News Archives

“The corporation is a difficult place for black people to navigate. I saw a lot of 'floating'... where people make all these work friends, but never took them home.”

— Elijah Anderson, sociology professor, on the difficulty of racial assimilation in the workplace (St. Petersburg Times, Oct. 22).

When good drugs turn bad

In late September, when the arthritis drug Vioxx was pulled from the shelves by Merck & Co., Garret FitzGerald, chairman of the Department of Pharmacology in the School of Medicine, thought it a wise move. And it hardly surprised him.

Science class for teachers

Penn’s Masters of Chemistry Education program has been helping middle and secondary level teachers expand and improve their knowledge of the subject since 2001. Now, teachers who feel lacking in science expertise will be able to turn to Penn for even more help. The proposed Penn Science Teacher Institute—to be run jointly by the science departments in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Education—will continue to offer the Masters of Chemistry Education, as well as a new program, tentatively named the Master of Integrated Science Education Program.

Out & About: Gimme Shelter

Vienna’s opera house and palaces may be the big tourist draws, but the Austrian capital has also become known as a hub of modern architectural innovation. That much is clear from a new exhibit—organized by the Architectural League of New York— currently on display in the lower level of the Left Bank. “Urban Life: Housing in the Contemporary City” showcases a dozen affordable housing projects from Vienna and other spots on the globe hand picked for their bold, daring approaches to a universal problem.

Staff Q&A: Brad Smith

Brad Smith remembers the Friday nights of his youth, when his sports-loving father would take the family out to the local high school football stadium to see the weekly big game. Brad enjoyed the trips—even though he didn’t care much for football.

Helene McKelvey

Editor's Pick: M.F.A. on display

Ever wonder exactly what those art students have been up to for all of these months? Hereís your chance to find out. Penn Design's second-year Master of Fine Arts candidates present an exhibition of their work from Nov. 15 through 24 and an auction on Nov. 18, which will benefit the MFA class of 2005 Thesis Fund. Nineteen emerging artists from Penn will present more than 50 prints, photographs, drawings and paintings that range from the imaginative to the intimate (see Siobhan McBride’s oil painting, left).

Cinema Paradiso

Foreign film fans, take note: your best chance to see some of the finest work being produced by new Italian directors is coming soon to a theater near you. The five-day film festival, “New Authors of Italian Cinema, 6th Edition,” runs from Nov. 17 through 21 at International House and gives the Penn community and general public the chance to see groundbreaking films unavailable anywhere else.

Improve your quality of work life  

Whether it’s navigating the pressures of parenthood or dealing with the finances of elder care, upcoming Quality of Work Life workshops from the Division of Human Resources can teach you the skills you need to succeed.

Does brain damage improve artistic skills?

It’s hardly surprising that brain damage can change the way some people express themselves artistically. For people with Alzheimer’s, autism, or affected by stroke—three very different kinds of brain damage—the art may even get richer and more nuanced, or cleaner and simpler, depending on the effects of the disease, according to one Penn researcher.