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Louisa Shepard

Senior News Officer
  • lshepard@upenn.edu
  • 215-573-8151
  • Louisa Shepard

    Louisa Shepard covers English, history of art, music, theater, classical studies, and cinema and media studies, among other subject areas, in the School of Arts and Sciences. She also supports coverage for the Kelly Writers House, the Graduate School of Education, the Penn Libraries, the Penn Museum, the Arthur Ross Gallery, and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, as well as fine arts in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. 

    Articles from Louisa Shepard
    ‘Dreaming of Jerusalem’
    screen shot from documentary Homepage image: The documentary “Dreaming of Jerusalem” tells the story of the Ethiopian Jewish community living in Addis Ababa and Gondar, now more than 12,000 people, waiting for the chance to emigrate to what they consider their true homeland.

    ‘Dreaming of Jerusalem’

    Penn’s Peter Decherney and Sosena Solomon make a documentary film about a Jewish community in Ethiopia waiting to emigrate to Israel.
    Filmmaker Claire Sliney heads to Paris with a Nat Geo Storytelling Fulbright
    Student standing outside wearing graduation cap and gown

    Claire Sliney graduated in May from the College of Arts and Sciences. She was the first Penn undergraduate to win an Academy Award, when she was a sophomore. As a senior, she was the first to receive a National Geographic Storytelling Fulbright Fellowship. (Image: Eric Sucar, University of Pennsylvania Communications)

    Filmmaker Claire Sliney heads to Paris with a Nat Geo Storytelling Fulbright

    May graduate Claire Sliney is the first Penn undergrad to receive an Academy Award, and to receive a Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship. She heads to Paris to shoot a documentary about how female immigrants in France are portrayed in film.
    The pandemic, health inequities, and an ‘opportunity for change’
    covid global map

    As a global pandemic, COVID-19 spread across the world. But it didn’t hit everyone equally. “Being healthy is essential to human flourishing,” says Jennifer Prah Ruger, who advocates for shared norms in health governance to address global inequalities. (Image: Martin Sanchez, also featured on homepage)

    The pandemic, health inequities, and an ‘opportunity for change’

    Experts across the University weigh in on which lessons the pandemic drove home and what immediate measures are needed to prevent future loss.
    A high school cheerleader’s free speech and the First Amendment
    five students sitting on steps looking at computers and phones

    A high school cheerleader’s free speech and the First Amendment

    A Pennsylvania high school cheerleader’s profanity-laced rant is now the foundation of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on free speech. Sigal Ben-Porath shares her arguments in her amicus brief to the court, and her predictions on the court’s decision.  
    Ballerina Emily Davis is ‘on her toes’
    Ballerina Emily Davis completed her Penn degree while dancing with the Pennsylvania Ballet.

    May graduate Emily Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies while working full-time as a ballerina with the Pennsylvania Ballet and volunteering to conduct research at CHOP and community service with Philadelphia nonprofits. (Image: Arian Molina Soca)

    Ballerina Emily Davis is ‘on her toes’

    May graduate Emily Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies while working full-time as a ballerina with the Pennsylvania Ballet and volunteering to conduct research at CHOP and community service with Philadelphia nonprofits.
    New Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition focuses on introspection and contemplation
    woman standing in doorway of art exhibition with paintings on the walls

    The Arthur Ross Gallery’s new exhibition features 17th-century Dutch genre paintings paired with rare books from the Penn Libraries collection. On display until July 25, “An Inner World,” co-curated by Gallery Assistant Director and Curator Heather Gibson Moqtaderi, focuses on contemplation.

    New Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition focuses on introspection and contemplation

    The Arthur Ross Gallery’s new exhibition features 17th-century Dutch genre paintings paired with rare books from the Penn Libraries collection. On display until July 25, “An Inner World” focuses on contemplation.
    20 Penn students and recent graduates awarded Fulbright grants
    eighteen student headshots

    enn Fulbright grant recipients for 2021-22 include 12 graduating seniors, six graduate students and two recent graduates. Pictured left to right (top row) Daisy Angeles, Robyn Barrow, Saxon Bryant, Youvin Chung, Gabriel DeSantis, Megan Everts; (middle row) Samuel Goldstein, Maria Kovalchuk, Andreas Nolan, Caleb Oh, Neelima Paleti, Bhavana Penmetsa; (bottom row) John Sigmier, Claire Sliney, Marion Standefer, Edward Stevens IV, Judith Weston, Andrew Zheng. 

    20 Penn students and recent graduates awarded Fulbright grants

    Twenty Penn students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright grants for 2021-22, including 12 graduating seniors, six graduate students, and two recent graduates. They will conduct research, pursue graduate degrees, or teach English in Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and Tajikistan. 
    ‘A Revolution in Rhyme’
    Professor Fatema Shams and book cover

    Poet Fatemeh Shams, assistant professor in the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department, has published a new book in English about politics and poetry in modern Iran. She has rebuilt the Persian language and studies program during her four years at Penn. 

    ‘A Revolution in Rhyme’

    While building the Persian language and studies program at Penn, Fatemeh Shams draws from the millennium-old Persian literary tradition to write a new book about poetry and politics in modern Iran. She will embark on her next book project during an upcoming fellowship in Berlin. 
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