January 23, 2024 Volume 70 Issue 19

January 17, 2024

Welcome to a new semester and a new year at Penn!

As I begin my role as Interim President, people within our University and beyond are sharing with me their deep affection for Penn. They believe in Penn’s extraordinary work and our boundless potential.

I believe in Penn, too. Over the years, I have witnessed what we can do to make the world a better place.

Our campus and alumni communities have also expressed to me concerns about a range of timely and complex issues. I understand these feelings. The last few months have been deeply difficult in the world. Indeed, the last few years have been challenging overall. Yet, times like these also offer opportunities for leadership. The choices Penn makes now will not only help shape our future but will help define the place and purpose of higher education in our society.

Penn’s values and missions have served us well for nearly three centuries and will continue to guide us. However, we cannot be complacent and rely upon our impressive history. The world around us changes and the pace of change is accelerating. We can, and we will, adapt, whether the issue is cultural, climate-related, health-related, or the implications of AI. Penn has always tackled hard problems and with our 12 extraordinary schools; we are well positioned to find solutions.

Today, I will highlight three ways in which Penn is actively moving forward, with more to share in the coming weeks.

We will begin implementing In Principle and Practice, Penn’s strategic framework.

In the coming year, I will ask every school and center to consider how their unique and complementary skills can be leveraged to help Penn lead in a changing world. Working with our deans and other institutional leaders, Provost Jackson and I will look for ways to support new initiatives that align with this exciting strategic vision for Penn’s future. For all of us – faculty, students, and staff – it is a great privilege to be at this University. We must make the most of it, together.

We are accelerating the important work of Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism, as well as that of the Task Force on Antisemitism and the Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community.

These dedicated groups are hard at work, and I have asked them to provide interim updates with actionable steps we can take now, as well as recommendations that will serve Penn for the long term. Penn cannot, and will not, be a harbor for hate. At Penn, we hold ourselves to high standards of excellence, respect, critical thinking, and the search for truth. Our community does, and should, hold different viewpoints. These can co-exist with mutual respect, support, and engagement, exemplified by Penn initiatives, such as Conversations for Community.

We are ensuring a safe and secure campus for everyone at Penn.

Increased Penn Public Safety staffing, heightened campus presence, and extensive safety checks will continue. In addition to physical safety, it is important that every member of our community feels safe. This is essential for an effective learning and scholarly environment. It is the foundation for a positive Penn experience.

We will communicate frequently on these and other important efforts in the semester ahead, and we will seek your input and views. Most recently, I went into detail on a range of timely topics in an interview with Penn Today, which I encourage you to read here.

In the spirit of the new year, I want to leave you today with one of my own resolutions – and one I hope everyone at Penn will share. Let us resolve to make this year one of hearing, healing, and honoring one another. In doing so, we will ensure that every member of our community knows that they truly belong.

As we address and manage many challenges, we should also celebrate the things that brought us to Penn. We came to Penn to learn and discover. To grow as individuals and as part of a community and to find joy in the experience. To make friends from across the country and around the world and to have fun. I know we can model the mutual respect, tolerance, and excellence that are the bedrocks of this exceptional place.

In this new year, let us stand together and do things that will amaze the world.

Sincerely,

—J. Larry Jameson, Interim President

January 16, 2024

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the death of our dear friend, former Interim Penn President and Penn Nursing School dean, Claire Muriel Mintzer Fagin, Hon’77, Hon’94. Claire was a passionate advocate for universal health care, nursing education, and the advancement of women in health-related fields who brought Penn Nursing to national prominence. As Interim President, she will long be remembered for guiding the University through a crucial period of transition in the early 1990s. We will miss her and offer our deepest condolences to her son, Charles, and daughter-in-law, France Myung Fagin. Claire was predeceased by her beloved husband Samuel Fagin and son Joshua Fagin.

Claire was a prominent University citizen whose appointment and service as Interim President of the University from 1993 to 1994 was enormously impactful. Her appointment made her the first woman to serve as chief executive officer of Penn and the first female interim president of any Ivy League institution. She not only paved the way for future women leaders of the Ivy League, but also laid the groundwork for the lineage of Penn presidents who followed.

As Interim President, Claire provided a vital link between the accomplishments of the preceding Meyerson and Hackney administrations and the promise of the Rodin administration that was to follow. Her presidency coincided with a fractured time at Penn, and she received national recognition for her leadership, earning the title, “The Healer,” for her work in bringing the campus together. Following her tenure, Claire returned to teaching and research among the nursing faculty, where she served until her retirement in 1996, after which she continued to work as a consultant to numerous nursing and health organizations.

Before her tenure as Interim President, Claire served as the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of the School of Nursing from 1977 until 1992, during which time she brought nursing education to the forefront at Penn. As dean, she grew the standing faculty, created landmark education and research programs, strengthened the relationship between clinical practice, teaching, and research, and developed and implemented a PhD program. For her extraordinary accomplishments to the school and University, Claire was presented with the Penn Alumni Award of Merit in 1991. The Penn Club of New York named her the 2012 honoree of the Guggenheim Honor Cup. It heartens us to know her legacy at the University lives on through the Claire M. Fagin Leadership Chair in Nursing, the Claire M. Fagin Distinguished Researcher Award, the Claire and Sam Fagin Scholarship, and the Nursing School’s Claire M. Fagin Hall, which were named in her honor.

