Staff

Breaking bread while breaking barriers

Penn’s two newly announced programs—Conversations for Community and Dinners Across Differences—strive to encourage dialogue, build connections, and bring people together in conversations over shared meals.

Kristen de Groot

Who, What, Why: John Donges

At Penn Vet for more than two decades, John Donges has worked on nearly half the issues of Bellwether, the School’s alumni and donor magazine. So, it made sense that he was the editor of a special 100th issue, publishing this month.

Louisa Shepard



In the News


Philadelphia Inquirer

How Penn coaches and staffers are playing a vital campus role while budgets get slashed

Among the unique circumstances that the pandemic has brought to campus, up to a third of Penn’s 200 full-time athletic staffers, including coaches, took on COVID-related duties during the fall semester to avoid being furloughed amid deep budget cuts.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

‘History is being made.’ Colleges scramble to create archives that will record life during the pandemic

Penn is archiving the community’s experiences of the coronavirus pandemic. “What we generally get in our archives is the raw data of an institution’s history, the decisions that are made, when certain things happened,” said acting university archivist J. M. Duffin. “We rarely get anything that’s part of the human side. In order to understand the human side, we need to try to get people’s direct testimony of their experiences.”

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Running club chases down theft suspect in University City

The Annenberg (Lunchtime) Running Club was lauded for its role in capturing a man accused of theft during one of their triweekly outings. “Running is typically a useless sport where you turn fat cells into heat, but occasionally it can be useful, and here was one of those opportunities,” said founding member Kyle Cassidy.

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The Washington Post

Should Colleges Let Students Choose Their First Roommate? Some Say No.

Ryan Keytack of College Houses said that Penn tries to accommodate mutual roommate requests, but also encourages students to “experience something new.”

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Inside Higher Ed

Hand-shaking Tips for Making the Right Impression 

Joseph Barber of Career Services wrote about the impact a firm, dry, and confident handshake can have on first impressions.

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Newsday

Why I Learned to Respect the FBI

Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education described his college experience of being interrogated by the FBI and how it impacted his views on the organization over time.

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