January 30, 2024 Volume 70 Issue 20

On January 25, the University of Pennsylvania announced that Roy and Diana Vagelos have made a gift of $83.9 million to fund science initiatives across the School of Arts & Sciences. This commitment is the largest single gift ever made to the school and among the largest in Penn’s history. The Vageloses’ total support to Penn Arts & Sciences now stands at $239 million and represents an extraordinary investment in innovation and basic science.

The largest portion of this transformative gift, $50 million, will enhance graduate education in the department of chemistry, including the establishment of 20 new Vagelos Fellows. The gift also establishes a permanent endowment for the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, launched in 2016 through founding support from the Vageloses to position Penn as one of the premier energy research and technology centers in the nation. In addition, the gift funds an endowed chair in chemistry and student awards honoring leaders of three undergraduate programs that carry the Vagelos name: the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER), and the Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences.  

“Roy and Diana’s philanthropic support has been expanding Penn’s horizons in the sciences for more than four decades,” said Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson. “As a physician-scientist himself, Roy pioneered major advances that have improved human health. Their commitment to this university can be seen across campus and we are deeply committed to their bold vision for what Penn can accomplish, from discoveries in the lab to inspiring students in the classroom. The legacy of their partnership will have an enduring impact on generations to come.”

The gift’s substantial support for graduate education is consistent with a key priority for the school and recognizes the critical importance of training scientists of the future. Steven J. Fluharty, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, said, “Supporting talented graduate students and bringing them together with the best faculty is the most promising path to breakthrough discoveries addressing not only the challenges that are facing us today, but ones that we have not yet imagined. This monumental new gift caps off the incomparable impact that Roy and Diana have had on scientific research and education at Penn Arts & Sciences. From supporting and recruiting exceptional chemists to educating future experts in top-notch research facilities and interdisciplinary undergraduate programs, we will continue to make great strides thanks to the partnership and incredible generosity of Roy and Diana.”

Dean Fluharty also noted the crucial role of the Vagelos Institute, which engages over 35 faculty from across the University, along with postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. “With the unflagging support of Roy and Diana,” he said, “the school has been able to realize—and surpass—its greatest ambitions within the study of energy, sustainability, and the environment. Their prescience and philanthropy have generated enormous momentum for this crucial component of the school’s strategic plan and catapulted us into a leadership position within the University community.”  

“Diana and I have always been great believers in the power of basic science to find solutions to global problems,” said Roy Vagelos. “Whether through enhancing understanding of the natural sciences in order to one day cure neurodegenerative diseases or tackling the enormous threat that climate change poses to people around the world through energy science, investing in students and faculty mentors is the best way we can think of to enable learning and advance discoveries. We hope that these funds will also help make this work more accessible and increase diversity among faculty and students pursuing these solutions. With its outstanding faculty and interdisciplinary approach, Penn is uniquely well-positioned to inspire the scientists of the future and change the world for the better. We are proud to help keep Penn at the forefront of science education and research.”

The Vageloses’ longtime support of Penn Arts & Sciences includes the Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology, which will serve as the home to the Vagelos Institute and the VIPER program. Their previous undergraduate science education gifts include the Roy and Diana Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences and the Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management. They have also generously supported undergraduate scholarships and endowed professorships in the sciences.  

Roy Vagelos, a chemistry major who graduated from Penn in 1950 before earning a medical degree from Columbia University, is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Merck & Co. and the retired chairman of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Vagelos served as chair of the Penn Board of Trustees from 1994 to 1999. He is a former member of the Penn Arts & Sciences’ Board of Advisors and the founding chair of the Committee for Undergraduate Financial Aid. Diana Vagelos is a former member of the Board of Advisors of the Penn Museum.

Wendy A. Henderson has been appointed the Gail and Ralph Reynolds President’s Distinguished Professor at Penn and will serve as a faculty member in Penn Nursing’s department of biobehavioral health sciences. She joins Penn Nursing from the University of Connecticut, where she held a joint appointment as a professor in the School of Nursing and the School of Medicine. Dr. Henderson most recently served as director of the PhD program at UConn’s School of Nursing and, before that, was director of the school’s Center for Nursing Scholarship and Innovation. Dr. Henderson was previously a clinical investigator and lab chief of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)’s Digestive Disorders Unit in the division of intramural research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

Dr. Henderson earned both her BSN (1994) and her MSN (1999) from the University of Pittsburgh, where she also completed a patient safety fellowship through the Jewish Healthcare Foundation. In 1999, Dr. Henderson became a certified registered nurse practitioner, though her subspecialty is in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology, and nutrition. In 2007, Dr. Henderson obtained her PhD in nursing from the University of Pittsburgh, where she was also a clinical and translational science institute fellow. That same year, she joined the NINR as a postdoctoral researcher and staff scientist, conducting research on the immuno-genetic mechanisms involved in symptom distress related to digestive and liver diseases.