Claire held a BS from the School of Nursing of Wagner College, an MA from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and a PhD from New York University. An expert on psychiatric and pediatric nursing, she was the author or editor of 15 books and monographs and more than 100 articles. Before coming to Penn, Claire had been professor and chair of the department of nursing at the City University of New York, where she also directed the Health Professions Institute and developed a baccalaureate nursing program that prepared nurses for primary care practice. Previously, she had been an associate professor of psychiatric-mental health nursing and director of the graduate program in psychiatric mental health nursing at New York University.

Beginning with her doctoral dissertation, which changed attitudes and practices relating to parental visitation in pediatric care facilities, Claire had a tremendous influence on her profession and on health care policy. She was an advisor to the World Health Organization, chair of the national advisory board of the John A. Hartford Foundation’s Institute for Geriatric Nursing, the founding director of the Building Academic Geriatric Nursing Capacity program of the American Academy of Nursing, and president of the American Orthopsychiatric Association and the National League of Nursing. Claire was the founding chair of the National Advisory Council of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at the University of California, Davis. She was a member of the governing board of the Institute of Medicine—now the National Academy of Medicine—and chaired its Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, as well as its Lienhard Committee. Her other board memberships included the New York Academy of Medicine, the van Ameringen Foundation, and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, as well as the Radian Group Inc., Salomon Inc., and the Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company, where she was the first female director and chaired the Audit Committee. She was also active with New York City’s West Side Urban Renewal Project.

Over the course of her career, Claire was recognized time and again for her contributions. She received the nursing profession’s prestigious Honorary Recognition Award, now known as the Champion of Nursing Award, of the American Nurses Association. She was also recognized by the American Nurses Foundation, New York University, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Royal College of Nursing, Philadelphia’s Women’s Way, and the American Academy of Nursing. She was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame. She was also elected to the American Academy of Nursing and was named a Living Legend in 1998 for her achievements in nursing, nursing education, and health care. A senior fellow at Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, she held more than a dozen honorary degrees.

There will be a University celebration of her life on campus in the spring, and we will share details when they are available.

—Ramanan Raghavendran, Chair, Trustees

—J. Larry Jameson, Interim President

Interim President J. Larry Jameson has announced the appointment of David A. Asch as senior vice president for Strategic Initiatives. The position recognizes Penn’s opportunities and imperatives as it nears its fourth century in a rapidly changing world. Dr. Asch’s appointment to the role also recognizes his leadership of University-wide interdisciplinary activities over four decades at Penn.

“The eyes of the world are on higher education, particularly Penn,” said Interim President Jameson. “This is also a moment when the University of Pennsylvania has perhaps more to offer than at any other time in its history. David Asch’s expansive thinking and inclusive work style have repeatedly delivered excellence to our missions.”

Dr. Asch will be a partner to Interim President Jameson and Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. in implementing Penn’s strategic framework, In Principle and Practice, as well as other initiatives that reaffirm and advance “the values that so shaped our founding.”

Dr. Asch is the John Morgan Professor of Medicine and a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the Perelman School of Medicine and a professor of operations, information and decisions and of health care management at the Wharton School. He is a scholar in health services research and health policy in areas that span ethics, health equity, and behavioral economics. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.

From 1998 to 2012, Dr. Asch served as executive director of Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. Together with colleagues from the School of Arts & Sciences, he founded the Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program to build faculty capacity in the social determinants of health. He created, and from 2001 to 2012 directed, the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion—the Department of Veterans Affairs’ national research center to support vulnerable populations and re uceracial disparities. From 2012 to 2022, he was executive director of the Center for Health Care Innovation at Penn Medicine. In 2017, he led the creation of the National Clinician Scholars program at Penn, Yale, UCLA, and the University of Michigan (and now also Duke and UCSF)—a program that provides two years of health policy research and leadership training to physicians and doctorally-prepared nurses. Since 2022, Dr. Asch has been senior vice dean for strategic initiatives at the Perelman School of Medicine and one of the principal architects of Penn Medicine’s five-year strategic plan, Serving a Changing World.

Among many past University roles, Dr. Asch served on consultative committees for multiple dean searches and other University committees, chaired the University Faculty Grievance Commission, and served on the Red and Blue Advisory Committee under Provost Jackson. For 20 years he taught a popular undergraduate course in healthcare management and, among many other teaching awards from the Perelman School and Wharton, is a recipient of the University’s Lindback Award.

He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Harvard University, his MD from Weill-Cornell Medical College, and his MBA in decision sciences and health care management from the Wharton School. His appointment will be brought to the Trustees for approval at the board’s March meeting.

January 18, 2024

To the Penn community,

Just before the winter break, Interim President J. Larry Jameson convened the Presidential Commission on Countering Hate and Building Community. A full listing of the members of the commission and their charge all can be found here. We are grateful to Dr. Jameson for his leadership and share his view that hate has no home at Penn.

We also thank the faculty, students, staff, and alumni who have stepped forward to serve on this commission. Together, we will undertake the urgent work of better understanding the experiences of our community, recommending strategies for how to foster a broadly inclusive campus through education and engagement, and identifying ways to support those who have experienced hate and to counter it at Penn. This important effort will be closely connected to Penn’s Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism and In Principle and Practice, Penn’s recently announced strategic framework.

The commission will consult broadly with the Penn community, and we will be in touch in the coming weeks to share the ways you can participate in this work. In the meantime, we welcome your ideas, experiences, and perspectives and encourage you to share them with the commission by writing to this email address: presidential-commission@upenn.edu.

