Penn in the News

Presidents whose institutions are members of the Council of Independent Colleges have been working on a project to help map the future of their institutions, which are generally small and midsize private colleges. At its annual gathering of presidents here, the CIC held an open forum on the project and released a draft list of characteristics that a panel of presidents identified as "essential" for their institutions, and another list they identified as "negotiable." The essential list wasn't controversial, although some presidents argued for it to be shortened.

Professors differ on how much their grading should be based on tests, written assignments, labs, class participation and other factors. But students' looks? Most faculty members would deny that physical appearance is a legitimate criterion in grading. But a study presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association finds that -- among similarly qualified female students -- those who are physically attractive earn better grades than others. For male students, there is no significant relationship between attractiveness and grades.

Robert Kurzban of the School of Arts & Sciences writes about pathogens.

Susan Sorenson of the School of Social Policy & Practice suggests that it is difficult to predict the impact of President Obama’s move to tighten gun-control laws.

How much has to go wrong at an institution before its top leaders are held accountable? That’s what some at the University of Louisville are asking. The public university has weathered several high-profile incidents in the last year, including a prostitution scandal involving the men’s basketball team, the president and his staff donning racially insensitive Halloween costumes, and, revealed most recently, the ongoing investigation of an executive vice president and other high-level staffers for possibly misusing federal funds.

Philip Tetlock of the Wharton School and the School of Arts & Sciences writes about the soft-side of psychology.

Graduate student Sarah Lyon of the Graduate School of Education writes about the importance of universities implementing orientation seminars to educate new students about mental health resources.

Weeks after two University of Missouri employees were caught on video trying to force student journalists from a protest about the campus racial climate, Republican lawmakers in the state are trying to force the women from their jobs. The Columbia Missourian reports that more than a hundred state representatives and 18 senators, all Republicans, have signed a letter urging that the university fire Melissa A.

Philip Tetlock of the Wharton School and the School of Arts and Sciences is quoted on how people are bad at forecasting the future.

Katherine Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center comments on the strategy used in Donald Trump’s first television advertisement.