A semester of community on campus

The fall semester brought together Penn community members from a diverse spread of schools, centers, and groups in celebration, in remembrance, and in teamwork to make campus and the world a better place.

A group of Penn students pose for a selfie.
The Penn community gathered on campus throughout the fall semester, including at Family Weekend. (Image: Sylvia Zhang)

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.

People gathered at a greenhouse on Penn’s Farm during the harvest.
A person rinses a head of lettuce during the Penn Farm harvest.
Student volunteers gathered in late August for the Penn Farm’s annual harvest.

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.

A family on Penn’s campus during Friends and Family Weekend.
A kid tests a strength machine on Penn’s campus during Friends and Family Weekend.
Two small kids on Penn’s campus during Friends and Family Weekend.
People cheering on a sporting event in the bleachers of a stadium at Penn.
Penn staff and their families enjoyed games and sports for every age on Friends and Family Day in late September. (Images: Margo Reed Studio)

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.

A 1.5 minute climate lecture on Penn’s College Green.
A speaker delivering a 1.5 minute climate lecture during Penn’s Climate Week.
A person in waders in the pond at Penn’s BioPond.
A person holding an insect at Penn’s BioPond.
In October, Penn’s 5th annual Climate Week included climate solutions speakers and a “BioBlitz” exploration of the ecosystem of the pond at Kaskey Park.

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.

Penn staff at Penn’s Employee Resource Fair.
Penn staff at Penn’s Employee Resource Fair.
People at a tent during Penn’s Friends and Family Weekend.
Three Penn alums at Penn’s Friends and Family Weekend
Two Penn alums on Penn’s campus holding a bag full of Penn swag during Friends and Family Weekend.
Penn students holding a bake sale for aspiring educators.
The month of October featured Penn’s Employee Resource Fair and Penn’s annual Family Weekend, where families of Penn students, including many alumni, gathered on campus for a weekend of events. (Images: Top row: Eric Sucar; middle row: Erin Blewett; bottom row: Erin Blewett (left), Sylvia Zhang.)

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.

Penn’s Interim President J. Larry Jameson seated with four other people at the Veteran’s Day flag raising ceremony.
Cadets on Penn’s campus during Penn’s flag raising ceremony.
On Veteran’s Day weekend, Penn Interim President J. Larry Jameson (far left) and cadets attended a Flag Raising Ceremony.

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.

Students sitting outside Penn’s campus in the fall.
A person and their dog outside of Van Pelt Library.
A person with a leaf blower outside College Hall.
A black squirrel on Penn’s campus.