Please remember that if you experience an act of bias or discrimination, including antisemitism or Islamophobia, 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 Supporting our Community website.

Our community is strong and resilient, united by our care for one another and by our commitment to Penn. We look forward to working with the members of the commission and with all of you to root out and counter hate and to bring our community together. 

Sincerely,

—Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean and Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, School of Engineering and Applied Science

—Katharine Strunk, Dean and George and Diane Weiss Professor of Education, Graduate School of Education

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, January 24, 2024
3–5 p.m. EDT

1. Finalize SEC meeting minutes of December 6, 2023
2. Tri-Chairs’ Report
3. Update from the Office of the Interim President
   Discussion with Interim President J. Larry Jameson
4. Consideration of Draft Resolution on Academic Freedom and Open Expression
5. Proposals for SEC Actions
6. New Business

All members of the University community are invited to bring topics for consideration to the

University Council Open Forum

Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.
Hall of Flags, Houston Hall

A PennCard is required to attend University Council meetings

PennCard holders who want to be assured of speaking at the Open Forum must submit a request to the Office of the University Secretary (ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu) by 10:00 a.m. on Monday, February 5, 2024, briefly indicating the subject of the intended remarks. Speakers’ statements are limited to three minutes and should be framed to present topics of general University interest and be directed to University Council as a body through the moderator, and not to an individual.

Those who have not submitted a timely request to the Office of the University Secretary will be permitted to speak at the discretion of the moderator of University Council if time remains after the registered speakers.

For the meeting format and guidelines for remarks, please consult the University Council website at https://secretary.upenn.edu/univ-council/open-forum.

The Office of the University Secretary can be contacted at ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu or (215) 898-7005.

—Office of the University Secretary

The Undergraduate Assembly (UA) mid-session report can be found here. The report summarizes the UA’s projects and advocacy efforts for the fall 2023 term. These efforts reflect the UA’s unwavering commitment to amplifying resources for our fellow students and continuing to advance projects that enhance the undergraduate experience. There is also an overview of the UA’s most significant efforts of the semester, of which you will find a summary version below:

Diversity & Equity in Higher Education Advocacy

UA president Xavier Shankle collaborated with counterparts from Harvard College and the University of North Carolina concerning the overturning of affirmative action. Mr. Shankle’s participation in the Department of Education’s National Summit on Equal Opportunity in Higher Education and further engagements at the White House underscored the UA’s commitment to ensuring Penn student voices were heard and represented at the federal level regarding issues of advancing diversity and equity at higher education institutions like Penn.

Menstrual Products Initiative

Under UA speaker Ria Ellendula’s leadership, the UA, through a partnership with Residential Services, successfully launched a campus-wide initiative to provide free menstrual products in all undergraduate college houses in the fall of 2023. This extends the availability of these products to all floors/lobby bathrooms across campus, following the successful initiative at Hill College House in the spring of 2023.

UA Reserve Fund Expenditures

The UA Reserve Fund has been completely revamped to offer a collaborative process for funding new student-led initiatives on campus. UA Reserve Fund proposals now involve UA Steering, Penn Student Government, and campus leaders. These proposals undergo public debate and UA body approval, ensuring input from the Penn community. In fall 2023, four approved proposals used the fund: the Sarah Katz Award promoting heart and health literacy, equipment funding for upgrades to the PAC shop at Platt House, MERT’s new headquarters, and the Actively Moving Forward: HealGrief Program, which aids bereaved students through peer-based support initiatives and workshops.

Project Work in the Body

The UA’s 55 members have diligently spearheaded many impactful projects throughout the fall 2023 semester, reflecting a commitment to enhancing various facets of campus life. Members have collaborated on initiatives ranging from improving space reservation policies and access to community service events to promoting student feedback and sustainability within Penn Dining. The UA has also focused on practical enhancements, such as resource guides for students navigating the ever-evolving job-recruiting dynamic, increasing access to wellness and health resources, and amplifying resources for FGLI students. We encourage readers to use the member directory if they have any questions or comments about the projects in progress.

Conclusion

The 51st session of the UA is far from complete. We hope to add to our progress during the spring term, and we encourage you to reach out to us at exec@pennua.org or through our suggestions box on our website. We share your pride in Penn and eagerly anticipate concluding our term with the same vigor and compassion with which we began.

—Undergraduate Assembly Executive Board

Sarah Barringer Gordon, the Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law in the Penn Carey Law School and a professor emerita of history in the School of Arts & Sciences, has been elected an honorary fellow of the American Society for Legal History (ASLH), the highest honor the society can confer. It recognizes distinguished historians from around the world whose scholarship has shaped the broad discipline of legal history and influenced the work of others. Dr. Gordon is one of three honorary fellows for 2023.

The ASLH announcement describes Dr. Gordon as “a renowned legal historian, known far and wide for her insights into law and religion in American history. She has left a lasting impression on the field through her scholarship, her generosity of spirit, her wise counsel, and her inspired leadership.”

The ASLH is an international academic society dedicated to fostering scholarship and teaching in the many fields of legal history.

Rangita de Silva de Alwis, a senior adjunct professor of global leadership in the Penn Carey Law School, will serve as the special advisor to the U.K. Parliamentary Committee on Gender Apartheid, chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws KC.

The inquiry will include oral hearings, written testimony and desk research. A report on its findings and recommendations will engage domestic and international bodies with the findings throughout the inquiry and upon completion of the inquiry.

