News Archives

Andy McKeague

Staff Q&A: Elena DiLapi

30 years ago, 200 Penn women—faculty, staff and students—took over College Hall Room 200 and refused to budge. They had gathered in response to a series of sexual assaults on and around campus. Out of that four-day protest was born the Penn Women’s Center, one of the oldest university women’s centers in the nation. The Current sat down with Center Director Elena DiLapi (SW’77) to wish the organization happy anniversary and to reflect on how her concern for the individual has helped further women’s causes on a broader, more institutional level.

Campus Buzz

Good morning, Baltimore: We must be doing something right with our West Philly initiatives—other cities have been picking off the people who made them happen, one by one. The latest catch: Associate Vice President Jack Shannon, who has been tapped to head a new nonprofit organization, East Baltimore Development, Inc. The group seeks to revitalize the neighborhood around Johns Hopkins Hospital. We believe that Jack will prove more than capable of bringing the vision to fruition, based on what he’s done here at Penn.

Scholars criticize, defend war against Iraq

As hostilities continue in the Middle East, Penn scholars gathered in Houston Hall to weigh in on the motivations and consequences of the war on Iraq. “Iraq: The End of the Beginning?,” a symposium cosponsored by the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict and the School of Arts and Sciences, took place April 3 in front of a capacity crowd.

CCP celebrates a decade of civic service

The Center for Community Partnerships (CCP) is the heart and soul of Penn’s commitment to civic engagement. It is also the arms and legs. Led by Director Ira Harkavy and an extraordinarily dedicated staff, the center has galvanized faculty, staff and students in a decade-long effort to reach out to Penn’s West Philadelphia neighbors and heal the town/gown rift that for too long divided “us” from “them.”

“It would be a mistake to try to make pets of wild rats.”

—Karen Rosenthal, director of special species at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, on the dangers of welcoming these disease-carrying rodents into the home (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 26)

Scientists Pinpoint Stellar Production of Helium, Yielding New Insights into the Evolution of the Universe

PHILADELPHIA – Astrophysicists report in this week's issue of the journal Science that they have calculated the rate of helium production by stars in our universe with greater precision than ever before. This better understanding of stellar helium production brings new insights into the composition of the early universe and could help determine the exact nature of dark energy.

Penn Alumni Art to Be Exhibited in May

WHO: Alumni artists from the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Fine Arts WHAT: Juried exhibition of paintings, printmaking, photography and sculpture WHEN: May 8-30 Monday-Friday, 10 a.m-5 p.m.Alumni WeekendMay 17, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.May 18, noon-4 p.m. WHERE: The Kroiz Gallery Fisher Fine Arts Library 210 S. 34th St., Philadelphia

Alzheimer's Protein Jams Mitochondria of Affected Cells; Resulting ‘Energy Crisis' and Toxin Buildup Kills Neurons

PHILADELPHIA -- Opening a new front in the battle against Alzheimer's disease, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have found that a protein long associated with the disease inflicts grave damage in a previously unimagined way: It seals off mitochondria in affected neurons, resulting in an "energy crisis" and buildup of toxins that causes cells to die. This pathway, the first specific biochemical explanation for pathologies associated with Alzheimer's, is detailed in the April 14 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.

Sayre Middle School Students Get a Taste of College Life

WHAT: "Communiversity Day," a day-long campus visit designed to provide area youth from Sayre Middle School an opportunity to experience college life and see first hand the broad spectrum of activities at the University of Pennsylvania. Activities include visits to classes, admissions, the Van Pelt Library and Penn Athletic facilities.