In one of his first initiatives as the new dean of the School of Arts & Sciences in 2013, Steven J. Fluharty kicked off a comprehensive planning process involving students, alums, advisors, University administrators, and one-third of the School’s faculty. In 2015, the results of this process were captured in a document that has been guiding the School ever since: Our Foundations and Frontiers: A Strategic Plan for Penn Arts & Sciences.
Foundations and Frontiers prioritized strengthening faculty and education programs—the foundations for excellence in all of the School’s endeavors. In addition, it targeted a series of eight interdisciplinary themes in critically important areas that presented the School’s most promising opportunities to maximize its impact.
The plan has evolved over time but has remained the roadmap guiding the transformation of the School’s people, programs, departments, centers, and buildings in nearly 12 years under Fluharty’s leadership.
Under Fluharty’s leadership, the School recruited 230 faculty members, launched a group mentorship program for junior faculty, and brought in non-standing faculty from professional fields for its Professors of Practice initiative. Leaders from business, government, and the arts have joined Penn Arts & Sciences classrooms to complement the expertise of the School’s standing faculty.
In late 2021, the School launched an Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, transformed the graduate student aid package through increased stipends and 12-month fellowships, and added new academic disciplines to keep pace with the current educational and global landscape.
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