As a member of the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Ms. de Silva de Alwis will also help draft language on gender apartheid on General Recommendation 40 of the treaty. This will be the first time that the crime of gender apartheid will be invoked in international norm creation.

Her recent paper, “Holding the Taliban Accountable for Gender Persecution,” will be published by Cambridge Press. In the paper, Ms. de Silva de Alwis examines the legal standards of gender persecution, “the evolving descriptor of gender apartheid as a way to describe the status of women in Afghanistan,” and legal accountability procedures designed to both hold perpetrators of crimes against humanity accountable and to vindicate Afghan women’s rights.

“Although the current locus of the paper is focused on Afghan women,” writes Ms. de Silva de Alwis, “it has larger implications for all other crimes of gender persecution.”

Ashley Fuchs, C’22, has been named a 2024 Marshall Scholar, an award that funds as many as three years of study for a graduate degree in any field in an institution in the United Kingdom. She is among 51 individuals representing 34 U.S. institutions.

At Penn, Ms. Fuchs double majored in political science and classical studies, with concentrations in American politics and classical civilization. She was also a Benjamin Franklin Scholar. Currently, she is teaching English in Narva, Estonia, funded by a Fulbright Scholarship.

As a Marshall Scholar, Ms. Fuchs plans to focus on the nexus between international politics and heritage studies as she pursues graduate degrees, first studying global crime, justice, and security at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, then moving to the University of Cambridge in England to do a program in heritage studies.

Karen Glanz, the George A. Weiss University Professor and a professor of epidemiology in the Perelman School of Medicine, a professor of nursing in the School of Nursing, and director of the Center for Health Behavior Research at the University of Pennsylvania, has been elected a fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. 

On November 17, 2023,  Dr. Glanz was joined by colleagues and guests at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia as she became a fellow of the College of Physicians. This historic society, dating back to 1787, is dedicated to “better serving the public and lessening human misery.” Dr. Glanz now joins a legacy of medical luminaries, a testament to her exceptional contributions to the field. Dr. Glanz joins many colleagues at Penn and in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology who are fellows, including John Holmes, Kevin Johnson, and Sara Bachman, dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice.

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law Sophia Lee and professor of law Jasmine Harris are among the newest elected members of the American Law Institute (ALI).

“Professor Harris is a leader in the fields of disability and antidiscrimination law whose extraordinary dedication to creating a more just and equitable world is inspiring,” said Dean Lee. “Her ALI election is a well-deserved honor. I am also humbled to be included in this year’s election class and look forward to working with my colleagues to continue modernizing and reforming our legal system.”

A Penn Carey Law faculty member since 2009, Dean Lee began her term in July 2023. As dean, she is committed to ensuring Penn Carey Law provides an outstanding legal education that is broadly accessible, innovative, and interdisciplinary. Her scholarship focuses on administrative and constitutional law, using history to place the law in a broader context and examine how the past can shed light on its future. She has received Penn Carey Law’s Harvey Levin, A. Leo Levin, and Robert A. Gorman awards for excellence in teaching. She holds a secondary appointment in history.

Ms. Harris is a law and inequality scholar with expertise in disability law, antidiscrimination law, and evidence. Her work addresses the relationship between law and equality, focusing on the law’s capacity to advance social norms of inclusion in the context of disability. She consults with federal and state lawmakers and legal advocates on legislative and policy reforms related to disability laws. She also serves on the board of directors for the Arc of the United States and as chair of the Legal Advocacy Subcommittee to advise the organization on impact litigation.

“I am honored to be elected to the esteemed American Law Institute,” said Ms. Harris. “Our legal system is at an inflection point, and disability rights are at risk through several cases—especially those that have reached the highest levels of our justice system: the Supreme Court. I look forward to working with the ALI to ensure we maintain an equitable legal system that respects the rights of all.”

ALI seeks members who demonstrate excellence and innovation in its commitment to improving and modernizing U.S. law. For nearly 100 years, ALI members have produced academic research that continues to push our legal systems forward into the modern era. With their membership in this prestigious and historic organization, Dean Lee and Ms. Harris join more than two dozen Carey Law School colleagues.

“For the past 100 years, The American Law Institute has aspired to strengthen and improve the legal system,” said ALI president David F. Levi. “Our greatest asset has always been our extraordinary members’ dedication of time, intellect, and energy to our projects. As we close out this 100th anniversary year and enter the institute’s second century, I look forward to seeing the ways in which this class will continue our tradition of excellence in promoting and protecting the rule of law.”

Venkata (Sai) Chaluvadi, a graduate student in neuroscience, has been awarded $120,000 by the Rosenau Family Research Foundation (RFRF) to study lipid accumulation and macrophage responses in Krabbe Disease. RFRF’s mission is to improve the lives of people impacted by Krabbe disease and cystic fibrosis through research funding and disease advocacy.

Daniel J. Rader, chief of translational medicine and human genetics, has been named one of three American Heart Association 2024 Merit Award winners. Dr. Rader has received a $1 million grant that will fund his research that delves into the genetics of lipid metabolism and cardiovascular disease. By studying large-scale human genetics, he aims to uncover new genes and pathways influencing blood lipids, like cholesterol, linked to conditions such as coronary heart disease. Focusing on liver-expressed genes through computational and experimental approaches, the goal is to unravel molecular mechanisms and explore potential therapeutic strategies.   

