Aman Husbands inspects plants in his lab

From one gene switch, many possible outcomes

A team of researchers led by Aman Husbands of the School of Arts & Sciences has uncovered surprising ways transcription factors—the genetic switches for genes—regulate plant development, revealing how subtle changes in a lipid-binding region can dramatically alter gene regulation.

A woman in a grey dress stands in front of colorful trees. She is smiling with her arms crossed.

Patterns of Soviet Jewish emigration in the post-Stalin era

A cartoon elephant and donkey next to an American flag.

How to reduce partisan animosity

Penn expands financial aid for middle income families

Penn celebrates official ribbon-cutting for new Ott Center

Giving robots superhuman vision using radio signals

PBS News Hour Classroom wins Civics Award to develop community college resources

Penn lays out ambitious new roadmap for climate and sustainability action

University of Pennsylvania Health System releases Climate and Sustainability Action Plan

Chinatown and community as a cornerstone

EVENTS → NEWS ARCHIVES →

Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi is a 2025 Rhodes Scholar

Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi, from Barrington, Illinois, has been awarded a 2025 Rhodes Scholarship, which funds tuition and a living stipend for graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. He is among 32 American Rhodes Scholars, and an expected 100 worldwide.

Louisa Shepard ・November 17, 2024

Brie Gettleson leans her elbow on a shelf in the library stacks

A Q&A with Penn’s Latin American Studies Librarian

Brie Gettleson speaks about her role as a subject librarian with the Penn Libraries and liaison for the Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies.

Kristina García ・November 15, 2024

Top row: Belinda Bentzin Buscher, Robert Cort, and Ira Hillman. Second row: Jennifer Krevit, Desiree Martinez, and Sally Jutabha Michaels. Bottom row: Marc Morial, Deepak Prabhkar, and Andre Dombroski.

Nine honored at Alumni Award of Merit Gala

On Nov. 15, eight distinguished alumni will receive Awards of Merit, the Alumni Social Impact Award, and the Creative Spirit Award, and André Dombrowski will receive the Faculty Award of Merit.

Amanda Mott ・November 14, 2024

Group of students and professor pose for a photo in front of a restaurant.

Teaching and learning abroad in Vietnam

In a Q&A, Fred Dickinson of the Department of History discusses his semester as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Vietnam and building out Southeast Asian studies at Penn.

Brandon Baker ・November 13, 2024

Two students addressing a group of people outside College Hall on College Green.

Kite and Key Society celebrates a century

Students share the campus and their experiences at Penn with visitors in person and online, forming meaningful friendships and lasting connections.

Louisa Shepard ・November 12, 2024

In Principle and Practice →

Penn’s principles are the essence of who we are.

Anchored
Engaged
Interwoven
Inventive

yellowed historic document with a grid of squares and a hand holding a photo

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

A vast collection related to public markets comes to the Penn Libraries

Tens of thousands of items related to public markets acquired by Penn alum David K. O’Neil create a collection unique in size and scope. Spanning four centuries from locations near and far, his collection now has a home at the Penn Libraries.

HOPE painted colorfully on the exterior of the Hazelton Integration Project.

Campus & Community

Across Pennsylvania, Penn students practice ‘political empathy’ to connect across divides

Through the SNF Paideia Program, seven undergraduates and political scientist Lia Howard traveled all over the commonwealth this summer, listening to residents talk about their lives and the issues that matter to them.

Exterior of Roxborough High School in Philadelphia

Campus & Community

Penn’s $100M pledge to Philadelphia public schools is helping to remediate environmental hazards

Significant progress has been made in the four years since Penn pledged $100 million to the School District of Philadelphia to remediate environmental hazards, including asbestos and lead, in hundreds of school buildings.

Hanzhong Luo has his body heat scanned in a cooling shelter prototype.

Campus & Community

Testing a novel, community-driven response to heat islands in Philadelphia

Researchers from three University of Pennsylvania schools collaborated with a Hunting Park nonprofit to design, build, and test a prototype of a cooling shelter to place at a bus stop.

A Penn professor leading a seminar to a class of first-year students.

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

The impact of small seminars for new college students

Sixty first-year seminars offer complex subjects in a comfortable group setting, as well as close connections to professors and peers. This year, 10 are also taking part in a pilot program focused on teaching students how to have respectful dialogue around difficult topics.

Penn students looking excited in The Palestra.

