Penn Today provides a list of important facts and tips to help guide guests through this year’s Penn’s 269th Commencement ceremony to be held on Franklin Field on Monday, May 19.
Artworks by the two master of fine arts students graduating in the Class of 2025, Eissa Attar (left) and Alvin Luong, are in a thesis exhibition at the Arthur Ross Gallery through a new collaboration with the Weitzman School of Design.
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‘Scattered Earth, Sounded Depth’
A new thesis exhibition at the Arthur Ross Gallery features works by graduating Master of Fine Arts students Eissa Attar, from Saudi Arabia, and Alvin Luong, from Canada. On view through May 30, “Scattered Earth, Sounded Depth,” was curated by Emily Zimmerman.
Four Penn affiliates each have been awarded a 2025 Knight-Hennessy Scholarship (clockwise from top left): fourth-year Aravind Krishnan; 2021 graduate Carson Eckhard; and 2020 graduates Meera Menon and Jun Hou Shin.
(Images: Courtesy of Knight-Hennessy Scholars / Carolyn Fong Photography)
Penn fourth-year and three recent alumni named 2025 Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Four Penn affiliates each have been awarded a 2025 Knight-Hennessy Scholarship, receiving financial support for as long as three years to pursue a graduate degree and global leadership training at Stanford University.
Performer, biomedical engineer, and soon-to-be graduate
A performer and dancer, fourth-year Jordyn Harris has been a work-study student for the Platt House and managed tech for myriad student shows, while also advising engineering first-years and working as a researcher at a hospital.
The 134-year-old building on College Green will continue to be open for use throughout construction.
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Exterior restoration of a landmark
Designed by world-famous Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, the iconic Anne and Jerome Fisher Fine Arts Library Building is undergoing a 20-month exterior renovation and restoration that will encase its red sandstone, terracotta, and brick exterior in scaffolding through the fall of 2026.
From Milton, Massachusetts, Reason is teaching Philadelphia public high school students an ethics curriculum he designed as a Philosopher in Residence.
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Philosopher in residence
William Reason, who earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in December and will complete his master’s in May, teaches ethics to Philadelphia public high school students via an ethics curriculum he designed as a Philosopher in Residence
Penn fourth-yearEric Tao(left) and Class of 2023 graduateSuraj Chandran each have been awarded a 2025 Hertz Fellowship in applied science, engineering, and mathematics.
(Images: Courtesy of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships)
Penn fourth-year and recent alum named 2025 Hertz Fellows
Fourth-year Eric Tao and Class of 2023 graduate Suraj Chandran, both of the School of Arts & Sciences, have each been awarded a 2025 Hertz Fellowship in applied science, engineering, and mathematics by the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation.
Class of 2025 graduate student Rameen Iftikhar is one of 95 new Gates Cambridge Scholars.
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Penn 2025 graduate awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship
Rameen Iftikhar, who completed a master’s degree in international education development from the Graduate School of Education in January, has been awarded a 2025 Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which covers the full cost of studying at University of Cambridge in England for as long as four years.
Architect Richard Garber created and teaches the graduate course Matter Making and Testing: Designing with Next Generation Precast Concrete.
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Concrete panels as teaching tools, materials testing, and outdoor sculptures
On view outside the Weitzman School of Design are three freestanding concrete panels designed and made by students in a unique graduate seminar that partners with a local concrete-fabrication plant
Fourth-years (from left) Inaya Zaman, Rashmi Acharya, and Imani Nkrumah Ardayfio created Nourish to Flourish, winner of a 2025 President’s Engagement Prize. The trio will work with community partners at the Benjamin B. Comegys School in West Philadelphia and use behavioral economics principals to encourage healthier food choices.
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Nourish to Flourish
Fourth-years Rashmi Acharya, Imani Nkrumah Ardayfio and Inaya Zaman created Nourish to Flourish, winner of a 2025 President’s Engagement Prize. The trio will work with community partners at the Benjamin B. Comegys School in West Philadelphia to encourage healthier food choices.
