5/18
Penn in the News
A round-up of Penn mentions in local, national, and international media.
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Penn In the News
Higher ed’s evolutionary—not revolutionary—pandemic response
Drawing on pre-pandemic data, Robert Zemsky of the Graduate School of Education predicted that 20% of higher education institutions were in danger of shuttering.
Penn In the News
Detained protestors in Cuba detail torture amid trials
Amalia Daché of the Graduate School of Education spoke about the mistreatment of protesters in Cuba. “Cuba is a political apartheid. There is definitely racial discrimination happening in Cuba,” she said. “When Cuba gets a cold, Afro-Cubans get the flu, and they die.”
Penn In the News
Texas community college group aims to help students beyond the classroom
Laura Perna of the Graduate School of Education said applying for financial aid can be complicated for students. However, the Alamo Promise program, which provides students in Texas with free tuition and additional services, sends “a clear message with no fine print,” she said.
Penn In the News
Perceptions of affordability
Joni Finney of the Graduate School of Education spoke about the impact of rising college costs on low-income families, saying, “For these families the high cost of college is not a perception but a reality that they must deal with.”
Penn In the News
How about a domestic sister cities program, so that Americans can get to know one another
Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education proposed a domestic sister city program to alleviate partisan divisions and remind Americans of their commonalities.
Penn In the News
Biden’s free college plan never happened. Are debt-free degrees the answer to student loan crisis?
Laura Perna of the Graduate School of Education spoke about College Promise Programs, which help cover students’ tuition and other expenses. Perna said these programs “reflect real concern about how much it costs to go to college.”
Penn In the News
Programs aim to help teach youth about building wealth
Bridges to Wealth is a financial literacy organization founded by Keith Weigelt of the Wharton School and Jill Bazelon of the Graduate School of Education. Operated out of Penn’s Netter Center, the organization provides access to investment opportunities as well as housing, job training, early childhood education, and financial education to people experiencing homelessness.
Penn In the News
‘Total military shutdown’: Cuban government cracks down ahead of planned protests
Amalia Daché of the Graduate School of Education was interviewed about protests and censorship in Cuba. “Cuba has had a political apartheid for 62 years and Cuban people have been repressed, have been silenced, have been put in prison,” she said.
Penn In the News
A new push to create a 3-year degree option
Robert Zemsky of the Graduate School of Education and Lori Carrell of the University of Minnesota at Rochester are leading a pilot program for a three-year undergraduate degree program. “The amazing thing about this is it took off almost immediately. Nobody said, ‘Oh, Bob, that’s an old idea, let it go.’ Nobody said that to me at all,” Zemsky said.
Penn In the News
How better funding can increase the number and diversity of doctoral students
Walter G. Ecton of the Graduate School of Education and a Vanderbilt University colleague shared their research on the effects of doctoral-program funding on student diversity. “Given the relative lack of diversity among university faculty, initiatives that attract students from groups that are currently underrepresented in doctoral education carry great benefits for society,” they wrote.