Yvette Sheline, the McLure Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Research and director of the Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress, along with collaborators at three other universities, has received a $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health to investigate novel brain mechanisms of anxious misery—a designation that includes generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and dysthymic disorder. These outcomes will provide further understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying anxious misery, driving progress toward personalized interventions. The grant will pool data from Dr. Sheline’s original Human Connectomes Related to Human Disease (CRHD) grant with data from three other CRHD sites at Stanford University, UCLA, and Northeastern University, as well as two large data sets with comparable healthy control samples, including a data coordinating site at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

At a December 14 ceremony, Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. and Netter Center director Ira Harkavy presented Annenberg School for Communication associate professor Andy Tan and two West Philadelphia-based high school internship programs—Cross-Grade Sports and OurSpace—with the 2023 Provost/Netter Center Faculty-Community Partnership Award.

The annual award, which grants $5,000 to the faculty member and $5,000 to the community partner, recognizes local, productive, and sustained faculty-community partnership projects. Winners are selected based on the project’s engagement, impact, and sustainability. 

“For Benjamin Franklin, the purpose of this institution, and really of all education, is developing in young people an inclination and an ability to serve,” said Ira Harkavy, associate vice president and founding director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships. “Franklin emphasized that learning is for improving the human condition, to make the world better, not for its own sake.”    

Dr. Tan, who is also director of the Health Communication & Equity Lab at the Annenberg School, has maintained an ongoing partnership with Cross-Grade Sports and OurSpace. 

Dr. Tan was chosen for his work in the West Philadelphia community. Since his arrival at Penn in 2020, he has taught several academically-based community service (ABCS) courses, including Public Health Communication Research and Evaluation in the Digital Age and Using Mixed Methods in Community Research. In his courses, Dr. Tan’s students partner with local high school students to identify relevant issues for place-based problem solving. 

His partnership with Cross-Grade Sports began in 2020 while mentoring Ava Kikut-Stein, then an Annenberg PhD student, who partnered with Cross-Grade Sports to design and implement a peer-to-peer health communication project. 

Cross-Grade Sports, based at West Philadelphia and William L. Sayre High Schools, improves students’ access to and engagement in fitness and health by delivering sports-based youth development programs for elementary students. OurSpace, hosted at the Penn LGBT Center, works with LGBTQ+ Philadelphia high school students to help solve problems such as inadequate LGBTQ+ sexual health education and a lack of safe spaces in schools.

The Arthur Ross Gallery presents The Illuminated Body, an exhibition of works by artist Barbara Earl Thomas, which will be on view from February 17-May 21, 2024. Invoking the canonical history of portraiture and silhouettes, Ms. Thomas creates powerful narratives that address systemic racism, gun violence, history, literature, and climate change across the media of paint, printmaking, and glass. The exhibition is composed of largely figurative artworks including a large-scale installation entitled The Transformation Room. Throughout Ms. Thomas’ work, light and color interplay to explore both physical and metaphorical illumination. Ms. Thomas’ large-scale cut paper artworks celebrate her personal friends alongside great Black cultural icons like August Wilson, Seth Parker Woods, and Charles Johnson. In tandem with the exhibition, renowned cellist Seth Parker Woods will perform Difficult Grace in Zellerbach Theater at Penn Live Arts on April 11, 2024.

“The Illuminated Body is a collection that is very near and dear to my heart,” said Ms. Thomas. “The subjects in this series are all real people – many of whom I know personally. Through this exhibition, I wanted to bring to life the idea that despite the challenges we face in modern day society, we find joy. The media often portrays Black people as constantly plagued by calamity. The Illuminated Body shows the other side – where strength and hope live.”

“The Arthur Ross Gallery is thrilled to introduce Philadelphia audiences to Thomas’ powerful work,” said Emily Zimmerman, interim director of exhibitions and programs at the Arthur Ross Gallery. “In The Illuminated Body, Barbara Earl Thomas invites the viewer into a story world that charts broad cultural narratives and balances those against the personal stories of individuals linked within communities.”

A highlight of a dynamic roster of programming will be a special performance by Seth Parker Woods at Penn Live Arts on April 11, 2024. The performance takes inspiration from Dudley Randall’s poem “Primitives.” It pulls aspects of Mr. Randall’s poem (rhythms, durations, phonetic timbre, syntax and meaning) to generate each musical gesture and set the original poem in dialogue with itself in musical time, both verbally and sonically. Music from the record will also accompany the exhibition. Additional programs include a conversation between Barbara Earl Thomas and Kemi Adeyemi, a lecture with Marisa Williamson, and a community-organized celebration.

The Illuminated Body is organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and curated by Carolyn Swan Needell, the Chrysler’s curator of glass. The exhibition tour began at the Chrysler Museum of Art from February 24-August 20, 2023 and was most recently on view at the Wichita Art Museum until January 14, 2024. In tandem with the exhibition, the Chrysler Museum will also release an illustrated catalog with scholarly essays contributed by Carolyn Swan Needell (the Carolyn and Richard Barry Curator of Glass), Kemi Adeyemi (an associate professor of gender, women and sexuality studies and director of the Black Embodiments Studio at the University of Washington), and Emily Zimmerman (interim director of exhibitions and programs at the Arthur Ross Gallery), and opening remarks written by the artist.

In 2023, the Arthur Ross Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania was awarded a major grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage to support The Illuminated Body exhibition, as well as a series of programs organized for the exhibition.

Children’s Activities

26        At-Home Anthro Live: Theseus and the Minotaur: Let’s Hear an Ancient Myth; students will learn about Theseus and the Minotaur, which is the story of a hero named Theseus traveling to the island of Crete to battle a half-human, half-bull monster called a minotaur; 1 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: http://tinyurl.com/anthro-live-jan-26 (Penn Museum).

