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West Philadelphia
Side Gigs for Good across Penn
For many, 2020 was a difficult year. Despite that, the community found ways to go above and beyond, in their own backyards and across the world.
Fall foliage puts Penn’s Tree Campus accolades on display
The fall colors on display this season highlight Penn’s lush campus, despite being an urban University. In fact, Penn’s tree stewardship has won honors eleven years in a row.
Ancil George’s legacy reaches outside the stacks
After retiring in 2019, the long-serving Penn figure continues his work in community outreach in West Philadelphia.
Towering bronze sculpture installed at the entrance to Penn’s campus
The generosity of Penn Alumni Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman has brought the work of noted artist Simone Leigh to the University of Pennsylvania.
At the Clyde Barker Transplant House, respite and comfort food for the soul
A partnership between the Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House and the Walnut Hill College culinary school gives transplant patients and their families hearty meals and much-needed comfort from the West Philadelphia community.
Rare sparrows make guest appearance at Penn
Earlier this year, Penn Medicine epidemiologist Doug Wiebe glimpsed two small all-white birds outside Van Pelt Library that turned out to be albino house sparrows. Their coloration is likely the result of a genetic condition in which a bird’s feathers lack pigment.
New ACME at 40th and Walnut streets opens
Partnering with Penn, the grocery store has invested in a University City market with a fresh concept based on research and neighborhood trends. ACME will also contribute $50,000 to local hunger relief programs, including the Netter Center.
Fostering kittens, plus more Side Gigs for Good
Around nearly any corner, the Penn community’s selflessness shines through, despite months apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Quakers of all ages
Every year since 2013, the Penn track and field teams have joined forces with the Netter Center for Community Partnerships in a program called Young Quakers Community Athletics (YQCA).
How Penn first responders are dealing with the coronavirus on the front lines
COVID-19 presents challenges faced by first responders, including PennComm dispatchers and police officers.
In the News
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.
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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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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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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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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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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.
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