News Archives

Michael Eric Dyson Named to Faculty at Penn

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania has announced the appointment of Michael Eric Dyson as Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities. Dyson, 43, is currently the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Professor and Professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University. He has taught at the Chicago Theological Seminary, the University of North Carolina, and Columbia and Brown universities. At Penn, he will teach courses in the Religious Studies department and in the Afro-American Studies program.

Political science gets political

There’s real politics. And then, there’s real political science. Rogers Smith, the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, stirred up some disagreement amongst his peers when he wrote an essay defining what real political science research ought to be in the April 5 Chronicle of Higher Education. Department Chair Jack Nagel, himself somewhat stirred up, recognized a teaching moment, grabbed it, and called for a forum to air the issues. Graduate students turned out in force.

At Work With...James Trumbo

Editor's Pick: A first time for everything

Penn Presents audiences are familiar with the inventive, acrobatic grace of the Pilobolus Dance Company. So for its latest Philadelphia engagement, the troupe is giving its fans something new.

Bookquick/“The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti”

Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel, his sculpture “David” in Florence, and his “Pietà” at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome are among the most admired works of art in the world. Over the centuries, Michelangelo’s life has been the subject of many biographies, but it was not until John Addington Symonds’ “The Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti,” in 1893, that a biographer had complete access to the artist’s family archives.

Campus Buzz

D.C. beckons: Penn’s fundraiser-in-chief, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Virginia Clark, is off to Washington to fill the nation’s attic with cash. Clark will leave Penn at the end of the summer to become director of external affairs at the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum and research complex.

Cinema deal

After a nearly two-year search, Penn has found a partner to turn its movie theater from a coming attraction into a reality. Penn has signed a lease with Cinebridge and National Amusements to bring “The Bridge: Cinema De Lux” to campus. The six-screen theater, under construction at 40th and Walnut streets, will open by the end of this year and show first-run commercial and art films.

Staff Q&A: Bruce Warren

Bruce Warren looks almost too hip for public radio. With an earring in one ear and a wiry frame, the programming guru behind WXPN is a surprising contrast to other public radio personalities, for instance National Public Radio “Morning Edition” host Bob Edwards. But Warren is very much about and for public radio. The proof is in the almost 11 years he has dedicated to making ’XPN (88.5 FM), Penn’s public radio station, the innovative musical powerhouse that it is today.

On the beach

The Current has added two summer issues to keep faculty and staff informed of events and critical news during the academic break. We will appear June 20 and July 18 in our new, shorter summer format, designed to fit in your beach bag with the sunscreen and the towel. The Current will resume its biweekly publication schedule and return to its regular eight-page format Sept. 5. For deadline information, visit our deadlines page.

Seminars for retirement and work

To help you plan for the future, Human Resources is offering retirement education seminars. Run by TIAA-CREF and the Vanguard Group, the seminars will teach you the basics on retirement investing and bring you up to speed on the new tax law changes for retirement planning. A Penn benefits specialist will also be on hand to explain next year’s salary deferral forms. Seminars are held in the Ben Franklin Room, 218 Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St. Pre-registration not required. Refreshments served. Investments: Beyond the Basics