West Philadelphia

high school student working at design table

Engaging teens in the art of design

Through the PennPraxis program Design to Thrive, high schoolers are paired with Penn graduate students to learn the design process, from planning to welding and all parts in between.

Michael Grant ・

A group of students working on a project at Cobbs Creek.

Bolstering environmental education in Cobbs Creek

Through a Projects for Progress award and other University support, students in West Philadelphia are gaining greater access to STEM learning resources at the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

A teacher writing math problems on a white board in front of an elementary school student.

Penn GSE makes math meaningful for West Philly kids

The Responsive Math Teaching project, currently funded by the National Science, has kids in West Philly schools engaging in the work, rather than passively completing it, through summer “math festivals.”

From Penn GSE ・

A. Leon Higginbotham.

A mural to honor a civil rights pioneer

The unveiling of the design of a new mural honoring the life and legacy of the Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. was held last month, a collaboration between Penn Carey Law, Mural Arts Philadelphia, and The Philadelphia Citizen.

From Penn Carey Law ・

Nursing student Aman Uppal assists a student from the HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy during art class. She holds up a painting, and painting supplies are all around.

Learning nursing care in a different type of classroom

Penn Nursing students Aman Uppal and Michelle Tran spent the summer before their final semesters in a clinical rotation at the HMS School for Children with Cerebral Palsy.

Marilyn Perkins Michele W. Berger, Ed Federico ・

Person dancing at a Juneteenth celebration wearing a t-shirt that reads BREAKING EVERY CHAIN SINCE 1865.

Commemorating Juneteenth

As Penn observes Juneteenth as an official University holiday, Penn Today chronicles events and resources across campus.

Penn Today Staff ・



In the News


Philadelphia Inquirer

Here’s what these youth advocates have to say about Philly’s truancy problem, and how they would fix it

The Netter Center for Community Partnerships has more than 30 years of investment in connecting resources that address truancy, such as establishing after-school programming.

FULL STORY →

Philadelphia Tribune

Event recognizes legacy of Judge A. Leon Higginbotham

A West Philadelphia mural has been dedicated to the late Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, formerly of Penn Carey Law, with a quote from Osagie Imasogie.

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Metro (Philadelphia)

Education power players—Lauren Overton, Principal, Penn Alexander School

In a video interview, Lauren Overton, principal of the Penn Alexander School and a doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Education, discusses how she and her staff at PAS have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Philadelphia Citizen

The West Philly housing crisis that was utterly avoidable

An in-depth examination looks at the solution that might have put a stop to the UC Townhomes housing crisis, with a glimpse at what President Liz Magill and her office are doing to help.

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Philadelphia Business Journal

Penn to build new Stuart Weitzman performing arts center in the heart of campus

Christopher Gruits of Penn Live Arts says that the new Stuart Weitzman Theatre will give artists more flexibility and completely transform the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

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WHYY (Philadelphia)

After 50 Brutalist years, the Annenberg Center plans to stretch out, open up

Penn Live Arts plans to transform Annenberg Plaza into a new performance space, the Stuart Weitzman Theater, expanding the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts for the first time in 51 years.

FULL STORY →