Announcements

Dear Undergraduate students, We are so very sorry to share the news that your classmate, Matthew Y. Wang, died suddenly. Matthew was in the seven-year Biology-Dental program, occupying a unique position as both a member of the College Class of 2021 and School of Dental Medicine Class of 2024. We grieve for him, with all of you. Matthew, 22, was from Princeton Junction, New Jersey. He lived off campus in the Radian. Matthew’s family is in our thoughts and prayers. Please help us respect their privacy as they mourn the loss of their loved one.

(Content Warning: contains discussion of human remains.) The Penn Museum and the University of Pennsylvania apologize to the Africa family and the members of our community for allowing human remains recovered from the MOVE house to be used for research and teaching, and for retaining the remains for far too long.

We were profoundly disturbed to learn this past week that human remains, provided to a faculty member by the medical examiner many decades ago in an effort to identify a victim from the 1985 bombing of the MOVE house, had been kept at the Penn Museum for much of that time. Simply said, this was insensitive, unprofessional and unacceptable.

Dear LPS Post-Baccalaureate Studies Pre-Health Program Community: We are deeply saddened to deliver the difficult news that your classmate, Christina Goessman, passed away Sunday in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) after suffering a brain aneurysm. We know this loss weighs heavily on your close-knit community. We share the grief of all who knew and loved Christina.

The Penn Museum and the University of Pennsylvania apologize to the Africa family and to our community for allowing human remains recovered from the MOVE house to be used for research and teaching, and for retaining the remains for far too long. The Philadelphia community has experienced profound emotional distress as a result of the recent news that the remains from the horrific 1985 bombing of the MOVE house had been given by the City Medical Examiner’s Office to the Penn Museum for purposes of identification, and that the remains have continued to be kept at the Museum.

With the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines now well-established, Penn plans for a return to a more normal campus experience.

Today’s verdict is an important step towards justice in this case, but we as a campus community and a country have much more to do in our work toward racial justice and healing. Our thoughts are with Mr. Floyd’s family and we hope that the jury’s verdict brings them some measure of comfort. We must and we will continue to work with renewed resolve to ensure that the University and our nation move ever closer to fulfilling our pledge of liberty and justice for all. 

As leaders of the University of Pennsylvania, we affirm unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms Penn’s unwavering commitment to advancing racial equity and social justice in our nation.

Vaccines are one of the greatest tools in the fight against the pandemic. We write today to announce that Penn will open the Penn Cares COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic on Wednesday, April 14, and begin administering vaccines to eligible faculty, staff, and postdoctoral trainees. This phased approach is consistent with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) guidelines, which prioritizes by age adult members of the Penn community.

Combatting climate change is one of the paramount challenges of our time. We write today to update the University community on a significant new initiative that Penn is undertaking as part of our deep and wide-ranging efforts to respond to climate change. We are pleased to announce that the Office of Investments has established the goal of reducing the net greenhouse gas emissions from Penn’s endowment investments to zero by 2050.