30        K-12 Archaeology Talk with Dr. Steve: The Sphinx That Moved to Philadelphia; recounts the history of the Penn Museum sphinx—from its discovery in the early 20th century in Egypt at the ancient capital city of Memphis by the British archaeologist William Flinders Petrie to its arduous journey from Egypt to Philadelphia; 11 a.m.; Rainey Auditorium, Penn Museum; tickets: $15; register: https://pennmuseum.wufoo.com/forms/znmtq2l1t1czci/ (Penn Museum).

Exhibits

30        Outside Images: Student Photography Show; features a diverse body of photographs, where the focal points are rarely humans but rather primarily landscapes; contrasts urban with rural, congestion with emptiness, and asks the viewer to find the tensions between space; curated by Lila Shermeta, C’25; Brodsky Gallery, Kelly Writers House. Opening reception: 6-8 p.m.

Fitness & Learning

25        Health, Medicine, and Gender in the Archives Workshop: Deconstructing the Nurse; explore a diverse set of materials ranging from a young adult book series to board games,to annual reports from Philadelphia’s first Black nurse training schools, and thinks about the ways that nursing has stood at the intersection of critical cultural conversations; noon; suite 2U, Fagin Hall (Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing).

            Noticing Struggling Students; Christina E. Frei, Penn Language Center, will share strategies for noticing and advising struggling students in the language classroom; 5 p.m.; room 543, Williams Hall; register: https://cetli.upenn.edu/event/noticing-struggling-students/ (Center for Teaching & Learning).

29        PURM Information Session (Virtual); learn about the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program (PURM) and ask any questions you have about the program and application process; 1 p.m.; Zoom webinar; join: http://tinyurl.com/curf-info-session-jan-29 (Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships).

30        Working Dog Center Tour; see firsthand what it takes to train leading detection dogs, watch as the Working Dog Center staff explains the step-by-step process to preparing a dog to serve as in explosive detection, search & rescue, cancer detection, and more; 10 a.m.; Penn Working Dog Center; RSVP: pvwdcoutreach@vet.upenn.edu (Penn Vet).

Penn Ice Rink

In-person events at Class of 1923 Ice Skating Rink. Info and to register: https://icerink.business-services.upenn.edu/calendar-page.

23        Freestyle-Tuesdays and Thursdays; 3:20-4:20 p.m. Also January 25, 30.

24        Wednesday Open Hockey-All Levels; 8:15-9:45 a.m.

            Weekday Public Skate; 12:30-2 p.m. Also January 26, 29.

            Freestyle-Monday and Wednesday; 2:15-3:15 p.m. Also January 29.

26        Friday Open Hockey-All Levels; 7:30-9 a.m.

            Friday Open Hockey-Novice; 10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

            Friday Open Hockey-Stick and Puck; 2-3 p.m.

27        Winterfest; 6-7 p.m.

28        Learn to Skate-Sesson 3; noon-1 p.m.

Readings & Signings

25        The Tarikh-i Hamid: A Late-Qing Uyghur History; Eric Schluessel, George Washington University; 5:15 p.m.; room 209, College Hall (History).

30        Presentation of Edith Bruck's Novel Lost Bread; Gabriella Romani and David Yanoff, translators; 5 p.m.; Penn Bookstore (Italian Studies).

Talks

23        Transport and Delivery by Active Materials; Arnold J.T.M. Mathijssen, physics & astronomy; 10 a.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics).

            Personalized Decision-Making in Infectious Disease Control: Causal Inference and Complex Dependence; Ivana Malenica, Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley; 3:30 p.m.; room 701, Blockley Hall, and Zoom webinar; join; http://tinyurl.com/malenica-talk-jan-23 (Biostatistics, Epidemiology & Informatics).

24        A Cone’s Eye View of Plant Evolution; Andrew Leslie, Stanford University; noon; Carolrn Hoff Lynch Lecture Hall, Chemistry Complex (Chemistry).

            Human Development & Quantitative Methods: Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen; Dana Miller-Cotto, Kent State University; noon; room 355, Stiteler Hall (Graduate School of Education).

            Vaccination Against Malaria, Tuberculosis and Cancer: Intravenous Delivery Optimizes the Magnitude and Quality of T Cell Immunity; Robert Seder, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; noon; Austrian Auditorium, CRB (Microbiology).

            Bioinspired Protein-Based Cancer Immunotherapy; Yanpu He, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 3:30 p.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering).

            The Dawn of Gravitational Wave Astronomy at Light-Year Wavelengths; Stephen Taylor, Vanderbilt University; 3:30 p.m.; room A8, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Dakans and Demons: Visible and Invisible Powers in Pre-Colonial Western India; Divya Cherian, Princeton University; 4:30 p.m.; Café 58, Irvine Auditorium (South Asia Studies).

            etc., Rossana Hu, architecture; 6:30 p.m.; Plaza Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

25        Special Briefing: 2024 Fiscal Outlook for States and Cities; Clarence Anthony, National League of Cities; Kim Norton, mayor of Rochester, Minnesota; Mark Ferrandino, former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives; Eric Kim, Fitch Ratings; Mark M. Zandi, Moody’s Analytics; 11 a.m.; Zoom webinar; register: http://tinyurl.com/iur-talk-jan-25 (Penn Institute for Urban Research).

