Amanda Mott manages media relations related to the Office of the Executive Vice President which includes facilities and real estate, Penn’s Climate Action Plan, student financial services, business services, campus housing and dining, and the endowment. In addition, she covers Commencement and Penn Global including Perry World House, the Penn Wharton China Center, and the Penn Biden Center.
2025 President’s Prize recipient: Nourish to Flourish
Launched by three 2025 President’s Engagement Prize recipients, Nourish to Flourish is using a data‑driven, behavioral‑economics approach to help K–6 students in West Philadelphia build lasting healthy habits with access to fresh foods, nutrition and cooking classes, and more—all with an aim to reduce food insecurity and promote nutritional equity.
Penn announces new partnership with Service to School to support veteran and military-affiliated applicants
The University joins a select group of schools that are committed to expanding access to higher education for veterans and service members and supporting their academic and professional aspirations.
Penn Trustees approve 2026–2027 undergraduate charges and financial aid budget
The University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees has approved a $347 million undergraduate financial aid budget for the 2026–2027 academic year, along with undergraduate tuition and fees.
Award-winning presidential historian and scholar Michael Beschloss will be receiving an honorary doctor of letters degree at Penn’s 270th Commencement.
(Image: Stephen Voss)
Historian, scholar, and best-selling author Michael Beschloss to speak at Penn’s 270th Commencement
At the Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 18, Beschloss will receive an honorary degree, along with the other 2026 Penn honorary degree recipients.
Colleen O’Neill named vice president for finance and treasurer
O’Neill has served as the chief operating and financial officer of the Wharton School since July 2023 and will assume the role of vice president effective April 13.
A typesetting workshop at Penn’s Common Press invited participants to reinterpret lines from the Declaration of Independence as part of the Typography of Independence project and Penn’s America 250 programming.
Organizations like Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships foster collaborations between Penn and public schools in the West Philadelphia community.
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Penn receives national distinction for community engagement
The recognition by the American Council on Education and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching acknowledges Penn’s long-standing commitment to community-engaged scholarship and partnerships in West Philadelphia and beyond.
“White Ouroboros II” by Allison Janae Hamilton. The Institute for Contemporary Art will feature the first museum survey of the artist in the spring of 2027.
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Two 2025 project grants and a fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
WXPN and the Institute for Contemporary Art each received creative project grants and filmmaker Sosena Solomon, who teaches in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies, was named a 2025 Pew Fellow.
