Penn kicks off its 261st Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 15, at 10:15 a.m. at the historic Franklin Field. The ceremony, preceded by student and academic processions through campus, will feature the conferral of degrees, the awarding of honorary degrees, greetings by University officials, and remarks by Commencement speaker Cory Booker, United States senator for New Jersey.
For this edition of By The Numbers, we look at this year’s celebration.
7
Number of days it takes to fully set up for Commencement.
2,700
Number of students expected to receive undergraduate degrees.
5,000
Number of students expected to receive graduate degrees.
23
Number of recycled water and soda bottles that make up the fabric in each undergraduate gown.
225
Number of Commencement volunteer marshals, consisting of Penn alumni, faculty, and staff.
150
Number of flags that will be in the procession.
13,000+
Number of Commencement programs ordered for the ceremony.
7
Number of honorary degree recipients this year, including graduation speaker Cory Booker, United States senator for New Jersey.
Materials in the Annenberg School for Communication Library Archives include thousands of TV scripts, the first issue of TV Guide, and interviews about the early days of HBO—which help to chronicle TV’s 100-year story.
Centering joy in AI development and implementation
PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton—of Annenberg and SP2—and collaborators introduce a joy-informed framework designed to initiate conversations among engineers, designers, and researchers.
Winter Storm Fern brought icy and snowy conditions to the Northeast and other parts of the country over the weekend. Penn Today asks physicist Robert Carpick about the unique properties of ice, the science of curling, and how close we are to ‘nonslip’ ice.
Organizations like Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships foster collaborations between Penn and public schools in the West Philadelphia community.
Penn receives national distinction for community engagement
The recognition by the American Council on Education and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching acknowledges Penn’s long-standing commitment to community-engaged scholarship and partnerships in West Philadelphia and beyond.