Campus & Community

Building the Penn community at NSO

New Student Orientation introduced the first-ever “Building the Penn Community” event during Penn Spirit Day on Thursday, Aug. 22.

The board chair is seated at a table in conversation.

Campus & Community

A Q&A with Board Chair Ramanan Raghavendran

Penn Today sat down with Board of Trustees Chair Ramanan Raghavendran about his first six months and the year ahead.

Overhead image of a table set with food and diners hands and arms cutting food and and eating.

Campus & Community

Building community, one meal and conversation at a time

The Conversations for Community and Dinners Across Differences programs, launched last fall, foster spaces conducive for difficult conversations while recognizing shared humanity.

a person sitting on a bench surrounded by trees in front of a pond

Health Sciences

Wellness and well-being series looks at behavior and mental health services

Wellness and well-being are woven into the life of Penn’s campus, for students, postdocs, faculty, and staff. In the first part of a new series, Penn Today highlights University resources that support the campus community.

Campus & Community

Testing a novel, community-driven response to heat islands in Philadelphia

Researchers from three University of Pennsylvania schools collaborated with a Hunting Park nonprofit to design, build, and test a prototype of a cooling shelter to place at a bus stop.

Penn’s campus and the city of Philadelphia

Campus & Community

University of Pennsylvania launches Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy

The Center will bring together six Schools at Penn with $10 million in support from Knight Foundation and the University.

Science & Technology

The mechanics of collaboration

Penn Ph.D. student Xinlan Emily Hu leads a group of budding engineers and social scientists who study communication across teams. The group has developed a new toolkit aimed at helping researchers analyze and measure teamwork.

Volunteers in waders at the pond at Penn’s BioPond, one holds a frog.

Campus & Community

With dozens of events, Climate Week 2024 will focus on solutions

The fifth Climate Week at Penn, designed to help people find their place in the climate movement, takes place Oct. 14-18.

A lab worker with latex gloves doing mRNA research.

Health Sciences

A year after the Nobel Prize, Penn’s mRNA research is revving up

In 2023, Drew Weissman and Katalin Karikó received Nobel Prize recognition for mRNA vaccines. Today, the work continues apace as successes across the University show how medicine is changing rapidly as a result of the prize-winning discovery.

Science & Technology

Reducing a dog’s temperature after exercise with voluntary head dunking

Penn Vet Working Dog Center researchers have identified an effective and field-applicable way to rapidly help dogs cool down after exercise.

A young person pouring water over their head.

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

As the world warms, how are young people feeling?

Climate scientist Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences and Annenberg School for Communication leads a research community that aims to understand climate anxiety and improve climate communication.

11/15

Climate and Plants

students sitting near class of 1968 garden

Part of the Climate Solutions for a Living World symposium, Doris Wagner of the Penn Plant Adaptability and Resilience Center and Vice Provost for Climate Science, Policy, and Action Michael Mann will discuss the role of plants in overcoming climate challenges.

1:30 p.m.

Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St.

11/15

Paint the Dance Floor: Wonderland

Exterior of Institute of Contemporary Art.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with the Weitzman School of Design and The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, present the annual Paint the Dance Floor party, this year with an ethereal garden theme. Guests can explore the ICA's exhibitions, capture moments at a photobooth, and create wearable flower art.

7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Institute of Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th St.

public market collection on display at a library table — Gallery
A vast collection related to public markets comes to the Penn Libraries

Alum David K. O’Neil’s collection spans four centuries and locations around the globe, with a concentration on Philadelphia.
SEE MORE →
01/07

food vendor stalls blueprint — Gallery
A vast collection related to public markets comes to the Penn Libraries

Alum David K. O’Neil’s collection spans four centuries and locations around the globe, with a concentration on Philadelphia.
SEE MORE →
01/07

Campus & Community

Celebrating the dedication of Amy Gutmann Hall

Drew Weissman drawing on a clear glass wall.

Health Sciences

A year after the Nobel Prize, Penn’s mRNA research is revving up

Campus & Community

An empty outdoor space is transformed into a social garden

Penn students walking through Norris Square Neighborhood Project’s community garden.

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

How food moves around cities

Domenic Vitiello, an urban and regional planning expert, teaches classes that invite students to locations in and around Philadelphia to better understand how its denizens dine.

Bloomberg

How the subtle but significant consequences of a hotter planet have already begun

R. Jisung Park of the School of Social Policy & Practice discusses his book “Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World.”

