Warming Climate Drove Pleistocene Mammal Extinctions and Re-shaped California’s Landscapes; Emily Lindsey, La Brea Tar Pits and Museum; noon; room 345, Penn Museum (Anthropology).

            Increasing Human Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Taste and Smell Science; Patrice Hubert, Monell Chemical Senses Center; 3 p.m.; room 302, CRB, and Zoom webinar; join: https://pennmedicine.zoom.us/j/98960742438 (Global Health).

28        Advancing Bioadhesive Technologies with Mechanical Principles; Jianyu Li, McGill University; 10 a.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics).

29        How Design Can Make a Positive Impact on Health, the Environment, and Education; Raja Schaar, Drexel University; noon; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/schaar-talk-nov-29 (Nursing).

            Inherent Interpretability via Language Model Guided Bottleneck Design; Mark Yatskar, computer & information science; noon; room 307, Levine Hall (ASSET Center).

            Adventures at the Nexus of Synthetic, Analytical and Biological Chemistry With an Enzymatic Sub-Theme; David Berkowitz, National Science Foundation; noon; Chemistry Complex (Chemistry).

            Topological States in Magnetic Pyrochlore Iridates; Jak Chakhalian, Rutgers University; 3 p.m.; room A4, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Does Architecture Speak Politically? Aggiornamento, Representation, and the Global History of the Cold War; Vanessa Grossman, architecture; 6:30 p.m.; Plaza Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

30        Aluminum Scandium Nitride Thin Films and Microdevices for Radio Frequency Filters and Magnetoelectric Sensors; Roy (Troy) Olsson, electrical & systems engineering; 10:30 a.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Materials Science & Engineering).

            Special Briefing: Public Pensions - Still a Crisis?; panel of speakers; 11 a.m.; Zoom webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/iur-talk-nov-30 (Penn Institute for Urban Research).

            The Korean DMZ as an Impossible Space: Reflections on Peace Beyond Geopolitics; Eleana Kim, University of California Irvine; noon; suite 310, 3600 Market Street (Korean Studies).

            Locals, Leaders and the Reverberating Consequences of Disaster Intervention: Some Case Studies from the Late Roman World; Cam Grey, classical studies; 4:45 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (Classical Studies).

            What We Owe: Reparations in Literature and Law; Sangina Patnaik, Swarthmore College; 5 p.m.; room 330, Fisher-Bennett Hall; RSVP: elombard@sas.upenn.edu or eying@sas.upenn.edu (English).

            Fels Racial Equity and Social Justice Conversation Series; Sulaiman W. Rahman, DiverseForce; 6 p.m.; online webinar; register: https://tinyurl.com/rahman-talk-nov-30 (Fels Institute of Government).

Economics

In-person events. Info: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/events.

27        Testing Mechanisms; Soonwoo Kwon, Brown University; 4:30 p.m. room 100, PCPSE.

28        Diversity, Disagreement, and Information Aggregation; Tilman Börgers, University of Michigan; 4 p.m.; room 101, PCPSE.

Mathematics

In-person events. Info: https://www.math.upenn.edu/events.

29        A^1-Homotopical Approach to the Study of A^1-Connected Smooth Projective Varieties; Fabien Morel, Institute for Advanced Study; 3:45 p.m.; room A2, DRL.

Sociology

Info: https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/events.

29        Recognizing “Camera Cues”: Policing, Cellphones, and Citizen Countersurveillance; Brandon Alston, Ohio State University; noon; room 403, McNeil Building.

This is an update to the November AT PENN calendar. The December AT PENN calendar appears in this issue. To submit events for a future AT PENN calendar or update, send the salient details to almanac@upenn.edu.

Division of Public Safety University of Pennsylvania Police Department Crime Report

About the Crime Report: Below are the Crimes Against Persons and/or Crimes Against Property from the campus report for November 6-12, 2023. The Crime Reports are available at: https://almanac.upenn.edu/sections/crimes. Prior weeks’ reports are also online. –Eds.

This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety (DPS) and contains all criminal incidents reported and made known to the Penn Police, including those reported to the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) that occurred within our patrol zone, for the dates of November 6-12, 2023. The Penn Police actively patrol from Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and from 30^th Street to 43^rd Street 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 DPS at (215) 898-7297. You may view the daily crime log on the DPS website.

Penn Police Patrol Zone
Market Street to Baltimore Avenue and from 30^th Street to 43^rd Street

Philadelphia Police 18th District
Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 11 incidents were reported for November 6-12, 2023 by the 18^th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

The Division of Public Safety offers resources and support to the Penn community. DPS developed a few helpful risk reduction strategies outlined below. Know that it is never the fault of the person impacted (victim/survivor) by crime.

