Penn in the News

Audio: Baseball Economics Hits a Homerun for the Mets

Kenneth Shropshire of the Wharton School comments on New York Mets staff and salary decisions.

Do Colleges Have a Duty to Protect Students?

A California appeals court has ruled, 2 to 1, that public colleges and universities do not have a general legal obligation to protect adult students from violent acts by other students. The ruling throws out a lawsuit against the University of California by Katherine Rosen, a former student at the University of California at Los Angeles who in 2009 was stabbed and had her throat slashed by a fellow student in a chemistry lab.

Reaching Vulnerable Students

In the days after his brother committed suicide, Evan Rose sat with his family around their living room table discussing how to move forward from the loss. Described as a high-achieving student, Stephen Rose graduated from Harvard University in 2006 before earning his master’s degree in psychology at the City College of the City University of New York. In 2014, he jumped to his death from the top of Harvard’s William James Hall. He was 29.

A Student Loan System Stacked Against the Borrower

“It feels like I’m being set up to fail.” That’s how Patrick Wittwer, 31, described his experience trying to repay his roughly $50,000 in student loans. Between misdirected payments by one of the companies servicing his loan and the abusive collection tactics he encountered when he fell behind, Mr. Wittwer said the repayment process simply seemed stacked against him.

He Won’t Teach Under Campus Carry

Proponents of Texas’s new campus carry gun law say it could help save lives in an active shooter scenario, since those with guns could theoretically intervene or defend themselves. But that rationale has lots of critics -- many of the them faculty members -- who say more guns won’t reduce violence and weapons have no place on college campuses.

Students Protest School Renaming After $100 Million Gift

How Yahoo’s Marissa Has More Investors Betting on Women

Research co-authored by Laura Huang of the Wharton School that finds male entrepreneurs are more likely to secure venture capital funding than women is cited.

Students Who Feel Emotionally Unprepared for College Struggle in the Classroom

Students who feel less emotionally prepared for college than their peers tend to have lower grades and other negative experiences on campus, according to survey results released on Thursday. It’s no surprise that the transition from high school to college can be a challenge. But the study’s findings emphasize how many students feel emotional needs take a back seat to academics during their process of preparing for campus life.

As Federal Investigations of Sex Assault Get Tougher, Some Ask if That’s Progress

When it investigated a complaint of a sexually hostile environment at Yale University, the U.S. Department of Education seemed to give the institution a break. The agency’s Office for Civil Rights said in 2012 that Yale had made some mistakes but praised it for "voluntarily and proactively" changing its ways to create a "culture that is safe for all students." That was three years ago. Recent investigations of how institutions handle students’ reports of sexual assault haven’t been nearly as generous or hopeful.

Benjamin’s Desk to Operate New Pennovation Center

Anna Papageorge of Facilities & Real Estate Services says, “The Pennovation Works site will create and sustain a community of entrepreneurs and innovators who will translate new ideas and research into products, ventures and services that will transform the city, the region and the world.”