New Staff Orientation eases employee transition to Penn

If you’re a new Penn employee, you’ve probably already opened a University email account and activated your PennCard. To complete your transition from new hire to full-fledged member of the Penn community, be sure to attend the University’s New Staff Orientation.

Registration is simple: Within two months of your hire date, you are automatically pre-registered. The date of your session is mailed to your home address.

New Staff Orientation provides a general overview of all things Penn, plus little-known facts about the University, such as why there is a dolphin on the Penn shield (Ben Franklin liked dolphins).

Presenters explain how to build a career at Penn, and also discuss major University policies and programs, medical and tuition benefits, transportation services and parking options, employee resources, campus recreational facilities and more.

“Most new employees aren’t aware that the place they work is nearly 40 years older than the country they live in,” says Joseph Cooney, senior training and development consultant in the Division of Human Resources (HR), who has facilitated new staff orientations at Penn for the past 22 years. “This is a pretty big and complex place. Anytime you have the opportunity to learn more about it, you should take advantage of it.”

The three-hour morning sessions, coordinated by HR’s Learning and Education Department, feature videos on campus safety and security and Penn’s history and structure. Coffee and breakfast bars are served. There are also prize drawings for T-shirts or mugs. 

New Staff Orientation sessions are held 14 times a year at 3624 Market St., Suite 1-B South. For more information, call 215-898-3400 or email learning@exchange.upenn.edu.

New Employee Orientation