• See something concerning? Connect with Penn Public Safety 24/7 at (215) 573-3333.
• Worried about a friend’s or colleague’s mental or physical health? Get 24/7 connection to appropriate resources at (215) 898-HELP (4357).
• Seeking support after experiencing a crime? Call Special Services (support and advocacy resources) at (215) 898-4481 or email an advocate at specialservices@publicsafety.upenn.edu.
• Use the Walking Escort and Riding services available to you free of charge.
• Take a moment to update your cellphone information for the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System.
• Download the Penn Guardian App which can help Police better find your location when you call in an emergency.
• Access free self-empowerment and defense courses through Penn DPS.
• Stay alert and reduce distractions. (Using cellphones, ear buds, etc. may limit your awareness.)
• Orient yourself to your surroundings. (Identify your location, nearby exits, etc.)
• Keep your valuables out of sight and only carry necessary documents.

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

In November, we kick off the holiday season with Giving Tuesday, Thanksgiving travel, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. While you are busy planning and celebrating the holidays with family and friends, hackers are crafting scams to trick you into disclosing your sensitive financial and personal information. Some of the active seasonal scams include:

A change to your direct deposit: You receive an email claiming to come from the University that tells you to click on a link to confirm a change in your direct deposit. Once you click, you are directed to a fake webpage that mimics the Penn Web Login page, luring you into sharing your PennKey username and password.

Online shopping: You are directed to a webpage, usually via social media, that mimics a well-known site—but with prices that are too good to be true.

Package tracking: An email or text tells you that your package is delayed and asks you to click a link to resolve the issue.

Gift card prize winner: You receive an email or a text message that says you won a high-value gift card.

Online invitations to holiday parties: When clicking the invite, you may download malware.

You can protect yourself from such scams. Read the message carefully and avoid taking immediate action, such as clicking on a link or opening an attachment.

Double check the sender’s email address and make sure University messages asking you to take action are sent from a legitimate Penn email domain. Hover over links to see if they point to a supposed company’s domain and pay attention to the webpage URL to verify its authenticity. (You can train yourself to recognize phishing URLs by taking “URL Training” in Workday, if it is available to you.)

Do not reply to unsolicited emails. If you have questions or want to report a scam, talk to your IT (Information Technology) support staff, or email 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.

Visit https://pennsway.upenn.edu for more information. Online participation must be com pleted by midnight on Sunday for inclusion in a given week’s drawing that Monday morning. Note: list subject to change.

Week Seven–Drawing November 20

Philadelphia Eagles: Autographed Eagles player photo (Nakobe Dean), $50 value: Terence Brooks, FRES Project Management

Neta Scientific: Amazon Gift Card, $25 value: Jeffrey Grillo, Penn Carey Law School

Neta Scientific: Amazon Gift Card, $25 value: Melissa Muth, ISC Information Security

Neta Scientific: Amazon Gift Card, $25 value: David Adler, Public Safety, Penn Police

EMSCO: Barnes & Noble Gift Card, $25 value: Leah Ferriby, Pennsylvania Hospital

EMSCO: Barnes & Noble Gift Card, $25 value: Rhonda Leese, Hospital of University of Pennsylvania

Penn Live Arts: Two tickets for 23/24 Season, $100 value: Devone Bromwell, HUP Radiology

Final Drawing–December 4

Wawa goodie basket, $25 value

eCity Interactive: Two tickets for Philadelphia Theatre Company 23/24 season, $100 value

Benco Dental: Barnes & Noble gift card, $25 value

EMSCO: Barnes & Noble gift card, $25 value

Neta Scientific: Amazon gift card, $25 value

Neta Scientific: Amazon gift card, $25 value

There will be no issue of Almanac on Tuesday, November 28. The next issue of Almanac will be published on Tuesday, December 5.

For the list of publication dates and deadlines, visit https://almanac.upenn.edu/publication-schedule-deadlines. 

Jennifer Punt

Over the years, I ha­­ve sp­­ent many enjoyable hours as an immunology professor working to make complex information more accessible to students. Because the immune system is confoundingly complex, with hundreds of different types of cells traveling through all corners of the body and making thousands of different contacts with proteins and pathogens, this is an important challenge for me and my students. The study of the immune system, immunology, reflects this complexity and, with its daunting vocabulary and array of abbreviations that describe these cells and their contacts, can be impenetrable.

A basic understanding of the immune system, however, is as important to the public as it is to the undergraduates I teach. As my students go on to careers as scientists and clinicians, they will be responsible for communicating this information to audiences outside of Penn. Misinformation about vaccines is particularly harmful and this danger underscores the importance of helping immunology students to share their understanding as clearly as possible to the broadest of audiences—peers, family, and the public.