Dr. Henderson was appointed as an assistant clinical investigator at the NINR in 2009 and then joined the NINR tenure-track faculty in the NIH Division of Intramural Research in 2011. She served for ten years as a clinical investigator and lab chief at NINR. Her interest in symptomatology in patients with gastrointestinal and liver disorders stems from her clinical and research experience at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s pediatric gastroenterology department, where she served as a faculty member and nurse practitioner. There, she was a member of the Women Scientist Advisors Committee and the Intramural Program of Research on Women’s Health Steering Committee. She also served as NINR’s NIH liaison for the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and as a pediatric gastrointestinal clinical consultant at the NIH Clinical Center.  

As a primary investigator on multiple studies at the NIH, Dr. Henderson researched the brain-gut-liver microbiota axis and chronic effects of stress on intestinal health. She co-developed the gastrointestinal pain pointer technology to provide clinicians with a more integrated tool for GI symptom assessment—one that includes location, intensity, quality, and physiologic parameters. Through a brain-gut natural history study, Dr. Henderson’s team also assessed brain-gut-liver interactions in normal-weight and overweight patients with chronic abdominal pain of unknown origin.  

Dr. Henderson co-invented multiple patents involved in nucleic acid detection and signatures of genetic control in digestive and liver disorders. One recent patented methodology tests stool rapidly at the point-of-need for infectious pathogens, which won the American Gastroenterological Association Tech Summit’s Shark Tank competition. She also invented a computerized face-scale assessment known as the Show-n-Tell, which quantifies the degree of pain symptoms in children.  

Dr. Henderson has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications and her research and that of her mentees has been funded by many national and international organizations. She has received many honors throughout her career, including the 2019 Founders Award from the International Society of Nurses in Genetics; the 2018 American Gastroenterological Association Future Leader award; and the NINR’s Director Awards for Diversity (2019), Leadership (2014); and Innovation (2010).

Stephen Northrop Dunning, a professor emeritus of religious studies in the School of Arts and Sciences, died on January 6. He was 82.

Dr. Dunning was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the nearby suburbs. After graduating from the Haverford School, he attended Yale College, then Goddard College, where he received a BA in 1964. He then earned an MDiv and a PhD from Harvard University in 1969 and 1977, respectively.

Dr. Dunning taught the Modern Religious Thought course at the University of Pennsylvania from 1977 until his retirement in 2008. During that time, he published three books: The Tongues of Men: Hegel and Hamann on Religious Language and History (Scholars Press, 1979), Kierkegaard’s Dialectic of Inwardness: A Structural Analysis of the Theory of Stages (Princeton University Press, 1985), and Dialectical Readings: Three Types of Interpretation (Penn State Press, 1997). He received fellowships from the Danforth Foundation (1971–74) and the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (1974–76), as well as a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for Independent Study and Research (1982–83).

Dr. Dunning celebrated the vocation of teaching and will be remembered for his dedication to his students’ learning. He taught courses in 19th century religious thought, spiritual autobiography, hermeneutics, new religious movements, and religious influences on organizational dynamics, among other topics. In 1993, he was awarded a Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching from Penn (Almanac April 20, 1993). “His course was one of the most innovative and effectually organized that I have ever seen (on the undergraduate or graduate level) and he was constantly considering new ideas to make it even more effective,” said a student. “As an engineering major, I have had very few electives. I heard about Dr. Dunning from several friends who praised him as one of the best professors at Penn. I must agree.” At Penn and beyond, he was known for his kindness, devotion, sharp intellect, and wry humor.

Dr. Dunning is survived by his wife, Roxy; his brother, Hap; his sister, Kate; and his three children and five grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on January 20. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Philabundance (https://www.philabundance.org/).

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 is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments to Patrick Walsh, executive assistant to the Senate Office, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or at senate@pobox.upenn.edu.

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Actions

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Report from the Tri-Chairs. Faculty Senate chair Tulia Falleti offered the following report:

• At the suggestion of colleagues, the tri-chairs encourage relevant departments, programs, centers, and institutes at Penn to mount intellectually engaging events to counter hyper-politicization, polarization, and fear with education, more knowledge, and learning.
• A seminar with Senior EVP Craig Carnaroli, originally planned for January 24, will be rescheduled to a later date.
• Deputy Provost Beth Winkelstein invites faculty feedback that will inform the ongoing search for the next vice provost and director of libraries. Feedback may be sent to deputy-provost@upenn.edu, to the Senate office, or to Vivian Gadsden, who is participating on the consultative committee.
• Penn Alumni seeks nominations for the 2024 Faculty Award of Merit through February 23.
• Penn Sustainability seeks faculty participation on two recently formed groups: (1) the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee’s Civic Engagement and Outreach Subcommittee, and (2) the Earth Week at Penn 2024 Organizational Committee.
• All faculty are invited to attend a celebration of the creation of the new Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, which will be held at the Kleinman Center on February 12.

