Penn in the News

Decades ago there was a hit song in India, “Chitthi Aayi Hai,” a tear-jerking anthem about mothers mourning the loss of sons who went to school abroad and never came back.

Marybeth Gasman of the Graduate School of Education discusses factors that add to the low graduation rates for students attending historically black colleges and universities.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg School for Communication is quoted on the like ability of political candidates.

Large and growing gaps in SAT scores, by race and ethnicity, are nothing new. The College Board and educators alike have acknowledged these gaps and offered a variety of explanations, with a focus on the gaps in family income (on average) and the resources at high schools that many minority students attend. And indeed there is also a consistent pattern year after year on SAT scores in that the higher the family income, on average, the higher the scores.

Susan Sorenson of the School of Social Policy & Practice expresses concern about the lack of funding for research dedicated to gun violence.

Tucked into the congressional budget deal is a provision that would let companies robocall Americans’ cellphones to collect any money owed to or guaranteed by the government, including federal student loans, mortgages and taxes. The proposal would amend a law that consumer advocates say protects Americans from being harassed or inundated with text messages and calls that could run up their cellphone bills. “This will unleash numerous unwanted calls to cellphones,” said Margot Saunders, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center.

Doctoral candidate Emmerich Davies and Tulia Falleti of the School of Arts & Sciences are highlighted for co-authoring a paper about institutional reform in Bolivia.

Tracy Bale of the School of Veterinary Medicine and her team found that the microRNAs in mouse sperm go on to have a profound effect on the offspring's brain.

Stewart Friedman of the Wharton School is quoted on humans evolving with technology.

The University of Mississippi lowered the state flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem, from a prominent place on campus early Monday, responding to growing calls from student leaders for its removal.