School of Social Policy & Practice

WHO:           Cynthia Figueroa, newly appointed commissioner, Philadelphia Department of Human Services

Three military veterans who are enrolled as graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania, John Schippert, Jonathan Wood and Matthew Miclette, have been appointed as 2016 Tillman Scholars through the Pat Tillman Foundation.

WHO:              John L.

Natalie Au and Rachel Townzen of the University of Pennsylvania have received International Student Reporting Fellowships from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in partnership with Penn’s Middle East Center and South Asia Center.

Dancing in water is much more challenging than people think, Eileen Wang says.  Wang, a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of this season’s 13-member synchronized swimming club. Known as Penn Synchro, the club has a 70-year history. 

Recognizing the importance of inclusion and diversity in their business practices, more than 70 members of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce gathered at the University of Pennsylvania on April 5 to discuss how to successfully address unconscious bias and foster constructive relationships in the work environment.

The Fels Policy Research Initiative in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania has announced five inaugural collaborative grants for as much as $15,000 each, designed to further interdisciplinary partnerships. 

Two grants, totaling nearly $2 million, have been awarded to University of Pennsylvania professors Dennis Culhane and John Fantuzzo, enabling the continued development and expanded use of Integrated Data Systems, or IDS, for evidence-based policymaking through the Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy, or AISP, initiative.

In one large metropolitan area, arraignment decisions made with the assistance of machine learning cut new domestic violence incidents by half, leading to more than 1,000 fewer such post-arraignment arrests annually, according to new findings from the University of Pennsylvania.

WHO &  WHAT:          The Public Policy Challenge invites students from across the University of Pennsylvania to develop a policy proposal based on an issue that affects Philadelphia, such as education, public health, homelessness, recidivism and others.