Update from the Office of the Interim President. Interim President J. Larry Jameson spoke of the importance of hearing, healing, and honoring each other within the Penn community. He described that one of his priorities as interim president is to identify actionable steps to realizing the desired outcomes set forth within the In Principle and Practice strategic framework, which was developed during 2022 and 2023: the anchored university, the interwoven university, the inventive university, and the engaged university. He reported that the Task Force on Antisemitism and the Presidential Commission on Combatting Hate and Building Community are continuing their work at quick pace and will provide regular interim reports so that ideas can be implemented even before the final reports are issued. Interim President Jameson emphasized the critically important roles that academic freedom and open expression play at Penn and stated that he continues to embrace those ideals in his own scholarship as well as in his role as a campus leader.

Resolution on Academic Freedom and Open Expression. Professor Falleti presented a revised draft Resolution on Academic Freedom and Open Expression, considering discussion of needed revisions during the December 6, 2023, SEC meeting. Following discussion and friendly amendments, SEC members unanimously endorsed the resolution. (The full resolution appears to the right.)

Discussion of Faculty Letter to the Trustees and Background Materials. Professor Falleti described the events leading to the Faculty Letter to Penn Trustees, which was transmitted to the Trustees, together with 1,214 faculty signatures, on December 18, 2023, and which appeared in Almanac on December 19, 2023.

Proposals for SEC Actions. SEC members discussed ideas for how to address the recent events on campus.

Communication with Constituencies. Professor Falleti recognized and responded to a request from a constituency representative for assistance in communicating with their constituency’s members.

On behalf of the standing faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee resolves to endorse the following Statement on Academic Freedom and Open Expression.

We, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (SEC), recognize that our university has at its heart a commitment to teaching, learning, and research. We are responsible to one another as a community, to the ethics of the academy, and to the advancement of knowledge.

As faculty we regularly engage with our intellectual opponents, even adversaries. We listen to them. We read books and articles with which we disagree. We examine evidence and data that contradict our assumptions, our beliefs, our previous work. We answer questions, we discover, and we aspire to learn and to change.

We are people of diverse voices and experiences. These enrich our collective understanding and stimulate intellectual growth through principled debate. We understand that open and respectful exchange of ideas and perspectives is essential to the pursuit of learning, knowledge, and truth among all members of our university community.

We inevitably hold conflicting views. We seek to present them honestly and discuss them fearlessly. Our ethic requires us to attend not only to arguments and facts but also to the divergent ideals and values held by our colleagues and students. We understand that dialogue across differences is an abiding component of academic and community life. We not only tolerate difference and disagreement but also appreciate them and put them to work for learning and for our entire community. When we fail to do this, we betray our academic ethic and ourselves. At the same time, we are committed to maintaining the welfare and dignity of others as we confront these differences.

 Our university opens its gates to people from every place, embraces people from all faiths and none. Our university champions the fierce independence of academic inquiry and freedom of expression among faculty, students, and other members of the scholarly community. It is through the courageous defense of these values that our university drives inquiry, cultivates knowledge, shares learning, and contributes to the common good.

Accordingly, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee of the University of Pennsylvania affirms its commitment to academic freedom and open expression. Under its authority in Sections 2 and 9 of the Rules of the Faculty Senate, we:

• Affirm that academic freedom remains a bedrock principle of the University of Pennsylvania. Academic freedom enables teaching, research, and discourse to take place in our community free from coercion or retaliation.
• Affirm that all members of the University of Pennsylvania community have rights to open expression. These include free speech and candid discussion about the most controversial issues of our time, recognizing that such debates are often difficult, and that progress depends on the courage to honor opposing views.
• Affirm our commitment to pursuing academic excellence, encouraging all faculty, students, and staff to engage in scholarly endeavors with vigor and integrity, and upholding the highest standards of academic inquiry.
• Affirm our commitment to the central role of the faculty in the shared governance of the University of Pennsylvania.
• Commit to building and preserving an academic environment where all can learn free from interference, threats, or coercion.
• Reject all efforts to interfere with academic freedom, the free expression of ideas, the exchange of views, and the pursuit of intellectual inquiry.
• Affirm that open expression is not limitless, and that speech must not become a weapon used to harass, threaten, or intimidate others in our community.
• Embrace free inquiry and the mission of the University, and resolve to continue efforts to combat prejudice, discrimination, and intolerance.

