$5 Million Gift for Edward W. Kane Theatre in New Student Performing Arts Center
Penn Live Arts at the University of Pennsylvania has received a $5 million gift to support and name the 325-seat proscenium theatre in the new Student Performing Arts Center, designed by Steven Holl Architects and currently under construction, from Ed and Marty Kane.
The theatre will boast an orchestra pit, a state-of-the-art fly system, and a deep stage design suited to a wide range of performances; when the building opens in early 2027, the Edward W. Kane Theatre will serve the 2,000-plus undergraduate students on Penn’s campus who participate in performance groups ranging from dance to musical theatre and beyond.
“The performing arts are an integral part of the human experience, and at Penn we seek for them to play an even greater role in the lives of our students and for our broader community,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “Ed and Marty’s support ensures that this cornerstone of student and cultural life, paired with artistic exploration, will continue to grow and flourish, and I am deeply grateful for their generosity.”
With approximately one in four students participating in performance groups at Penn, space on campus has long been at a premium. Remedying this longstanding issue, the Edward W. Kane Theatre will be the crown jewel of the new Student Performing Arts Center, with seating capacity tailored for student performances and a stage spacious enough to accommodate a wide range of performance groups and technically advanced productions.
“Enabling students to rehearse and perform in spaces built specifically for their craft, whether dance or musical theatre—it’s hard to understate that impact,” said Christoper A. Gruits, executive & artistic director of Penn Live Arts. “We are tremendously thankful to Ed and Marty, who understand that students benefit from participation in the performing arts regardless of their major and that this supports their creativity and leadership more broadly.”
A former Penn Trustee, Ed Kane and his wife, Marty, have also served on the Board of Advisors at Penn Vet and the Morris Arboretum & Gardens and have a long history of supporting Penn. “Marty and I have experienced the value both of Penn and of the performing arts firsthand,” said Mr. Kane, speaking of the recent gift. “There’s no better way to elevate both than by supporting this exciting new space and the thousands of students who will bring it to life.”
Leadership Gifts from Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt to Elevate Jewish Studies
The School of Arts & Sciences has announced a pair of leadership gifts from Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt, who both graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences in 1979. The funds will establish an endowed professorship in Jewish Studies and also create a program fund for graduate support in Penn Arts & Sciences’ Jewish Studies Program. Their generous support will strengthen Penn’s faculty, foster graduate student connections and scholarship, and enhance community and international programs, advancing Jewish Studies at Penn and across the wider academic field.
“Julie and Marc have been extraordinarily thoughtful and dedicated alumni leaders for decades,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “We are grateful for their commitment and vision to advance Jewish studies at Penn for the benefit of all. Their support will have an immediate and sustained impact on the field, enhancing education and scholarship at Penn and around the world.”
The Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Professorship of Jewish Studies will provide support for eminent scholars in the field, facilitating trailblazing research and innovative educational opportunities that might have otherwise been out of reach.
“Jewish Studies are an integral part of Penn’s scholarship,” said Mark Trodden, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and the Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Physics & Astronomy. “The creation of an endowed chair will fortify that historic strength, allowing us to recruit and retain scholars who will continue to grow the program.”
The Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Jewish Studies Program Fund will strengthen graduate student connections and engagement with programming such as a biannual conference—in which graduate students in the field come together to exchange ideas, further their training, and promote their research—and seminars and workshops.
The fund will also support graduate student projects, such as international archival research and collaborative Jewish Studies graduate student exchange programs.
“These gifts are an exciting contribution that will place Jewish studies on firm footing for future generations,” said Joshua Teplitsky, the Joseph Meyerhoff Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History and the Ruth Meltzer Director of the Jewish Studies Program. “They will allow Penn to not only continue its tradition of scholarly excellence, but to be a leader in the field of shaping meaningful conversations and deeper understandings of Jewish life, culture, and history.”
At Penn, Julie Beren Platt serves as vice chair of the Board of Trustees and is also on Penn Hillel’s National Board of Governors. She previously served on the Board of Advisors of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies and as president of the Penn Alumni Board of Directors and is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of Penn Live Arts. Marc E. Platt is a film, theater, and television producer, and serves on the Director’s Advisory Council of Penn Live Arts.
In 2008, he was the graduation speaker for the College of Arts & Sciences at Penn. Both Marc and Julie Platt are former members of the Parent Leadership Committee, and four of their five children are Penn graduates. The Platts have supported multiple initiatives at Penn, including establishing the Platt Student Performing Arts House and the Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Rehearsal Room in Houston Hall. In addition, they have funded initiatives at the Katz Center and endowed undergraduate scholarships and professorships.
