Penn in the News

Most college students embrace the ideal of an open learning environment on campus that exposes them to all types of speech and viewpoints, but a large majority also believes that schools should be allowed to restrict slurs and other intentionally offensive language, according to a new national survey. The survey — released Monday and sponsored by the Knight Foundation and Newseum Institute in partnership with Gallup — sheds light on the complexities of student viewpoints on free speech and other First Amendment issues in a year of significant tumult on campuses nationwide.

Graduate student Samantha Waxman of the School of Social Policy & Practice writes about the impact of the Pennsylvania budget crisis on children. Debra Schilling Wolfe of the School of Social Policy & Practice is quoted.

After rioters scarred Baltimore last year, Johns Hopkins University leaders discussed efforts that the university was making to build, hire and buy locally. One trustee asked why other businesses in Baltimore weren’t doing the same. “I’m in,” said Mike Hankin, president and chief executive officer of Brown Advisory. As Johns Hopkins President Ronald Daniels recalled Monday, Hankin challenged other trustees to commit the businesses they lead, as well.

Peter Cappelli of the Wharton School comments on difficulties in matching workers with jobs.

David Casarett of the Perelman School of Medicine pens an opinion piece about the recent attention on opioid addiction.

Thirteen years ago, when James W. Wagner, an engineer turned administrator, introduced himself to alumni of Emory University as the new president, he was uniformly greeted with one question: Was he there to start an engineering school? After all, why else would Emory, which has always fashioned itself as a classic liberal-arts institution, hire away the provost of Case Western Reserve University, an institution popular among engineering majors?

Full-time instructors at regional public universities earn an average of about $21,000, or nearly 25 percent, more in pay and benefits annually if they belong to a union, concludes a groundbreaking new study of compensation at such institutions. The location and size of the employer also makes a big difference. Those in larger suburban public universities, the highest-paying category of institutions studied, earned an average of nearly $17,000, or 20 percent, more in pay and benefits annually than those at midsize rural institutions, the lowest-paying category.

Yash Mulgaonkar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science is mentioned as one of the inventors of the Picobug, a 30-gram robot.

Forget the blooming flowers and chirping birds. Spring’s the time for writing triumphant news releases about how many applications your college received. More than last year! More than ever!

Neill Epperson of the Perelman School of Medicine discusses the difficulties facing new mothers suffering from postpartum depression.