Endorsed: Select Subcommittee of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee [January 12, 2024]

Revised and Endorsed: Faculty Senate Executive Committee [January 24, 2024]

University Council Agenda

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
4-6 p.m.
Hall of Flags, Houston Hall

1. Welcome
2. Approval of the minutes of November 29, 2023.
3. Follow up comments or questions on Status Reports
4. Responses to Open Forum and New Business topics raised at the November 29, 2023 University Council meeting.
5. Focus Issue: Democracy and Civic Engagement.
6. Announcement of February 21, 2024 Open Forum.
7. New Business.
8. Adjournment.
    

Click here to download the 2024 Summer Camps and Programs supplement, which contains a variety of learning and developmental activities available to children and students this summer.

The Future of Decline: Anglo-American Culture at Its Limits, by Jed Esty, the Vartan Gregorian Professor of English in the School of Arts & Sciences, was selected as one of the Best Scholarly Books of 2023 by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The list, compiled by Chronicle of Higher Education contributors, included books that had “surprised, challenged, thrilled, or impressed them most in 2023.” Dr. Esty’s book was named by Jane Hu, a Society of Fellows in the Humanities postdoctoral candidate at the University of Southern California.

In the book, Dr. Esty looks at the decline of post-World War II Britain as a lens for the future of the United States. “The book is a study of the past, focused on the long twilight of American decline that has been ongoing since the 1970s. 

“Esty’s central argument, as his title suggests, is fundamentally about the future, in drawing out new narratives for the United States ‘after supremacy,’” said Dr. Hu. “Esty makes the comparison in service of the importance, even necessity, of literary criticism: ‘Paradoxically, a study of the fictions—the beliefs and ideologies—that have been shaping American culture is more objective and more useful than a flat-footed debate about the “facts.”’”

Six physician-scientists from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, joining one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies composed of more than 3,000 physician-scientists representing all medical specialties.

Angela Bradbury is an associate professor of hematology-oncology, with a concurrent appointment in medical ethics and health policy. Dr. Bradbury is a faculty member of the Abramson Cancer Center, the Basser Center for BRCA, and the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation. As a medical oncologist with specialized training in clinical cancer genetics, cancer prevention, and medical ethics, Dr. Bradbury leads translational research focused on the ethics and clinical implementation of genetic medicine to ultimately reduce the burden of cancer and improve the health of individuals and families. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program in Bioethics, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Scott M. Damrauer is an associate professor of surgery and genetics, the William Maul Measey Associate Professor of Surgery II, and an associate director of the Penn Medicine BioBank (PMBB). A clinical vascular surgeon at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Dr. Damrauer’s research uses genomic approaches to understand the biological pathways and mechanisms underlying the etiology, progression, and treatment of heart and vascular disease to inform novel, precision medicine approaches to disease management. As the associate director of the PMBB, he helps oversee a genomic and precision medicine cohort of over 250,000 participants, employing hypothesis-driven and discovery-based approaches to identify the phenotypic spectrum associated with genetic variants.

Jonathan Miner, an associate professor of rheumatology and an assistant professor of microbiology, is one of the world’s foremost experts in retinal vasculopathy with cerebral leukoencephalopathy (RVCL), a rare genetic autoinflammatory disorder caused by a mutation in the TREX1 gene that currently has no cure. Dr. Miner is the director of Penn Medicine’s RVCL Research Center and is working toward treatments and therapies for those with RVCL and other rare conditions caused by mutations in the genes tied to immune response. Dr. Miner has also focused on studying viral infections, including models for Zika virus and West Nile virus, among others.

Elizabeth Lowenthal is an associate professor of pediatrics and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine and research director of the CHOP Global Health Center, where she conducts research related to pediatric HIV and global child health. Dr. Lowenthal is also director of the developmental core of the Penn Center for AIDS Research. Her research interests focus on health priorities for children in low- and middle-income countries. She is also passionate about mentoring the next generation of researchers in these countries.

William Peranteau is a pediatric and fetal surgeon at CHOP. He leads a translational research team whose overarching goal is to develop innovative prenatal and early postnatal gene therapies, including gene editing, for congenital diseases that cause health problems before or shortly after birth. His team has led some of the initial studies of in utero clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-mediated gene editing, demonstrating the safety and feasibility of this approach to rescue animal models of genetic liver, lung and multi-organ diseases. Dr. Peranteau’s clinical practice includes general pediatric surgery with a focus on the surgical care of newborns prenatally diagnosed with birth defects and fetal surgery for a select group of patients.

Elizabeth Foglia is an attending neonatologist with the division of neonatology at CHOP, performing clinical research related to neonatal resuscitation and respiratory management. She is the principal investigator of the “Delivery Room of the Future,” which was designated by CHOP as a Frontier Program in 2022. Her research aims to characterize the epidemiology of neonatal resuscitation, to improve monitoring and clinical performance during resuscitation, and to identify interventions to prevent mortality and long-term morbidity in high-risk infants. She is the scientific PI of the American Academy of Pediatrics DRIVE Network, a novel consortium of delivery room hospitals to support neonatal resuscitation research.

