News Archives

College House at Penn Named for Alumni Leaders James and Gail Petty Riepe

PHILADELPHIA -- Spruce College House in the University of Pennsylvania's Quadrangle is being renamed Riepe College House.  The naming recognizes a $10 million pledge to support the college house made by James and Gail Petty Riepe of Baltimore and honors their longstanding dedication to strengthening student life at Penn.  James Riepe is chairman of Penn's Board of Trustees and Gail Petty Riepe is a member of the Board of Overseers for Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine.

Inauguration of Amy Gutmann as Penn's Eighth President Begins with Procession at 10 a.m., Ceremony at 10:30

WHO:    Amy Gutmann, a world-renowned scholar and expert in democratic societies who is dedicated to improving student access to higher education, will be installed Oct. 15 as the eighth president of the University of Pennsylvania. WHAT:  The trustees of the University will officially confer the   presidency on Dr. Gutmann in a traditional ceremony following a formal procession of dignitaries along Locust Walk that will include trustees, faculty, senior administration and selected guests.

Arguing for reason in a name-calling culture

As Amy Gutmann acknowledged Sept. 23 at the Penn Bookstore, deliberative democracy is not a phrase that trips off the tongue easily. But, she said, "It holds out the biggest promise for making democracy the best it can be." "Deliberation is difficult. It requires education, experience and good models," Gutmann said during a talk and book signing for two of her books, "Why Deliberative Democracy?" (with Dennis Thompson) and "Identity in Democracy."

T Cell's Memory May Offer Long-Term Immunity to Leishmaniasis

PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a "central memory" form of "helper" T cells that can offer immunity to leishmaniasis, a disease that causes considerable death and disfigurement across the globe and has been found in U.S. military personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Out & About: Gold diggers

Bling bling may be on the way out. At least that was one of the opinions voiced at “Seven-Up on Gold,” Sept. 29 at Kelly Writers House. The event, the first in a series that will invite seven speakers to talk, sing or generally hold forth on a particular topic for about seven minutes, was being held in conjunction with “Color Project,” the current exhibit at the Esther Klein Gallery.

A 9/11 rumor bites the dust

Not long after 9/11, rumors began to circulate about the fate of the search-and-rescue dogs that dug through the rubble in the days following the tragedy. Stories appeared about dogs dying after inhaling toxic fumes and others developing cancer.

Beauty in motion

When Norman Badler was in graduate school, trying to figure out a topic for his dissertation, he became enamored by vision. Specifically, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the human ability to not only see, but also to process that information in real time. “ It struck me then that people are able to do something quite remarkable,” says Badler. “They can look at other people and at the same time describe what those people are doing.” His dream was to give computers that same ability.

At Work With...Fran Murray

How to get America's youth back to the polls

Between 1972 and 2000, the rate at which young Americans voted dropped by 13 percent, and by the ever-so-close 2000 election, only 42 percent of voters aged 18 to 24 went to the polls. For America’s youth, voting advocates say, it was a wasted opportunity to make a difference in one of the closest elections in U.S. history. But as the 2004 election nears, those advocates are putting unprecedented amounts of money and energy into wooing that demographic back to the polls— and some say the effort will pay off.

Have bike, will travel—and help a worthy cause along the way

For 13 days this summer, Leonard Lodish and his wife, Susan, pedaled their way across China, doing their best to keep pace with the Chinese college students along for the 900-mile ride. Even for the Lodishes, who have been taking long-distance bike trips for years, this trip wasn’t an easy one. "It was the hardest physical 13 days of my life," admits Lodish, a Wharton marketing professor and lifelong biking enthusiast. But he says all the pain and effort was worth it—and he’s got the money to prove it.