            A Deep Dive into the Delaware River Bacteria Study; panel of speakers; noon; Zoom webinar; register: http://tinyurl.com/water-center-talk-jan-25 (Water Center at Penn).

            High Energy Theory Seminar: Mapping New Physics from the UV to the IR; Grant Remmen, New York University; 2 p.m.; room 4N12, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Disrupting NextG; Andrea Goldsmith, Princeton University; 3 p.m.; Glandt Forum, Singh Center for Nanotechnology (Electrical & Systems Engineering).

            Black Belief from the Back of the Church; Vaughn Booker, Africana Studies; 3:30 p.m.; room 204, Cohen Hall (Religious Studies).

            Control of Lung Progenitor Cell Fate Decisions in Development and Regeneration-Repair; Wellington V. Cardoso, Columbia University; 4 p.m.; room 11-146, Smilow Center (Penn-CHOP Lung Biology Institute).

            The Stones of Posidippus: Elemental Media; Verity Platt, Cornell University; 4:45 p.m.; room 402, Cohen Hall (Classical Studies).

            Trans Art(s) of Abstraction; David Getsy, LGBTQ historian; Goodhand Room, 6 p.m.; LGBT Center (Center for Research in Feminist, Queer and Transgender Studies, LGBT Center).

26        How Sexual Orientation and Parental Status Shape Economic Inequality for Women in the United States; Emily Curran, sociology; Fertility Behavior of Female Marriage Migrants in South Korea: Associations with Gender Role Attitudes; Hyun Jin (Katelyn) Kim, sociology; noon; room 367, McNeil Building (Sociology).

27        In Conversation; Jeff Koons, artist; Hubert Neumann, art collector; Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, history of art; 6 p.m.; Harrison Auditorium, Penn Museum, and Zoom webinar; register: http://tinyurl.com/koons-neumann-jan-27 (History of Art).

29        “They Have Black in Their Blood”: Exploring How Genetic Ancestry Tests Affect Racial Appraisals and Classifications; Marissa E. Thompson, Columbia University; noon; room 403, McNeil Building (Population Studies Center).

            A View from the Dhow: Capitalism and Sovereignty in the Indian Ocean; Nidhi Mahajan, University of California, Santa Cruz; noon; room 345, Penn Museum (Anthropology).

            Nature's Proxies: A History of Studying Past and Future Climates; Melissa Charenko, Michigan State University; 3:30 p.m.; location TBA (History & Sociology of Science).

            Ukraine's Patronal Democracy and the Russian Invasion; Balint Magyar and Balint Madlovics, Central European University; 3:30 p.m.; room 101, PCPSE (Russian 7 East European Studies).

            Lessons from the Benches: Reflections from One Jurist’s Journey Through State and Federal Courts; Tamika Montgomery-Reeves, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; 4:30 p.m.; room 240B, Silverman Hall; register: http://tinyurl.com/montgomery-reeves-jan-29 (Institute for Law & Economics).

30        Making Dynamic Robots Taskable; Scott Kuindersma, Boston Dynamics; 10 a.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics).

            Illusions of Progress; Brent Cebul, history; noon; online webinar; register: http://tinyurl.com/cebul-talk-jan-30 (Penn Lightbulb Café).

            Taiwan's New President and the Future of the Indo-Pacific; Jacques deLisle, political science; Susan Thornton, Yale University; Thoma Shattuck, Perry World House; noon; Perry World House (Center for the Study of Contemporary China, Perry World House).

            Regulation of Barrier Immunity; David Artis, Jill Roberts Institute; Austrian Auditorium, 4 p.m.; CRB (Penn Institute for Immunology).

            Just-Noticeably Human (JNH): Musical Humanness in the Age of Digital Automation; Steven Takasugi, composer; 5:15 p.m.; room 101, Lerner Building, and Zoom webinar; join: http://tinyurl.com/takasugi-talk-jan-30 (Music Department).

Economics

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

24        Predicting Unobserved Individual-level Causal Effects; Christophe Gaillac, University of Oxford; 4 p.m.; room 101, PCPSE.

25        Dynamic Effects of Price Controls and Deregulation Policies: Evidence from the Indian Cement Industry; Shresth Garg, Harvard University; 4 p.m.; room 100, PCPSE.

26        The Geography of Higher Education and Spatial Inequalities; Anaïs Fabre, Toulouse School of Economics; 4 p.m.; room 100, PCPSE.

29        Quasi Bayes in Latent Variable Models; Sid Kankanala, Yale University; 4 p.m.; room 202, PCPSE.

30        To Follow the Crowd? Benefits and Costs of Migrant Networks; Yulu Tang, Harvard University; 4 p.m.; room 100, PCPSE.

This is an update to the January AT PENN calendar, which is online now. To submit an event for a future calendar or weekly update, email 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 January 8-14, 2024. 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 January 8-14, 2024. 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: 5 incidents with 1 arrest (2 domestic assaults, 1 aggravated assault, 1 assault, and 1 robbery) were reported for January 8-14, 2024 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.

As we welcome our community back to begin the spring semester, there has been an increase in the opportunity for inclement weather in our region. We offer the following reminder to the Penn community about University policies and procedures regarding weather-related campus operation suspension or modification, and resulting class cancellations. The University schedule is carefully coordinated, and the expectation should be that all academic, health system, and business operations will be maintained as usual unless you receive a University notification indicating otherwise.

