To the University Community:
With Penn Forward, we asked our community to think ambitiously and practically about how Penn can evolve for continued excellence—in the near term, through the next decade, and beyond. I am pleased to provide an update on our progress and the actions we are taking to build momentum.
The faculty, staff, students, and postdoctoral scholars of our six working groups took on this charge with remarkable energy and creativity. Informed by your feedback, they proposed 30 initiatives that might strengthen the University. Through the winter, we analyzed these ideas to determine which offered the greatest opportunities for timely, meaningful traction. Nine initiatives stood out, clustered around three core themes:
Building trust with the people Penn serves
Strengthening Penn’s efforts to discover
Extending Penn’s reach globally and across lifelong learning
We have appointed leaders who are already at work on clear operational planning and tangible outcomes, and details on their progress will come as we begin the next academic year. This University-wide process moves in tandem with the important strategic planning conducted by Penn’s twelve outstanding Schools.
This morning, Penn Today published a Q&A that expands on this work. The Penn Forward website also has the latest, including an overview of each of the nine initiatives and their leaders. I encourage you to read both.
Through Penn Forward, we are seizing this moment to shape the future of our exceptional University. As we move from ideas to action, guided by Penn’s values, I look forward to keeping our community informed.
J. Larry Jameson, MD, Ph.D.
President