Penn in the News

Saida Grundy this week may have become the most discussed new assistant professor of the year, without even starting her position. While Grundy's tweets on race have been debated intensely, she initially stayed on the sidelines. But on Tuesday she released a statement of "regret" and a clarification of her comments that were critical of white male college students and white businesses. Her statement came hours after Robert A.

Nancy Hirschmann of the School of Arts & Sciences says, “Gender is much more of a social category than a biological and sexual category with young people these days.”

Ethan Mollick of the Wharton School says,"At its best, crowdfunding allows communities to work together to help them fill a need that the community has.”

Daniel D. Tompkins, the sixth vice president of the United States, has long gazed impassively from an oil portrait hanging in the residence of the president of Columbia University, his alma mater. But on a recent afternoon, he might have been tempted to smile a bit. Chloe Hawkey, a junior at Barnard College, was summarizing her research on attitudes toward slavery among Columbia’s early students.

Louisiana politics is known for colorful personalities and big attitudes. It’s not usually the place where a guy with a doctorate in education policy makes a splash. But F. King Alexander, chancellor of the Louisiana State University system, is making a name for himself as an outspoken critic of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed budget, which recommends a mammoth 82-percent cut in higher education.

Cal Poly Pomona student Nicolas Tomas never thought handing out leaflets promoting a vegan diet would become so controversial. But when college administrators moved to restrict his activities, Tomas sued the university.

Penn Masala is highlighted for appearing in upcoming movie, Pitch Perfect 2.

Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences is highlighted for her research on “grittiness” and children’s success.

Boston University was already navigating a racially charged debate in the spring, with a well-known professor arguing that the school’s administration had “fostered a climate of hostility and discrimination against African Americans that is among the worst in the nation,” and calling on the head of the NAACP to cancel his commencement speech there next week. Then things went viral.

Incoming professor makes controversial remarks about a group of people on Twitter. The university initially backs the professor’s right to free speech but quickly distances itself somewhat from said remarks. The case probably sounds familiar to anyone following free speech issues in higher education, but it’s not that of Steven Salaita at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.