Jewish studies at Penn date back more than 200 years, with the first courses in Hebrew being offered in 1780. In 1982, the University formally recognized Jewish studies as a program of study. From its origins as a course of study dedicated to understanding the world of the Bible and ancient Judaism, today’s Jewish studies program has flourished and expanded to reflect the full range and diverse dimensions of the Jewish experience and ways of studying it. Scholars and students in the program encounter the fullness of Jewish life and culture in fields including Hebrew Bible and Biblical archaeology, Talmud and Rabbinic literature, Jewish history in the middle ages and early modern period, Jewish literatures and languages including Yiddish and Ladino, and the study of Jewish life in the modern era across Europe, Israel, the Americas, and Asia.
Penn Institute for Urban Research Launches Richards Transportation Initiative
The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) has announced the launch of the Richards Transportation Initiative at Penn (R-TRIP), a new hub for research, innovation, and real-world solutions in transportation. Housed in Penn IUR, R-TRIP brings together leading minds from academia, government, and industry.
R-TRIP is led by Leslie Richards, former CEO of PennDOT and SEPTA and now a professor of practice in the Weitzman School, and lead faculty advisor Megan Ryerson, the UPS Foundation Professor and chair of city and regional planning. The initiative aims to connect Penn’s world-class academic research with the complex realities of modern transportation systems, bringing innovative transportation ideas from the lab to the streets.
“The Richards Transportation Initiative is built on the idea that great research should move quickly into action,” said Ms. Richards. “We’re creating a platform where public agencies, private partners and academic leaders can work together to develop and implement smart, scalable solutions that accelerate innovation across the transportation sector.”
R-TRIP will address current challenges facing transportation, including:
- Transportation safety and crash prevention
- Expanded access to jobs, education, and essential services
- Data-driven innovation and technology deployment
- Infrastructure prepared for future demands and disruptions
- Improved reliability and performance of complex systems
Whether reimagining how people move through regions or integrating emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and advanced analytics into decision-making, R-TRIP is focused on practical impact and measurable progress that can be deployed across cities, regions and states. Projects will be co-developed with input from public agencies and private sponsors and guided by interdisciplinary teams of Penn faculty, students and transportation leaders.
The initiative’s Public Sector Advisory Committee includes CEOs from major transportation agencies across the country, offering insight across the mobility landscape, including transit, highways, airports, tolling, and municipal systems. Members represent a broad and diverse mix of regions and networks, including LA Metro, WMATA (Washington, D.C.), California State Transportation Agency, Georgia DOT, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Utah DOT, Denver International Airport, Pittsburgh Regional Transit, and Philadelphia’s Department of Aviation, among others.
“The Richards Transportation Initiative is exactly the kind of forward-looking collaboration our nation’s transportation systems need,” said Garrett Eucalitto, president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation. “Initiatives like this strengthen the ability of agencies to work across functions to improve mobility, accelerate electrification, and think beyond standard practices to better serve their communities.”
R-TRIP anticipates launching a series of pilot projects in collaboration with public and private partners, with an emphasis on:
- Using AI and predictive analytics to improve safety and operational efficiency
- Exploring smart infrastructure that adapts to user behavior and demand
- Advancing mobility data platforms that support informed planning and investment
- Supporting infrastructure that is resilient and adaptable to future conditions
These efforts aim to produce measurable public benefits, such as reduced congestion, increased safety, and broader access to opportunity, through solutions that can scale across diverse environments.
“We constantly ask how we can make travel safer, faster, and more responsive across Pennsylvania and beyond,” said Michael B. Carroll, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). “The initiative’s applied research model gives us a powerful new tool to inform real-world planning and investment.”
R-TRIP is supported by a strong network of private sector partners. Founding sponsors include Google Public Sector, AtkinsRéalis, Bentley Systems, HNTB, INRIX, STV, WSP, 4M Analytics, and Slalom.
“Transportation systems are the backbone of our communities,” said Eugenie Birch, co-director of Penn IUR and the Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Planning in the Weitzman School of Design. “This initiative reflects Penn’s ongoing commitment to research that serves the public good.”
The Richards Transportation Initiative officially launches with events on October 16 and 17, 2025.
For more information about R-TRIP, the launch events and collaboration opportunities, visit the PennIUR website.
Benjamin Nathans, the Alan Charles Kors Term Associate Professor of History in the School of Arts & Sciences, has received two awards for his 2024 book To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement. Awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, the book recently received two additional honors from the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES).
Marcy Norton, a professor of history in the School of Arts & Sciences, has received the 2025 Bentley Book Prize for The Tame and the Wild: People and Animals After 1492. The honor comes with an award of $500, along with a certificate and a one-year membership to the World History Association, which oversees the prize.
Sophia Rosenfeld, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History, is a finalist for the Cundill History Prize, considered the world’s leading honor for a work of history written in or translated into English. Her 2025 book, The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life, is one of three remaining contenders for the prize and its $75,000 purse, with the two runners-up receiving $10,000. 
