News Archives

Lessons from Charleston

At the Penn Institute for Urban Research’s third Urban Leadership Forum, held on April 26 in Huntsman Hall, co-director Eugenie Birch talked about sustainability, a theme around which much of the Institute’s work this year has centered. A “Growing Greener Cities” symposium earlier this year tackled the topic, and the Forum’s keynote speaker, Charleston, South Carolina Mayor Joseph Riley has spent his career promoting that quality in the elegant Southern city he governs.

How the nose smells, and clues to why sniffing helps

Candace diCarlo Of all the body’s systems, the one involved with smelling—the olfactory system—may be among the least studied. Penn neuroscientist Minghong Ma says she can understand why, but that hasn’t stopped her researching it—and making some important discoveries about how we smell.

Princeton Professor K. Anthony Appiah to Deliver the Baccalaureate Address at the University of Pennsylvania

WHAT: The University of Pennsylvania Baccalaureate Ceremony will be a 50-minute interfaith program of music, readings, prayers and an address by K. Anthony Appiah, a professor of philosophy at Princeton University.Two consecutive ceremonies will be held in order to accommodate all those who wish to attend.  Tickets and academic regalia are not required.   

Kimberly Mulvaney

The Current Staff Photo credit: Mark Stehle WHO SHE IS: Pilates Coordinator, Penn Rec TIME AT PENN: Three years WHAT SHE DOES: “Basically, I run the Pilates studio,” says Mulvaney, who discovered Pilates while in college at the University of Montana. “I’m in charge of all instruction, and I teach there as well.”

Teaching doctors to talk about faith

Getting a medical education at Penn involves more than learning about the human body and its processes. Every medical student at the University must also learn how to talk to their patients about their religious beliefs.

James Baker to Speak at Penn Commencement; Honorees Include Aretha Franklin, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Aaron Beck

PHILADELPHIA -- James A. Baker III, a co-chair of the Iraq Study Group who has served as secretary of state and secretary of the treasury, will deliver the address at the University of Pennsylvania's 251st Commencement on Monday, May 14, at Franklin Field, 33rd and South streets.  The procession of graduates begins at 9 a.m.

Royal treatment

Marketing buff

Photo credit: Candace diCarlo Since marketing is an applied science, reasons Americus Reed II, why not teach students to apply the theories taught in class to a practical setting? Reed, the Arthur Anderson Term Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, had just that in mind when he applied for a grant to offer an Ideas in Action course to his students.

Meditate...to Concentrate: Penn Researchers Demonstrate Improved Attention With Mindfulness Training

PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say that practicing even small doses of daily meditation may improve focus and performance.

South African Constitutional Court Justice to Speak at University of Pennsylvania Law School Commencement

South African Constitutional Court Justice to Speak at University of Pennsylvania Law School CommencementWHO: Yvonne Mokgoro, justice of the Constitutional Court of South AfricaWHAT: University of Pennsylvania Law School CommencementWHEN: May 14, 2007,  3 p.m.WHERE: Academy of MusicBroad and Locust streets