These physicians will be officially inducted into the society at the AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting, which will be held from April 5–7 at the Swissotel Chicago.

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society has named Media, Inequality and Change Center (MIC) postdoctoral fellows Pawel Popiel, PhD’20, and David Elliot Berman, PhD’22, Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund Fellows.

As part of the Benton Institute’s inaugural Equitable Broadband in Urban America fellowship cohort, Drs. Popiel and Berman will examine efforts to close the digital divide in Philadelphia. 

The pair will focus on the effectiveness of low-income internet plans in the city as well as the implementation of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program, launched in 2021 to subsidize internet access for the poorest Americans. 

Over the course of the 18-month fellowship, Drs. Popiel and Berman will work with Philadelphia residents, city officials, and nonprofits to determine the barriers to enrollment in low-cost broadband programs in the city. One program that will figure in the research is the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey’s Digital Navigator Network, a collective of community organizations that help Philadelphians sign up for and connect to the internet.

Through their project, Drs. Popiel and Berman seek to demystify the inner workings of the digital welfare state, as well as offer policy proposals for reforming and reimagining it in order to secure a more just and equitable digital future.

Fatemeh Shams, an associate professor of Persian literature in the department of Near Eastern languages and civilizations in the School of Arts & Sciences, was named the 2024 Greeley Scholar for Peace Studies by the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. The award, named for international human rights activist Rev. Dana McLean Greeley, honors “a distinguished advocate for peace, noted humanitarian, or faith leader” selected because of their ability to “effectively promote the cause of peace and conflict resolution at local, regional, national, or international levels and/or peace and justice studies.”

A yearlong series of events focused on feminist and queer resistance globally will culminate in a residency by Dr. Shams at UMass Lowell. In describing the reason for offering Dr. Shams the reward, the Greeley Foundation for Peace and Social Justice referenced her “groundbreaking” monograph, “A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-Option Under the Islamic Republic” and other essays that address “gendered literary historiography, womanhood, threshold and sensory representations of exilic identity in the Persianate world and beyond through a comparative lens.”

The foundation also noted Dr. Shams’ tireless advocacy for “political change, structural justice, and gender equality. Over the years, Dr. Shams has been a voice of the opposition movement in diaspora and a woman’s rights advocate at the forefront of Iran’s feminist resistance movement.”

The February AT PENN calendar is online now. Click here to read the calendar online, or click here to download the calendar as a printable PDF.

To Members of the University and Surrounding Community:

Please join the Women of Color at Penn (WOCAP) in extending congratulations to our 2024 awardees:

• Undergraduate Awardee: Sade Taiwo
• Graduate Awardee: Kyndall Nicholas
• Faculty/Staff Awardee: Eugenia South
• Community Awardee: Janice Sykes-Ross
• Joann Mitchell Outstanding Legacy Awardee: Colleen Winn

The annual WOCAP Awards Luncheon will be held Friday, March 15, 2024, from noon-2 p.m. at the Inn at Penn. More details will be forthcoming soon.

Luncheon tickets are now available for purchase.

• Tickets: $75 per person
• Table (10 ppl.) + Full Page Ad: $900
• Full Page Ad: $250
• Half Page Ad: $175
• Quarter Page Ad:$90

You may send ticket requests, camera-ready ads, and journal info to wocaptix@gmail.com.

Learn more about the 2024 WOCAP Day Awards Program at: https://aarc.upenn.edu/women-color/women-color-awards.

—Women of Color Executive Planning Committee

Penn Live Arts will feature a variety of timely and engaging performances this month. To see more details and buy tickets, visit https://pennlivearts.org/.

JACK Quartet: Beautiful Trouble

February 2, 8 p.m.

Known for “reliably surprising, and reliably impressive” (The New York Times) performances, the JACK Quartet makes its Penn Live Arts debut in the world premiere of Natacha Diels’ Beautiful Trouble. Based on a five-part video series for choreographed string quartet, this concert-length production merges experimental music, video, and theater to create a sensory experience that considers our ability and desire to consume media. Dr. Diels, an assistant professor of music at Penn, created the work to examine a moment in time through the power of abstract narrative and music, both heard and seen.

Cécile McLorin Salvant

February 3, 8 p.m.

Cécile McLorin Salvant is quite simply “the finest jazz singer to emerge in the last decade” (The New York Times). A three-time Grammy Award winner and 2020 MacArthur Fellow, this genre-defying, theatrical vocalist captivated a full house when she debuted on the Penn Live Arts stage in 2021 and now, she returns on the heels of a brand-new album, Mélusine. With her velvety and “elusively beautiful voice” on full display, Ms. Salvant combines her conservatory-honed technique with a prismatic gift for lyrical storytelling in this must-see live performance.

Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

February 8, 7:30 p.m.

