News Archives

Former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson Will Head Penn's New Master's Program in Criminology

PHILADELPHIA--Laurie O. Robinson, a nationally known leader in criminal justice policy, has been named director of the University of Pennsylvania's new professional Master of Science Program in Criminology.  Robinson previously served as assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice, overseeing the Office of Justice Programs from 1993 to 2000.

“Service, social justice, equality has always been part of my upbringing.”

If planning the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Symposium were left up to one person, it would be a full-time job all year. As it is, Machamma Quinichett spends a good chunk of her time each fall overseeing the planning effort for the two-week series of events. But the only paid member of the symposium’s planning committee—it’s part of her duties as associate director of the African-American Resource Center, the symposium’s sponsor—has plenty of dedicated volunteers from the entire Penn community to help her with the job each year.

Their primary concern

The folks in Iowa and New Hampshire have had their say on who the Democrats should choose as their presidential candidate. Unfortunately, we Pennsylvanians don’t get our say until late in the spring, by which time the nomination is usually in the bag. So we thought we’d offer you a chance to cast your straw vote now, while the prize is still up for grabs. The responses we got appear to confirm Marie Gottschalk’s observation (see “Election,” page 5) that for Democrats, ousting President Bush is priority number one.

2004: Déjà vu all over again, with a twist

The sight of a horde of Democrats pounding one another as they tromp through Iowa farms and New Hampshire hamlets has become a familiar election-year ritual. Associate Professor of Political Science Marie Gottschalk says that there’s a special twist to the 2004 version, though.

Nancy Whitfield and Ann Anderson

Innovators welcome at Weiss Tech House

A student with a novel idea walks into a state-of-the-art facility to use the computer between classes. While there, the student bumps into a classmate with a knack for marketing. They start talking about ideas, and decide to partner on a project. They get funding and a place to work, and meet with a Penn Law student who specializes in intellectual and property law for advice on how to bring their project to fruition.

Dyson, Singley trade riffs

Two dynamic speakers from two generations with two very different life experiences took the podium in Huntsman Hall Auditorium on January 13 to speak about race in America. The standing-room-only crowd heard Penn’s Michael Eric Dyson, Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities, and former Temple Law School Dean Carl Singley in a program sponsored by Philadelphia magazine and the Wharton School. Kenneth Shropshire, David W. Hauck Professor of Legal Studies at Wharton, hosted the forum.

Scholar peers into the feminist generation gap

Generation gaps are often cited as the reason for different tastes in cars, clothing and music. Now, Jason Schnittker, the Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor of Sociology, has asserted that a slight generation gap explains the decrease among younger women who identify themselves as feminists.

Group therapy

“Why do they hate us?” This question, usually asked with a note of anguish, often arises when America is attacked or criticized for its actions, or even just for being America. Many who try to answer the question cite poverty, inequality, religion, or some historical grievance. Aaron Beck, University Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and director of the Psychopathology Research Unit in the Psychiatry Department, has a different answer: They see us through a distorted cognitive filter.

That voice wouldn’t (898-)MELT butter

Dear Benny,Who is the voice of the 898-MELT line and why does he always sound so miserable? — Early Riser Dear Morning Person, I spoke with the voice of 898-MELT to answer your question. I am keeping his name confidential in the interest of preserving his sanity—enough Penn people know who he is already and call him at home at the first sign of snow asking, “Do you think we’ll be closed tomorrow?”