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City of Philadelphia
Walter Licht’s legacy of civic engagement
For more than 40 years at Penn, Walter Licht has crafted a career of equal parts renowned historian, teacher, and community activist, including creating the Penn Civic Scholars Program. Licht recently announced he is stepping down from his positions at Civic House.
Pandemics, quarantines, and history
History professor Alex Chase-Levenson explores pandemics and quarantines in his upcoming book, and shares lessons that citizens and politicians can take from the past.
A time traveling Harriet Tubman, brought to life on stage
English faculty Lorene Cary’s first play features a time traveling Harriet Tubman who toggles between her 19th-century life and a present-day Philadelphia prison where she recruits soldiers to fight with her in the Civil War. Playing to sold-out audiences, “My General Tubman” is on stage through mid-March at Arden Theatre Company.
Philadelphia looks to evidence-based insights to inform policy
A conference bringing academics and policy makers together looks at how behavioral science can benefit local government.
‘Possibility mentoring’ helps Philadelphia middle schoolers plan for their futures
Now in two Philadelphia public schools, master’s students at the Graduate School of Education are focused on helping the young teens imagine and take steps to realize their futures, while gaining real-world experience in education.
A day in shining armor
Grad students get a close-up view of artwork and materials from museum collections—including a 500-year-old painting and two sets of armor from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Homeward Initiative takes on the challenge of supporting homeless LGBTQ youth
With his President’s Engagement Prize, May graduate Brendan Taliaferro is creating a nonprofit to provide housing and assistance for homeless LGBTQ youth in Philadelphia.
Penn Museum’s transformation revealed
The main level reopens after a historic renovation featuring the relocated sphinx and completely reimagined Africa and Mexico/Central America galleries.
Helping Philadelphia tackle trash with technology
Last fall, a team of undergraduates developed a high-tech solution to help the city target one of its persistent problems: the illegal dumping of construction and trash debris.
Closing the wealth gap in West Philadelphia
The City of Philadelphia and Actions Not Words have selected Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships to develop and implement a new entrepreneurial program, Project Elevate, offering financial literacy education at public high schools.
In the News
Comcast’s Sports Complex plan for South Philly would make our city less livable
In an Op-Ed, Vukan R. Vuchic of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that Philadelphia should make transit more accessible rather than striving to accommodate more cars.
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How did a white woman come to write the newest definitive text on Philadelphia’s Black history?
Penn alum Amy Jane Cohen is profiled for her new book “Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape,” which examines Black history through the lens of events, institutions, and individuals across the city. The book includes a reflection from Penn chaplain Charles Howard.
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Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
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Philadelphia’s Market Street East searches for growth and renewal — with or without a new Sixers arena
Akira Drake Rodriguez, Rashida Ng, and Dominic Vitiello of the Weitzman School of Design say there should be a more robust and inclusive conversation about the future of Philadelphia’s Market Street East.
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Act 135 nonprofits bust blight. Vulnerable owners pay the price
A Penn Carey Law analysis found that Act 135 petitions in Philadelphia have disproportionately been filed against Black and Asian property owners.
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A burial for 19 Black Philadelphians, 200 years in the making
Penn Museum Director Christopher Woods says that the interment of 19 Black Philadelphians at Eden Cemetery represents a reckoning with the Museum’s colonial past and an act of reconciliation with the local community.
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