—John L. Jackson, Jr., Provost
—Craig Carnaroli, Senior Executive Vice President
—Kathleen Shields Anderson, Vice President for Public Safety

Notification Methods

Should there be a suspension of normal operations, delayed opening, or early closure, members of the Penn community will receive a text message and email from the UPennAlert emergency notification system. Please take this time to confirm your UPennAlert emergency phone number by following the instructions below. Additional information will be provided on the Public Safety website, at www.publicsafety.upenn.edu as well as on the University home page, at www.upenn.edu.

This information is also conveyed through the University’s notification phone line, (215) 898-MELT (6358) and via KYW News Radio (103.9 FM & 1060 AM), the City of Philadelphia’s official storm emergency center. The University’s emergency radio identification code numbers are “102” for day classes and schools/centers and “2102” for evening classes. The message that accompanies the code number will provide the operating status of the University. Please note that radio and television stations other than KYW are not to be considered “official” sources of information.

In case of an inclement weather event, know that the University will closely monitor and assess the situation. You may expect a notification as soon as a decision is made should there be a need to suspend or modify operations. Please ensure you are receiving UPennAlert texts and using the website and MELT line for updates to the status of the University’s operations.

Visit the SEPTA website to familiarize yourself with alternate transportation plans should they be needed.

Attendance Expectations

When University normal operations are suspended, employees are generally not expected to work unless they are designated essential.

Essential University staff for critical campus operations and life sustaining operations and all health system physicians and staff are required to report to work at their regularly scheduled start time. Please consult with your supervisor should you have any questions.

With the prior approval of the Senior Executive Vice President and Provost and advance notification to employees, fully online academic programs, executive format programs, and/or programs that operate from a different geographic location may follow different closing decisions. Check with your program administrator should you have any questions.

For details, review the policy Suspension of Normal Operations (upenn.edu).

Register/confirm UPennAlert Information

Students

We encourage you to stay informed through UPennAlert. Confirm your information is accurate by updating your Learning From Address, Emergency Contact and Missing Person Contact, and UPennAlert numbers in Path@Penn (how-to guide linked below).

How to add/update: UPennAlert Number(s)/Learning From Address/Emergency Contact and Missing Person Contact 

All information is secure and confidential. If you have any problems updating your personal contact information, please email the Division of Public Safety at the Public Safety Feedback Line.

Staff/Faculty

The UPennAlert System’s effectiveness depends upon the accuracy of recipients’ personal contact information. To register for the system, or to update your contact information, visit the UPennAlert site and follow the link that best applies to you. All information is secure and confidential. If you have any problems updating your personal contact information, please email the Division of Public Safety at the Public Safety Feedback Line.

For more information on the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System and Emergency Procedures, please visit the Public Safety website on how to be PennReady.

Penn Guardian

Also, please remember to download the Penn Guardian app, a service that rapidly provides personal information to the Division of Public Safety during an emergency. Members of the Penn community can build a personal profile with emergency information and directly text PennComm dispatchers. Learn more about this free service on the Penn Guardian site.

The Office of the Provost is accepting nominations for the Provost’s Distinguished Visiting Faculty Fellowship. The appointment is intended for a senior scholar of national or international prominence who has the aim of enriching the intellectual and cultural life of the Penn community. Fellows may be from any academic discipline, with preference for those whose scholarship promotes civic engagement, scholarly innovation, and inclusive communities; is interdisciplinary in nature; and advances novel research, methods, or scholarly themes. Fellows may be asked to mentor Penn undergraduate and graduate students, participate in panels and public discussions with senior Penn colleagues, collaborate on research projects, and provide at least one annual talk of significance to the Penn community.

With the written approval of their home institutions, fellows may spend several intensive consecutive weeks on Penn’s campus or spread their visit over a full semester. Penn will offer the fellow a stipend up to $40,000, plus reimbursement up to $5,000 to cover travel and accommodation costs associated with the visit. Fellows will work out the details of their fellowship—such as schedules, office space and lecture dates—with their host school.

Nominations for the 2024-25 academic year can be submitted to provost-fac@upenn.edu by Friday, March 15, 2024. Nominations may come from a school, department, or center; should be endorsed by the appropriate chair or dean; and should include a letter of support and the current curriculum vitae of the candidate. Please direct questions about the program to Colleen McEntee at cmcentee@upenn.edu.

For the first time in the Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan’s (EBPC) history, semifinalists will gain access to unparalleled support—which will expand the value of the competition far beyond the possibility of winning cash prizes. Through Catapult, the Catalyst @ PennGSE virtual accelerator, each semifinalist will benefit from a personalized assessment of their venture across four focus areas as well as the dedicated, data-driven mentorship of a start-up advisor. Applications are now open.

The Milken-Penn GSE EBPC is the largest and best-funded business plan competition in education, having awarded over $2 million in cash and prizes since 2010.

The 15th annual Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition invites education ventures worldwide to compete for more than $250,000 in cash, prizes, and investment commitments. Applications will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. ET on February 19, with semifinalists being announced this summer and an in-person Final Pitch Competition to be held this fall.

Through the generous support of its sponsors, the competition has announced more than $250,000 in cash, prizes, and investment opportunities for finalists. These sponsors include:

• Michael & Lori Milken Family Foundation grand prize: $40,000
• Cognativ Inc. prize: $25,000
• Magnitude Digital prize: $10,000
• Audience Choice presented by Osage Venture Partners prize: $5,000
• Investment commitment from Catalyst @ Penn GSE investor partner: $100,000
• And others