One of the world’s finest choirs, the storied Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir comes to Philadelphia for the first time. These “pure and impassioned, astounding choral artists” (The Wall Street Journal) perform works by their countryman, Arvo Pärt, for whom they are the foremost interpreter, as well as by Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. A chance to hear the powerful, precise, and expressive voices of this virtuosic ensemble in one of Philadelphia’s most beautiful spaces is a rare treat.

Ballets Jazz Montréal: ESSENCE

February 9, 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.; February 10, 2 and 8 p.m.

One of the world’s most renowned dance companies, Ballets Jazz Montréal, celebrates its 50th anniversary with a landmark program including two Philadelphia premieres: Crystal Pite’s critically acclaimed Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue explores classic storylines that invite the audience to determine who exactly rescues whom, and We Can’t Forget About What’s His Name by company member Ausia Jones ruminates on feelings of uncertainty and how it influences moments of connection. Completing the repertoire, Aszure Barton’s Les Chambres des Jacques creates “a world of wonder” (The Boston Globe) that is “full of surprise and humor, emotion and pain” (The New York Times).

Negro Ensemble Company: Zooman and the Sign

February 15, 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.; February 16, 8 p.m.; February 17, 2 and 8 p.m.; February 18, 3 p.m.

“Arguably the most successful Black theatre group in the world” (American Theatre), the Negro Ensemble Company, a Penn Live Arts 23/24 season artist-in-residence, returns with a revival of Charles Fuller’s Zooman and the Sign. Set in Philadelphia in 1979, the play explores the effects of gun violence on a family and their struggle to convince apathetic neighbors to stand together to achieve justice. Mr. Fuller was born and raised in Philadelphia, and is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning work, A Soldier’s Play, originally produced off-Broadway by the Negro Ensemble Company. Now, Penn Live Arts brings the Obie Award-winning play home to celebrate this remarkable playwright and shed light on how his work still resonates today.

Balaklava Blues

February 25, 7 p.m.

Balaklava Blues is an activist-driven, genre-bending group mixing traditional folk music and transnational EDM with the echoes of revolution and war. A timely Philadelphia debut performance, this full-blown multimedia techno concert aims to build empathy and understanding when we need it most, spotlighting Ukrainian experiences and music with universal themes of identity, displacement, oppression and trauma. “Gorgeously sung and passionately played,” Balaklava Blues is “an evocation of human solidarity” (The Guardian).

Fima Chupakhin

February 29, 7:30 p.m.

Brooklyn-based Ukrainian jazz pianist and film composer Fima Chupakhin makes his Penn Live Arts debut with the world premiere of The Song of Tomorrow, a commissioned work dedicated to the resilience and perseverance of the Ukrainian people. Leader of the award-winning Acoustic Quartet jazz group in Ukraine, this rising star first came to the U.S. to study on a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and is now a versatile player and producer on the New York scene. Building on the success of his debut album, Water, Mr. Chupakhin’s performances are masterful and emotive, making for a stellar evening of jazz.

Wednesday, January 31 from 5-7 p.m.

Penn Graduate School of Education, Room 202, 3700 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Penn undergraduates are invited to an engaging session about our Urban Teaching Residency MSEd and Urban Teaching Apprenticeship MSEd programs.

Discover the unique benefits of our accelerated program and learn about admissions, certification, and various pathways to teaching. Connect with current students and alumni for insights and bring your questions for a warm and inviting discussion on the exciting journey of becoming an educator.Dinner will be provided.

To register, visit https://www.gse.upenn.edu/event/explore-teaching-graduate-programs-penn-gse.

—Graduate School of Education

Films

30        Abortion and Women’s Rights: 1970; a documentary film by Mary Summers about the struggle for abortion rights and stories about women obtaining illegal abortions before Roe; 7 p.m.; room 250, PCPSE Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, SNF Paideia, and Penn Repro Justice).

Fitness & Learning

30        Penn Women's Center 50th Anniversary Service Project: Crafting Blankets for a Cause; drop by Penn Women’s Center to view its new archive display, learn about the impact of PWC at Penn, and make no-sew blankets to give to families in need; 1-4 p.m.; Penn Women’s Center (Penn Women’s Center).

            2024 PWAA Professional Review; students will have the opportunity to have their work reviewed by Penn alumni who are working professionals in their fields; 6-8 p.m.; Upper and Plaza Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

31        Summer Humanities Internship Program (SHIP) Info Session; learn about a 10-week paid program in which students work in arts, cultural, or historic organizations throughout Philadelphia that is open to students in the College of Arts & Sciences; 1 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: http://tinyurl.com/curf-workshop-jan-31 (Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships).

Graduate School of Education

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

30        Education Entrepreneurship Virtual Information Session; 7 p.m.

31        Explore Teaching Graduate Programs at Penn GSE; 5 p.m.; room 202, GSE.

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.

