Penn’s fall semester officially began in August, as many students returned to campus. While staff, faculty, and postdocs are largely in West Philadelphia year-round, the fall marks a reset and starting point for many. The late summer and mild fall weather brings the natural beauty of campus to life.
The importance of wellness is a wholistic endeavor throughout Penn, with multiple centers focused on wellness and well-being. The Penn Food and Wellness Collaborative is a multidisciplinary program that engages the Penn community around wellness, food access, sustainability, and education. The Penn Farm is the University’s only on-campus farm and grows thousands of pounds of organic produce to support food access initiatives; its harvest in late August kicks off the fall semester.
In late September, faculty, staff and postdocs gathered on Shoemaker Green and at Franklin Field for Penn’s 30th Annual Penn Friends and Family Day. Participants celebrated the Penn community and their families with games, sports, science, and cultural activities.
In Principle and Practice, Penn’s strategic framework, highlights climate change as one of the great challenges of our modern age, with the capacity to bring solutions through an interdisciplinary roster of experts in the climate and energy field. In October, Penn’s Climate Week brought together the entire University community to engage in learning and action around climate. The fifth annual event focused on climate solutions, which included a Climate Solutions Showcase, 1.5* and 60-minute lectures from experts across the University, youth speakers and career panels for students, and a “BioBlitz” at Kaskey Park, where attendees enjoyed a hands-on exploration of the biodiversity of Penn’s BioPond.
The month of October continued to bring the Penn community together, including at the Employee Resource Fair, sponsored by the Penn Professional Staff Assembly. The Office of Student Affairs held its annual Family Weekend on days with optimal autumn weather. Speakers, events, and workshops were open to Penn students and their families; faculty were on hand to guide students and parents through questions about their opportunities at Penn and post-graduation, staff highlighted the many resources for both help and entertainment throughout the year, and nighttime events entertained throughout the weekend with visual and performing arts.
In November, Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson joined Penn cadets and their families on College Green for a Veteran’s Day Flag Raising Ceremony along with the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Programs, the Veterans Care Excellence Program, Penn NROTC, and Veterans Upward Bound.
Much of the University takes a well-deserved break for the Thanksgiving holiday, but for the students, faculty, staff, and postdocs who call Philadelphia home, campus is also a peaceful retreat and a place for gathering. Most College Houses host gatherings for international students and those who don’t travel for Thanksgiving, and Locust Walk has begun to twinkle with nighttime holiday lights and decorations. Even furry friends stop and enjoy the setting.