The remarkable development of the mRNA vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic presented me with a wonderful opportunity to highlight the importance of communication in my advanced undergraduate immunology course (BIOL3008). Remote teaching during the pandemic also inspired me to experiment with the use of video assignments as one way to enhance students’ abilities to articulate their understanding in ways that were accessible to a wide range of audiences.

After spending the first weeks of the semester introducing students to basic cells, tissues, and events that initiate an immune response, I gave them the following assignment:

Please upload a no more than 5 minute video (.mp4 file, preferably) that describes how a vaccine works to an audience of your choice. This assignment is designed to allow you to synthesize and communicate some of what you have learned—and to help inform and even entertain and excite your audience about how vaccines take advantage of our own immune systems.

1. This project can be done individually or in pairs. If you work with a partner, try to creatively incorporate your collaboration in the video. For example, the video could highlight a conversation between two people where the two people take on distinctive roles (e.g. talk show host-style).
2. You may choose to use slides (best to use no more than five), but this is not required.
3. Select an audience and identify it for us at the beginning of your presentation. Your audience can be almost anyone, ranging from elementary school students, CDC specialists, biology undergraduates, etc.
4. Be accurate, but tailor your vocabulary to the audience. e.g. An elementary school student will not understand the same range of knowledge as an undergrad.
5. Use your imagination and your own judgment about format. We look forward to seeing your ideas.

I was very curious about their choices of audience and couldn’t have been happier with the results. Their projects revealed an enviable fluency with multi-media technologies. Students chose a wide range of audiences—from elementary students, to ‘worried parents,’ to senior citizens, to “YouTube viewers,” to peers not majoring in biology. Their presentations also ranged from formal PowerPoint presentations to mock interviews with scientists who had developed vaccines, to town hall-like events. Some of their videos were accompanied by music, with podcast-like features, and one pair created a very engaging presentation aimed from the perspective of a virus itself.

Assessing such a variety of formats can be challenging. However, I found that a rubric I originally generated for written work could be useful with some modifications. I refer to this rubric as the “CARIE” system, where (briefly) “C” refers to clarity and organization, “A” to accuracy, “R” to research and referencing, “I” to insight and “E” to engagement of audience. I have now used this system relatively successfully for oral, written, and recorded assignments, weighing each category differently, depending on the emphasis I have shared with the students.

To make this approach more transparent to the class, I also preceded this assignment by asking the class to apply the same rubric to “grade” a short video themselves—in this particular case, a TED talk with Penn’s own Carl June about CAR-T cells. Students seemed to have fun with this task, which, most importantly, took some of the mystery out of the assessment criteria. To help them consider how they could critically evaluate their own efforts, I also gave them time in small groups to review a short podcast (on oral vaccinations) and share thoughts about what might be missing and what could be improved.

My wonderful TA, a senior Penn undergraduate, and I both commented on each video—focusing not just on how accurately the students conveyed information, but on how effectively they might have reached their audience. Perhaps one of the most gratifying outcomes of this assignment was the opportunity it gave to less talkative students to shine—and the opportunity it gave us to discover their talents. I admit that I was once exceptionally quiet and would have enjoyed a chance to share ideas without some of the social pressures that arise in the classroom; my own experiences have certainly motivated me to offer students multiple ways to participate and video assignments have now become a part of this repertoire. I’ve also learned from my colleagues how important it is to design assignments that allow students to practice skills that they need to succeed on larger stake assessments. This vaccine video assignment was the foundation for the final project, where I asked students to develop a longer, more scholarly podcast or video on a topic of interest. They shared their topic ideas with the class for feedback in a mini-presentation seminar setup. This event also had the advantage of giving peers the opportunity to learn from and about each other and I hope allowed students to recognize each others’ strengths.

These video and podcast-based projects have struck me as a powerful way to inspire students to gain the all-important intellectual owneship of a topic. Knowing something and being able to answer exam quesions about that ‘something’ is important, but being able to articulate your knowledge with clarity to a range of audiences forces you to recognize and confront the gaps in your knowledge and enhances your confidence in your knowledge. It also prepares students to share what they have learned with others who need this information. These assignments also put me in the enviable position of being a student—one of the deep pleasures of being a professor at Penn.

Jennifer Punt is a professor of immunology and associate dean for One Health at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine. 

--

This essay continues the series that began in the fall of 1994 as the joint creation of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Lindback Society for Distinguished Teaching. 

See https://almanac.upenn.edu/talk-about-teaching-and-learning-archive for previous essays.