News Archives

Cat people

Senior Fellow: Sarah Kagan

When Sarah Kagan came to Philadelphia from San Francisco in 1994, and was greeted by an ice storm that blanketed the city, she wondered fleetingly if she had made the right move.

Worried reader is spooked by dead birds

Illustration by Bo Brown

A composer’s voice emerges from the gulag

High atop the campus, with the bright lights of Center City twinkling in the distance, the rooftop lounge of Hamilton College House played host to a resurrection of art and history on Oct. 20. Oleg Timofeyev brought the hauntingly beautiful strumming of Russian seven-string guitar to a crowd of Penn faculty and students. Timofeyev, acclaimed as the foremost expert in the United States on the traditional Russian instrument, performed his series entitled “Guitar in the Gulag,” comprised of music by the late composer Matvei Stepanovich Pavlov (1888-1963).

The write stuff

The College of General Studies’ annual Writers Conference at Penn brings some of the country’s most talented writers to campus for a day-long event Nov. 8. The conference explores the challenges that face anyone engaged or interested in writing for a living and gives writers opportunities to hone their skills and make professional connections. This year’s keynote speaker is Jennifer Egan, author of “Look at Me” and “The Invisible Circus.” The fee for the ninth annual Writers Conference is $165.

Fels Institute, WPHT Radio Partner in Poll Watching Project, Election Coverage of Philadelphia Mayor's Race

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of Government has organized a new poll watching project to track election-day voter turnout in dozens of key precincts in Philadelphia.  The captured data will be announced and analyzed on WPHT Radio, providing the first-ever analysis of the Philadelphia mayor's race in real time.

BOOKQUICK/New from the University Press

From robber barons to titanic CEOs, from the labor unrest of the 1880s to the mass layoffs of the 1990s, two American Gilded Ages—one in the late 1800s, another in the final years of the 20th century—mirror each other in their laissez-faire excess and rampant social crises. Both eras ignited the civic passions of investigative writers who drafted diagnostic blueprints for urgently needed change.

Scholars critique rebuilding of Iraq

One professor calls the Bush administration’s plan in post-war Iraq arrogant, while another views the report as mixed. One thing is certain: The criticism and praise of the post-war effort is as varied as its sources.

EDITOR’S PICK: Strung Out

The yarn paintings of the Huichol Indians of northwest Mexico are a relatively new art form that has achieved worldwide popularity in recent years. The University of Pennsylvania Museum’s new exhibit, “Mythic Visions: Yarn Paintings of a Huichol Shaman,” connects this art form to the most ancient legends and practices of the Huichol culture.

The one-minute millionaire philanthropist

Charitable giving fuels much that is good in our society, including the institution we work for. So as we contemplate how to complete our Penn’s Way pledges, we thought we’d give a few people a chance to play fantasy philanthropist. We went to two offices where people are intimately familiar with money—Student Financial Services (SFS) and the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Treasurer—and asked, “If you had a million dollars to give to the charity of your choice, who would you give it to and why?”