Four ways Penn Arts & Sciences is looking to the future
With ‘SAS Horizons: Pathways for a Changing World,’ the School charts a course to navigate challenging waters.
3 min. read
“When there are challenges, we have a role to play in solving them. It’s important to be upbeat about the future,” say Mark Trodden, dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences.
Out at sea, it can be difficult to know which direction to sail, no matter how familiar the territory. In those moments, even experienced sailors turn to their compass and map—trusted, time-tested, informed by years of insight—to ultimately chart their destination.
Mark Trodden, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Physics & Astronomy, understands that need for guiding tools right now, in a moment of sweeping change for both higher education and society as a whole. With broad consultation from groups with a vested interest in the success of Penn Arts & Sciences, Trodden is now laying out his vision: SAS Horizons: Pathways for a Changing World.
Here are four ways Horizons will help the School navigate a changing world with clarity and intention.
1. It purposefully defines Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences
Trodden felt it essential to hear from the people around him, engaging deeply with faculty, students, staff, and alums, about the role of the School, as well as opportunities and challenges. “The current moment we find ourselves in, both in academia and in society,” he says, “is one where we need to think strategically but also be ready to take on challenges quickly and with purpose.”
His many conversations helped clarify the essence of Penn Arts & Sciences today: a community that cultivates excellence and empathy by empowering the individuals within it, for example, and places our shared humanity at the center of all we do.
2. The plan establishes exciting new initiatives focused on the important topics of today
“We’ve tried to come at it from a high level,” Trodden says, “not produce a list of line items that we’ll get done, but rather articulate what is important about the School, what principles underlie everything we do, and our philosophy about how we apply those principles to the world and to our students’ education.”
To that end, Horizons spells out four pathways for action, focused on teaching, research, scholarship’s connection to society, and strategic areas including AI, climate, global contexts, and the future of the humanities. “What we hoped to do is identify themes that are important in the world today and in the coming years,” Trodden says, “and that allow us to build on the signature strengths of the School of Arts & Sciences.”
3. And leaves room for creativity and innovation
Horizons, Trodden explains, is a framework—one that’s important, well-thought out, and aligns with the University’s In Principle and Practice—but a living document, nonetheless. It was never intended as the be all, end all, he adds.
“You don’t bring together an enormous community of talented, interesting, creative people and expect you will lay down an exact path for them to follow,” Trodden says. “You articulate what’s great about what they do, capture common themes, and leverage resources to empower them. Where this plan takes us—building on this scaffolding—depends on what our faculty, staff, and students bring to life.” It’s clear from how Trodden describes these groups that he believes they will take the vision articulated in Horizons to places he might never have dreamed.
4. Horizons focuses on the positive outcomes of potentially challenging work
Trodden is realistic about this difficult moment for higher ed institutions, yet the language in Horizons is unquestionably upbeat, a testament to the optimism he feels about the School and where he knows it can go.
“To be someone who works at a place like Penn Arts & Sciences should make you optimistic even in the worst of times. To get to lead here is just a remarkable privilege,” he says.
“The School of Arts & Sciences is a truly wondrous place, bringing together the best and brightest, and what’s important now is to try to articulate that to people: ‘We may be facing challenges, but look at what we can do,’” he adds. “When there are challenges, we have a role to play in solving them. It’s important to be upbeat about the future. Our faculty and students are amazing—my optimism comes from meeting them.”
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