News Archives

Penn research brings knowledge to the world

From modest beginnings a little over a century ago, academic research at Penn has grown into a major enterprise, fueled by more than $500 million in government and private funds each year. That research takes place in a vast complex of laboratories and research centers. Nearly 1.6 million square feet of research space now exists on campus, 700,000 square feet more than existed in 1990.

How Penn became a giant in advancing knowledge

Research was not part of Benjamin Franklin’s basic plan. What he founded was an institution of learning, of passing on knowledge from one generation to the next. But, by the 20th century, Penn had become something far more ambitious. Its goal was not just to pass along knowledge but to create it. And the means of creating it was research. The man with the vision that transformed the University into a research institution was William Pepper, said Archives Director Mark Lloyd.

A night in Cuba — dine, dance and groove

Pianist Chucho Valdés has been called “the greatest jazz pianist in Cuba, perhaps one of the greatest pianists in the world” by Time magazine. On Saturday, Sept. 28, the Grammy Award-winning musician launches the Penn Presents 2002-2003 season with a concert of Afro-Cuban standards plus new material from his latest album, “Fantasia Cubana (Variations on Classical Themes).”

Bookquick/“Science in the Service of Human Rights”

Issues that mix science and politics present some of today’s most daunting ethical questions. Did China violate the human rights of prisoners in 2001 by harvesting their kidneys and other organs without their formal consent? Do the victims of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa have the right to effective pharmaceutical treatments that are beyond their financial reach? Have incautious steps toward human cloning trodden dangerously close to the revival of eugenics?

Penn calls up Marine as EVP

Maj. Gen. Clifford Stanley will report for duty as Penn’s new executive vice president at 0900 hours on Tuesday, Oct. 15. The 55-year-old deputy commanding general of the Combat Development Command, the U.S. Marine Corps’s training and development arm, was chosen after a nationwide search for a replacement for John Fry, who left Penn in July to become president of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.

One of a cast of hundreds

Ask Benny: Time to sort out all those PennTerms

Dear Benny: I had a problem with my PennNet ID the other day, and when I gave the person who was helping me the number off my PennCard, I was told that was my Penn ID and not my PennNet ID. She also told me that I could use my Penn ID to look up my “pen name.” What’s that? I’m getting confused.—Having an Identity Crisis Dear John Doe (or is it Jane?),That wasn’t a writer’s alias she was looking up. The thing she was looking up for you was your PennName.

Steer your professional life

Human Resources has classes that will steer your career in the right direction. Here is one that is coming up soon. Classes meet at 3624 Market St., Suite 1B South. For information, call 215-898-3400 or visit www.hr.upenn.edu/learning. Registration required. Introduction to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Taking the MBTI inventory and receiving feedback will help you identify your unique gifts.

Dig these

  Valdés' concert highlights a salute to Cuban culture. Photo ©2002 Scott Pasfield

How Penn’s research enterprise works and grows