Skip to Content Skip to Content

School of Social Policy & Practice

Visit the School's Site
Building bridges, locally and abroad
Ibrahim Bakri sits on a bench in front of wooden double doors and a red brick building

Ibrahim Bakri is the assistant director at the Middle East Center.

Building bridges, locally and abroad

From the Middle East Center to a think tank in the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Bakri is using his various roles to make connections personally, academically, and professionally.

Kristen de Groot

Who, What, Why: Tyra Moore on her commitment to mental health care for Black Americans
Headshot of Tyra Moore in an office

Tyra Moore, a doctor of social work candidate at the School of Social Policy & Practice, recently won the Joy Award from the Boris L. Henson Foundation for her commitment to mental health care for Black Americans. (Image: Jordan Lynam, Lynam Up Media)

Who, What, Why: Tyra Moore on her commitment to mental health care for Black Americans

The doctoral student in the School of Social Policy & Practice received the Joy Award from the Boris L. Henson Foundation and is writing a dissertation on teen parenting within the foster care system.

Kristina García

$12.5M in new scholarships to enrich student population diversity at the School of Social Policy & Practice
Gianni Morsell (left) and two other people smile for the camera at Commencement.

Social Justice Scholar and May graduate Gianni Morsell, pictured at the SP2 graduation (left to right) with SP2 alumna Sarah Jones and SP2 Class of 2023 student Kira Kerkorian.

$12.5M in new scholarships to enrich student population diversity at the School of Social Policy & Practice

The resources will provide unprecedented support for graduate students in social work, social policy, and nonprofit leadership
Desmond Patton appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Desmond Upton Patton.

Desmond Upton Patton will be the Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor effective July 1.

Desmond Patton appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor

Patton will be Penn’s Brian and Randi Schwartz University Professor, with joint appointments in the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Annenberg School for Communication and a secondary appointment in the Perelman School of Medicine.
27 students and recent graduates awarded 2022 Fulbright grants
18 headshots of students

University of Pennsylvania’s Fulbright grant recipients for the 2022-23 academic year include 18 graduating seniors, from left: (top row) Aishwarya Balaji, Lilian Chen, Ria Chinchankar, Amira Chowdhury, Luke Coleman, Sonali Deliwala; (middle row) Alice Heyeh; Robin Hu, J’Aun Johnson, Jordyn Kaplan, Erin Kraskewicz, Shaila Lothe; (bottom row) Brendan Lui, Rebecca Morse, Kaitlyn Rentala, Anyara Rodriguez, Stefan Tomov, Irene Yee.

27 students and recent graduates awarded 2022 Fulbright grants

Twenty-seven Penn students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright grants for the 2022-23 academic year, including 18 seniors who will be graduating May 16.
The Sachs Program celebrates fifth year of supporting arts innovation at Penn
Various designs

A mosaic by Laia Mogas-Soldevila, an assistant professor of architecture in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and a recipient of an Independent Creative Production Grant from The Sachs Program. She will develop a collection of everyday objects made from biomaterials. (Image: The Sachs Program)

The Sachs Program celebrates fifth year of supporting arts innovation at Penn

The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation announced its 2022 cycle of grantees, with new funding for alumni and community partnership projects.
Understanding migration and the arts
Children raising their hands with a rainbow in the background

Children at the gardens of the Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo y Educación’s new location at 1246 West Main St. Norristown, Pennsylvania, in fall 2021. The organization, founded by Obed Arango of the School of Social Policy & Practice, is a nonprofit with a mission “to ignite social transformation developing the talents and empowering the Latinx community through education, culture, art, technology, health, and science.” (Image: Obed Arango)

Understanding migration and the arts

In the latest episode of Penn Today’s “Understand This …” podcast series, Obed Arango of the School of Social Policy & Practice, alongside Wolf Humanities Graduate Fellow Shelley Zhang, discuss migration, the arts, and identity.
35th annual Women of Color at Penn award
Side-by-side portraits of two smiling women

Shaquilla Harrigan (left) and Nicole Harrington (right) were the graduate and undergraduate honorees of this year’s Women of Color awards. 

35th annual Women of Color at Penn award

The Women of Color at Penn held their 35th annual award ceremony with a virtual celebration hosted by the African American Resource Center. This year’s awards honored six women who have fostered and supported community.

Kristina García

Fighting food insecurity
Four women in front of the Share food bank, and the two in the middle are waving to each other

Laura Guerrero Peña (second from left), a senior studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Queens, New York, worked at Share Food Program over the fall semester.

Fighting food insecurity

Students from the Fox Leadership Program have lent their time and expertise to hunger organizations for more than a decade, and during the pandemic they’ve upped their involvement to meet the growing need.

Kristen de Groot