1.21
Campus & Community
26th annual MLK symposium goes online
Virtual events over three weeks offer opportunities to reflect, engage, and celebrate with family, colleagues, and friends.
A Move-in like no other
Penn undergraduates start arriving on campus to move into College Houses during an extended eight-day period in keeping with pandemic health and safety protocols.
Penn Dining spring 2021: Four takeaways
As students return to campus, dining services has adopted measures to support new safety and public health protocols at both residential and retail cafés on campus.
Move-in spring 2021 primer
With undergraduate Move-in starting Jan. 10, Penn Today offers a practical guide to the process.
Side gigs for good across Penn
For many, 2020 was a difficult year. Despite that, the community found ways to go above and beyond, in their own backyards and across the world.
Penn Museum awarded National Endowment for the Humanities grant
The Penn Museum has been awarded a $750,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.The grant will help catalyze fundraising for the renovation of the Museum’s Egyptian Wing, part of its major Building Transformation project.
First COVID-19 vaccines arrive at Penn Medicine
By week’s end, the health system expects to receive about 9,275 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for its frontline teams.
Housing and dining protocols and safety standards are in place for spring semester
With the spring semester fast approaching and protocols and safety standards in place, housing and dining is ready for undergraduate students to return to campus in January.
Engaging Minds showcases Penn’s very best bringing theory to practice
Alumni tuned in from across the world to hear Daniel Gillion discuss the power of protests, Amy Castro Baker give a crash course on the impact of guaranteed income, and Ezekiel Emanuel detail the intricacies of distributing a COVID-19 vaccine.
President Gutmann earns Inclusive Leader Award
The national recognition comes at a time when ensuring diversity and inclusion is more important than ever.
In the News
This man has given away 500 free pizzas. He lowers them from his apartment window
Wharton School graduate student Ben Berman has been raising money for local nonprofits by raffling off homemade pizzas. “This is something positive that I can do from my own apartment,” he said.
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NCAA Division I Council delays vote on transfer rules and name, image and likeness
Athletics Director M. Grace Calhoun released a statement about the NCAA’s decision to delay voting on changes to Division I rules that would allow student athletes to profit off of their own names, images, and likenesses. “The Council remains fully committed to modernizing Division I rules in ways that benefit all student-athletes,” she said. “Unfortunately, external factors require this pause, and the Council will use this time to enhance the proposals.”
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The composer Tyshawn Sorey enters a new phase
Tyshawn Sorey of the School of Arts & Sciences was profiled for his accomplishments as a musician, composer, and academic.
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NCAA grants blanket waiver to transfer athletes, most of whom can play right away
Athletic Director M. Grace Calhoun spoke about the NCAA’s Division I Council’s lenience amid the pandemic. “The Council continued its trend of voting in favor of maximum flexibility for student-athletes during the pandemic,” she said. “Allowing transfer student-athletes to compete immediately will provide additional opportunities to student-athletes during this continued difficult time and perhaps allow games to be played that otherwise might not have been.”
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How Penn coaches and staffers are playing a vital campus role while budgets get slashed
Among the unique circumstances that the pandemic has brought to campus, up to a third of Penn’s 200 full-time athletic staffers, including coaches, took on COVID-related duties during the fall semester to avoid being furloughed amid deep budget cuts.
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