31        Wednesday Open Hockey; 8:15-9:45 a.m.

            Weekday Public Skate; 12:30-2 p.m.

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

Talks

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

            Policy Seminar; Morgan Cephas, PA State Representative; Auditorium, Colonial Penn Center; noon; register: http://tinyurl.com/cephas-talk-jan-30 (Leonard Davis Institute).

            Resurgence of the Yuan Non-Han Ancestry in Late Qing China; Tomoyasu Iiyama, Waseda University; 5:15 p.m.; Zoom webinar; join: https://upenn.zoom.us/j/3187349023 (East Asian Languages & Civilizations).

31        Climate Crisis Communication: Urgency, Agency, and Love; Susan Joy Hassol, Aspen Global Change Institute; 10:30 a.m.; Zoom webinar; join: http://tinyurl.com/hassol-talk-jan-31 (Environmental Innovations Initiative).

            On Molds and Mutualisms: Integrating Natural History, Genomic, and Metabolic Perspectives on the Evolutionary Ecology of Fungi; Lotus Lofgren, Duke University; 10:30 a.m.; room 109, Leidy Lab (Biology).

            Chemistry or Harassment? Relational (Mis)matches in Orientations Toward Work in Pornography Production; Hannah Wohl, University of California, Santa Barbara; noon; room 403, McNeil Building (Sociology).

            Dynamic Behavior and Lineage Plasticity of the Pulmonary Venous Endothelium; Joanna Wong, cell & molecular biology; noon; room 213, Stemmler Hall (Penn-CHOP Lung Biology Institute).

            Environmental Justice for All: A Panel on Current Research and More Just Futures; Henry Daniell, Penn Dental Medicine; Kristina Lyons, anthropology; Rand Quinn, Graduate School of Education; Nicole A. Thomas, Urban Health Lab; noon; Amado Recital Hall, Irvine Auditorium; register: http://tinyurl.com/gse-panel-jan-31 (Graduate School of Education).

            First-Person Film Theory/Supplemental Film Theory; Timothy Corrigan, cinema & media studies, history of art, and English; noon; room 330, Fisher-Bennett Hall (Cinema & Media Studies).

            Selfish Genes, Competition and Consequences for Pneumococcal Pathogenesis; Jeffrey Weiser, New York University; noon; Austrian Auditorium, CRB (Microbiology).

            Simplifying Synthesis at the Interface of Organic and Materials Chemistry; Phillip Milner, Cornell University; noon; room TBA, Chemistry Complex (Chemistry).

            Strengthening Families Impacted by Foster Care and Adoption; Stephanie Oyler, social worker; Joseph Crumbley, social worker; Amanda Woolston, Therapy Center for Transformative Growth; 1 p.m.; Zoom webinar; register: http://tinyurl.com/field-center-talk-jan-31 (Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, & Research).

            Magnetic Imaging of Domain Walls and Surface Transition in Antiferromagnetic Topological Insulators; Weida Wu, Rutgers University; 3:30 p.m.; room A8, DRL (Physics & Astronomy).

            Optimal Control as a Catalyst for Smart and Sustainable Systems; Benjamin Decardi-Nelson, Cornell University; 3:30 p.m.; Wu & Chen Auditorium, Levine Hall (Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering).

            Social and Climate Injustice: Examining the Effects on the Health of Farmworkers; Roxana Chicas, Emory University; 3:30 p.m.; Ann L. Roy Auditorium, Fagin Hall; RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/chicas-talk-jan-31 (Penn Nursing).

            Polygonal Billiards and Dynamics on Moduli Spaces; Alex Eskin, Princeton University and University of Chicago; 3:45 p.m.; room A2, DRL (Mathematics).

            Teaching Manga, Anime, and Traditional Japanese Culture; Jolyon Thomas, religious studies; 4:30 p.m.; Penn Museum; register: http://tinyurl.com/thomas-talk-jan-31 (Penn Museum).

            Emotional Heritage; Eva Prats and Ricardo Flores, Flores & Prats Architects; 6:30 p.m.; Plaza Gallery, Meyerson Hall (Architecture).

Economics

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

30        Peer Suspension Effects on Student Misbehavior; Ashley Schwanebeck, economics; 12:30 p.m.; room 100, PCPSE.

31        New Survey Evidence of Gaps in MPCs: A Decomposition of Channels; Aina Puig, American University; noon; room 100, PCPSE.

            Transition Probabilities and Moment Restrictions in Dynamic Fixed Effects Logit Models; Kevin Dano, University of California, Berkeley; 4 p.m.; room 101, PCPSE.

This is an update to the January AT PENN calendar. The February AT PENN calendar is also available 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 15-21, 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 15-21, 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: 2 incidents with 1 arrest were reported for January 15-21, 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.

