Penn in the News

Katherine Nathanson of the Perelman School of Medicine talks about how the differences in gene mutations affect the risks for types of cancer.

William Pang, a high-school senior at the Berkshire School, writes about the agonizing college-admissions process — and what he’s going to do next: Five minutes till admission decision. I logged into College Confidential one last time, scrolling through forum posts of accepted students from previous years.

Laurie A. Leshin, president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is a space scientist and the first woman to lead WPI. She visited The Chronicle to talk about her nontraditional path to the presidency, the importance of female leaders in higher education, and what makes the high-pressure job of college president worth it. “Evidence shows that we need role models, we need critical mass, we need people to see what's possible,” Ms.

Harold Ekeh of Long Island, New York, just accomplished the Ivy League sweep. He received acceptance letters from all eight schools. Coming to New York from Nigeria at 8-years-old, Mr. Ekeh has become a prime example of what it takes to get into the Ivy League: passion.

Top colleges have many reasons to avoid enrolling a lot of low-income students. The students need financial aid, which can strain a university’s budget. Although many of the students have stellar grades, they often have somewhat lower SAT scores than affluent students, which can hurt a university’s ranking.

Timothy Rebbeck of the Perelman School of Medicine is quoted about varying BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations and how this affects cancer risks.

The national Phi Kappa Psi fraternal organization Tuesday excoriated Rolling Stone magazine and offered support for plans by the fraternity’s chapter at the University of Virginia to sue the magazine for a story that portrayed members as sexual predators. A day after the U-Va.

Pennsylvania State University this week is looking to end one of the remaining lawsuits filed by a victim of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal, according to sources. The school's board of trustees is scheduled to meet Thursday morning to discuss "potential settlements" and possibly vote, said spokeswoman Lisa Powers.

Danielle Bassett of the School of Engineering and Applied Science is highlighted in a front-page story for leading a study revealing that differences in neural activity change learning rates.

Villanova University on Tuesday appointed its first provost, Patrick G. Maggitti, who currently serves as dean of the business school. Maggitti will take over on Aug. 1 as the university’s chief academic officer and second-in-command of the Main Line Catholic university, which enrolls more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students.