FULL STORY →

Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn student awarded Rhodes Scholarship to continue cancer research at Oxford University

College of Arts and Sciences fourth-year Om Gandhi from Barrington, Illinois, has been awarded a 2025 Rhodes Scholarship to continue his cancer research at Oxford University.

FULL STORY →

Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn has preserved a pair of gloves said to belong to Shakespeare. Did they?

Alicia Meyer and Tessa Gadomski of Penn Libraries are researching whether a pair of centuries-old gloves belonged to Shakespeare, with remarks from Zachary Lesser of the School of Arts & Sciences.

FULL STORY →

The Washington Post

Is it anxiety or something else? What women should know

Lily Brown of the Perelman School of Medicine says that rates of anxiety disorders skyrocket around the time of first menstruation in puberty.

FULL STORY →

Business Insider

The fight over Jerome Powell puts Elon Musk at odds with Wall Street

Jeremy Siegel of the Wharton School says that virtually every economist and most members of Congress value the independence of the Federal Reserve.

FULL STORY →

Fast Company

The housing market’s home insurance shock, as told by an interactive map

A paper co-authored by Benjamin Keys of the Wharton School finds that home insurance premiums have risen sharply since 2020, concentrated in disaster-prone ZIP codes and driven by elevated reinsurance costs.

FULL STORY →

The Washington Post

The latest skincare trend: Beef fat. Yes, beef fat

Bruce Brod of the Perelman School of Medicine says that there’s no evidence to show beef tallow is better than conventional moisturizers.

FULL STORY →

Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn is offering free Narcan through vending machine on campus

A vending machine on Penn’s campus will offer free Narcan and other wellness and health products, with remarks from Jackie Recktenwald and Benoit Dubé of Wellness at Penn.

FULL STORY →

Baltimore Sun

Maryland shifted toward Donald Trump more than some other blue states, while giving Kamala Harris her second-biggest win

Matthew Levendusky of the School of Arts & Sciences says that poor turnout in heavily Democratic cities and a general voter swing for economic reasons contributed to Donald Trump’s victory.

FULL STORY →

The New York Times

Kennedy’s vow to take on big food could alienate his new G.O.P. allies

Mary Summers of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s stated dual missions of dismantling the F.D.A. and regulating food ingredients don’t go together.

FULL STORY →

Climate and Plants

Paint the Dance Floor: Wonderland

Penn Job Fair

PCIV Showcase

The Latest

Penn fourth-year Om Gandhi is a 2025 Rhodes Scholar

A Q&A with Penn’s Latin American Studies Librarian

Nine honored at Alumni Award of Merit Gala

Teaching and learning abroad in Vietnam

Kite and Key Society celebrates a century

Inside Penn

A vast collection related to public markets comes to the Penn Libraries

Across Pennsylvania, Penn students practice ‘political empathy’ to connect across divides

Penn’s $100M pledge to Philadelphia public schools is helping to remediate environmental hazards

Testing a novel, community-driven response to heat islands in Philadelphia

The impact of small seminars for new college students

Building the Penn community at NSO

A Q&A with Board Chair Ramanan Raghavendran

Building community, one meal and conversation at a time

Wellness and well-being series looks at behavior and mental health services

Testing a novel, community-driven response to heat islands in Philadelphia

University of Pennsylvania launches Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy

The mechanics of collaboration

With dozens of events, Climate Week 2024 will focus on solutions

A year after the Nobel Prize, Penn’s mRNA research is revving up

Reducing a dog’s temperature after exercise with voluntary head dunking

As the world warms, how are young people feeling?

Upcoming Events See all →

Multimedia

A vast collection related to public markets comes to the Penn Libraries

Featured

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

How food moves around cities

Domenic Vitiello, an urban and regional planning expert, teaches classes that invite students to locations in and around Philadelphia to better understand how its denizens dine.

Penn in the NewsSee all →

How the subtle but significant consequences of a hotter planet have already begun

Penn student awarded Rhodes Scholarship to continue cancer research at Oxford University

Penn has preserved a pair of gloves said to belong to Shakespeare. Did they?

Is it anxiety or something else? What women should know

The fight over Jerome Powell puts Elon Musk at odds with Wall Street

The housing market’s home insurance shock, as told by an interactive map

The latest skincare trend: Beef fat. Yes, beef fat

Penn is offering free Narcan through vending machine on campus

Maryland shifted toward Donald Trump more than some other blue states, while giving Kamala Harris her second-biggest win

Kennedy’s vow to take on big food could alienate his new G.O.P. allies