The Faculty Award of Merit Presented by Penn Alumni was established in 2014 by Penn Alumni and the Office of the Provost. It is presented annually to an individual or group of collaborators who have made an outstanding contribution to alumni education and engagement at Penn by sharing their unique scholarship work with the alumni community. Special emphasis is placed on faculty members who go above and beyond the call of duty by engaging alumni with Penn as their intellectual home and educate the faculty community about the alumni engagement opportunities available to them.

The 2023 honoree was Camille Z. Charles, the Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor in the Social Sciences in the departments of sociology and Africana studies, and a professor in the Graduate School of Education. The award consists of a formal citation and will be presented during the fall Alumni Award of Merit Gala.

All Penn faculty, staff, and alumni are eligible to nominate a faculty member for this award. For more information about award criteria and eligibility, or to nominate a faculty member, visit www.alumni.upenn.edu/FacultyAwardofMerit. Nominations are due by February 23, 2024.

First-year students from all schools and majors can apply to the SNF Paideia Fellows Program, a three-year experience that connects you with a community of peers committed to integrating dialogue, wellness, service and civic engagement with diverse academic interests. Fellows have access to internships and other funding, as well as priority access to SNF Paideia designated courses.

A fellows’ information session will be held on Friday, February 2 from 3-4 p.m. in conference room G09 at College Hall.

Students may apply or be nominated for an SNF Paideia Fellowship in the spring semester of their first year. Applications for 2024 are now available and are due Monday, February 12 at noon. For more information, reach out to info@snfpaideia.upenn.edu

For more information and to apply: https://snfpaideia.upenn.edu/fellowships/fellowship-information/

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

The number of online payment transactions have increased exponentially in recent years, from online shopping to sending money to friends and others. Do not let payment mistakes cost you money.

When purchasing something online from a business, ensure you understand the payment options available. Often, using a credit card offers more buyer protection than a debit card in case there are problems with the transaction. If you do not feel comfortable using your credit card number, check and see if your credit card issuer offers “virtual” card numbers that can be used for specific transactions without exposing your actual credit card number. Using payment services like PayPal may be an option, but ensure you are protected if you use them.

Sending payments to individuals for personal or business reasons can also be complicated.

If you are sending money to an individual, ensure you have their payment information correct. Confirm any usernames or phone numbers to ensure you are sending money to the right person. Transactions using payment platforms like Venmo and CashApp are often hard or impossible to reverse, so ensure you have the correct recipient.

When sending money to a private seller for a purchase, many payment platforms have options for “Friends and Family” as well as “Goods and Services.”

Use “Goods and Services” because that offers some protection to you as a buyer. If you use “Friends and Family” with a seller you do not know, it does not provide you with any purchase protection if there is a problem with the transaction.

If you are purchasing from a private seller via a buyer-seller platform like Facebook Marketplace or eBay, make sure you understand how its payment system works. It is a bad idea to go off the platform for unsupported payment methods, so follow the stated guidance.

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

1095-C forms for 2023 will be mailed from Equifax at the end of January and available online beginning February 1.

You do not need to attach a 1095-C to your tax return. However, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that Penn send the 1095-C tax form to certain benefits-eligible faculty and staff members. This form includes information about the health insurance coverage offered by Penn and information for each family member enrolled under your Penn benefits plan.

To access the form online, go to the My Pay section of the secure U@Penn portal at www.upenn.edu/u@penn, then select “My 1095-C form.”

If you have questions about your form, contact:

• Penn Employee Solution Center at solutioncenter@upenn.edu or (215) 898-7372.
• 1095-C Benefits HR Box at aca@hr.upenn.edu or (215) 898-6465.

The Division of Finance presents the University of Pennsylvania’s annual financial report for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2023 (FY2023). View the report on the DOF website.

Despite the challenges of rising inflation and fluctuating financial markets, Penn ended the fiscal year in a very strong financial position, with net assets for the consolidated University growing by $879 million to $29.8 billion.

This year’s report has been redesigned to enhance understanding of how these financial resources support Penn’s academic mission. Special emphasis has been placed on bringing new clarity to complex topics such as the undergraduate financial aid budget and the sources and uses of the endowment.

Please direct any questions or comments to Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Mark Dingfield at vpfinance@pobox.upenn.edu. 

Penn Live Arts, in partnership with the SNF Paideia Program, will offer an opportunity for audience members to engage in dialogue in response to Zooman and the Sign (to be presented February 15-18). The presenters are seeking facilitators to guide small-group story circles following the February 17, 2024 matinee showing of the play at 2 p.m. Facilitators will need to be available from 2-5 p.m. 

No prior dialogue facilitation experience is required. However, facilitators will be required to attend a training session before the February 17 event (to be scheduled according to facilitators’ availability).

Please contact Sarah Ropp at sropp@upenn.edu for more information.