Penn in the News

In the coming weeks, throngs of new freshmen will descend on campuses across the country. For many traditional students, going off to college means living with a roommate for the first time. That got us wondering: How are colleges assigning roommates these days, and does it really matter? We caught up with Bruce Sacerdote, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College who has studied the effects roommates have on each other, to find out. The following conversation has been edited and condensed.

“A double helix? Bit speculative.” “I regret to say that we cannot offer publication at this time. While your model is very appealing, referee three finds that it is somewhat speculative and premature for publication.” No doubt most scientists have been on the receiving end of similar comments from journal editors, but surely Francis Crick and James Watson’s landmark 1953 papers on the structure of DNA would be immune to such quibbles?

Camille Charles of the School of Arts & Sciences shares her advice on the college experience.

Jonathan Moreno of the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts & Sciences is quoted about CRISPR.

Scott Barry Kaufman of the School of Arts & Sciences is cited for co-developing a test to indicate where an individual falls on the introvert-extrovert spectrum.

Mathias Basner of the Perelman School of Medicine is mentioned for suggesting getting thyroid and cortisol levels tested.

Rutgers University raised a record $187.9 million last school year, the school announced Wednesday. Much of the money came from “a surge in donations” received at the end of the university’s 7.5-year “Our Rutgers, Our Future” fund-raising campaign, the university said in a news release. The campaign to raise $1 billion ended in December 2014, exceeding its goal by $37 million. The 2014–15 record surpassed the previous year’s total by 26.6 percent. In the 2013–14 year, the university’s Rutgers Foundation received $148.4 million, a record at the time.

Peter Cappelli of the Wharton School shares his thoughts on Netflix offering its employees unlimited paid time off in the first year after the birth or adoption of a child.