Heather Davis

In one of Lauren Greenfield’s photographs, a young woman, Lillian, sits on a purple cushioned bench in a New York store with a bright pink high-heeled shoe in one hand, mouth ajar. In another, Sheena tries on clothes with her friend Amber, age 14, in a dressing room in San Jose. It’s a girl thing.

A decade ago, Philadelphia was a different city than it is today. Mayor John Street’s administration was just beginning the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. Grand plans were still in the works for Penn’s Landing. Philadelphia was focused on development, rather than city planning.

WHAT: The Woodlands is a 45-acre site is a cemetery and landscaped grounds that offers walking and biking paths and a splendid example of a Neoclassical mansion, renovated in the 1780s by Philadelphia resident William Hamilton.

Disabilities studies may be the next academic frontier. This rapidly emerging field is inherently interdisciplinary and touches on ideas as wide-ranging as the boundaries of freedom, differences between chronic illness and disabilities and—at a basic level—what it means to be a “typical” human being.

CARRY ON: Yali Derman, 20, is a sophomore in Penn’s School of Nursing and a handbag designer. She’s also a two-time cancer survivor, beating leukemia at ages 5 and 9 and receiving a bone marrow transplant from her brother, Benji, at age 9.

For teachers with little to no scientific training, leading science lessons in the classroom can be downright intimidating. Jamie Shuda—a self-described educator by training and scientist by interest—is making it her goal to demystify science in the classroom for both students and teachers.

Upon completion of the 24-acre Penn Park project, expected to occur this fall, pedestrians will have access to walkways and green space along the Schuylkill River, with the city skyline as a backdrop.

KITCHEN AT PENN: Nate Adler is a foodie at heart. And his love is not for just any food—but grub that’s local and fresh. To that end, Adler has started Kitchen at Penn, a delivery/takeout joint that features freshly made, home cooked, simple food. “‘Fresh’ is the most important word in the vocabulary of Kitchen,” says Adler.

When some students come to Penn, they’re seeking answers to life’s big questions around issues of justice, origins, love and identity. Starting in Fall 2011, 80 incoming College of Arts and Sciences students will be able to explore these big questions in a fully holistic, multidisciplinary way.

Penn ranks near or at the top of a lot of important lists: the City of Philadelphia’s largest private employer. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s second-largest employer. One of the nation’s largest recipients of federal research funding.