11/15
Louisa Shepard
Senior News Officer
Louisa Shepard covers English, history of art, music, theater, classical studies, and cinema and media studies, among other subject areas, in the School of Arts and Sciences. She also supports coverage for the Kelly Writers House, the Graduate School of Education, the Penn Libraries, the Penn Museum, the Arthur Ross Gallery, and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, as well as fine arts in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
20 Penn students and recent graduates awarded Fulbright grants
Twenty Penn students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright grants for 2021-22, including 12 graduating seniors, six graduate students, and two recent graduates. They will conduct research, pursue graduate degrees, or teach English in Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Mexico, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and Tajikistan.
Undergraduate fellows in new Office of Social Equity & Community make a positive impact
The inaugural class of eight undergraduate fellows in Penn’s new Office of Social Equity & Community are already making progress, working with those who are homeless and food insecure and using their leadership and research to address inequities in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
Penn seniors target eating disorder risk at Philadelphia public high schools
President’s Engagement Prize-winning project Be Body Positive Philly, led by seniors Christina Miranda and Amanda Moreno, is designed to address eating disorder risk among Philadelphia high school students.
‘A Revolution in Rhyme’
While building the Persian language and studies program at Penn, Fatemeh Shams draws from the millennium-old Persian literary tradition to write a new book about poetry and politics in modern Iran. She will embark on her next book project during an upcoming fellowship in Berlin.
Two Yenching Scholars for Penn
Senior Patrick Beyrer and 2020 graduate Brook Jiang have been selected as 2021 Yenching Scholars, awarded full funding to pursue an interdisciplinary master’s degree in China studies at the Yenching Academy of Peking University in Beijing.
Penn senior named a 2021 Gates Cambridge Scholar
Senior Tathagat Bhatia has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in the history and philosophy of science at the University of Cambridge in England. He is Penn’s 33rd Gates Scholar since the program started in 2001.
Penn senior named Truman Scholar
Senior Sakshi Sehgal, a philosophy major who has submatriculated into the philosophy master’s program, has received a merit-based Harry S. Truman Scholarship of as much as $30,000 for graduate or professional school to prepare for a career in public service.
Penn Glee Club becomes fully gender inclusive after 159 years of all-male singers
The Penn Glee Club and Penn Sirens are merging, meaning that for the first time since its founding 159 years ago, the Glee Club will include singers of all genders and will perform repertoire for soprano and alto voices, in addition to tenor and bass, and for all four voice parts.
Julie Nelson Davis named a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow
Considered a foremost authority on Japanese prints and illustrated books, the history of art professor teaches a wide range of courses on East Asian art and material culture.
Penn junior Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo named a Beinecke Scholar
Junior Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo has been awarded a 2021 Beinecke Scholarship to pursue a graduate education in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. She is one of only 16 Beinecke Scholars chosen this year.