Penn in the News

Could universities in the United States and elsewhere benefit from post-Brexit perceptions that Britain is no longer a welcoming country? A new survey suggests that prospective international students are already reconsidering whether to study in Britain after citizens there voted in June to leave the European Union. And other countries could benefit from a potential brain drain of top academics and a possible drying up of research funds flowing from Europe to British institutions.

Carl June and Bruce Levine of the Perelman School of Medicine are noted for their collaborative work using personalized cellular therapies to treat cancer.

The University of Texas at Austin on Monday held a solemn commemoration of a dark history: the 50th anniversary of the school’s clock tower massacre, when a sniper shot more than 40 people, drawing back the curtain on an era of modern-day mas

New York University plans to disregard a question on applicants’ criminal backgrounds in favor of a narrower one asking about violent crimes. The change, going into effect Monday and affecting applicants for the class entering in the fall of 2017, according to school officials, marks NYU’s latest effort to tackle an admissions issue that has drawn national debate and sparked campus protests.

"Suicide-prevention legislation inspired by a New Jersey high school track star and Ivy League college student who took her own life has been signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie."

Albert Einstein often gets credit for words he never spoke, including these: "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." In 1963, the line appeared in the sociologist William Bruce Cameron’s text Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking. Two contemporary sociologists have now brought Cameron’s intuitive wisdom to life.

Giang Nguyen of Student Health says, “One of the good things historically about pelvic exams is that they made women good health-care consumers.”

Campus sexual assault commands enough attention that both major political parties’ platforms take it on. "Democrats will fight to bring an end to sexual assault — wherever it occurs, including on campuses — because everyone deserves a safe environment where they can learn and thrive, not live in fear," that party proclaims. Its platform pledges support services for survivors, the term many victims use; a fair process for resolving cases; and greater prevention.   

Campus sexual assault commands enough attention that both major political parties’ platforms take it on. "Democrats will fight to bring an end to sexual assault — wherever it occurs, including on campuses — because everyone deserves a safe environment where they can learn and thrive, not live in fear," that party proclaims. Its platform pledges support services for survivors, the term many victims use; a fair process for resolving cases; and greater prevention.   

Chinese primary and secondary schools are often derided as grueling, test-driven institutions that churn out students who can recite basic facts but have little capacity for deep reasoning. A new study, though, suggests that China is producing students with some of the strongest critical thinking skills in the world. The unexpected finding could recast the debate over whether Chinese schools are doing a better job than American ones, complementing previous studies showing Chinese students outperforming their global peers in reading, math and science.