Penn in the News

In January 2013, President Obama issued a memorandum directing federal agencies to conduct or sponsor research into the causes of gun violence and ways to prevent it. Three years later, the flow of federal dollars to such research is still relatively small. A 2013 call for proposals from the National Institutes of Health, for example, for projects "with a particular focus on firearm violence" resulted in nine grants, so far, totaling nearly $3.7 million, and only two of those studies deal directly with guns.

Those driving or even flying here this week for the American Historical Association’s annual meeting might have glimpsed Stone Mountain out their car or airplane window. The massive, Mount Rushmore-style tribute to Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson is hard to miss and -- for many -- hard to stomach. But what can and should be done about the thousands upon thousands of Confederate memorials and other symbols throughout the American South, many of which are on college and university campuses?

Olivia Mitchell of the Wharton School provides advice on what to do with the money from lottery winnings.

Leaders of the five most powerful athletics conferences, responding to players’ concerns that they spend too much time on their sports, are weighing ideas to limit the hours athletes are required to devote to their teams. One idea calls for a ban on practices and other mandatory athletics activities, not including competition, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Another proposal would create a three-week break at the end of the traditional playing season, allowing athletes to take time off.

Pennsylvania State University's leadership isn't ready to honor Joe Paterno, but a State College artist has seen fit to give the late football coach back his halo. "I'm sorry for my fast actions with, you know, removing that halo," Michael Pilato said in a YouTube video showing former Penn State football player Bruce Clark painting the halo on Paterno, who is part of the 100- by 24-foot mural in downtown State College.

University Architect David Hollenberg and Maja Bucan of the Perelman School of Medicine are quoted about the improvements to the Richards Medical Research Laboratory.

Days after two shooters killed 14 people and injured 22 others in San Bernardino, Calif., Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, stood in front of 10,000 students, faculty and staff and urged them to bring guns onto campus. In his back pocket, the president said onstage, he carried a small pistol. “Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here,” Falwell said of recent acts of terrorism, before turning his attention to campus shootings.

Richard Ingersoll of the Graduate School of Education and the School of Arts & Sciences is quoted about the significance of including teachers in reform efforts.