Alumni | Penn Today

Actor, director, producer, Penn alumna Elizabeth Banks to speak at 269th Commencement

At the Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 19, Banks will receive an honorary degree, along with the other 2025 Penn honorary degree recipients.

4 min. read

CBS Philadelphia

Actor and director Elizabeth Banks will be University of Pennsylvania commencement speaker, school says

Actress and director Elizabeth Banks will deliver the Commencement address at Penn in May.

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Kathryn Griffo named Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations at Penn

Griffo has worked at Penn for nearly two decades, serving most recently as Chief Advancement Officer for Penn Medicine Development and Alumni Relations.

3 min. read

Philadelphia Inquirer

An eye-popping virtual reality tour of a billionaire collector’s townhouse at Penn’s Arthur Ross Gallery

The “After Modernism” exhibit at the Arthur Ross is hailed as “eye-popping.”

Penn’s 2025 Thouron Scholars are (left to right): (top) Benjamin Cohen, Alexander Gerlach, Joy Gong, and Sarah Hinkel; (bottom) Sophie Kadan, Benjamin May, and Joey Wu.

(Images: Courtesy of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships)

Penn announces seven 2025 Thouron Scholars

Seven University of Pennsylvania affiliates—five fourth-years and two recent graduates—have each received a 2025 Thouron Award to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom.

Fox 29 (Philadelphia)

UPenn grad stars in new film ‘Rule Breakers’ highlighting Afghanistan’s all-girls robotics team

Alumna Amber Afzali discusses her starring role in “Rule Breakers,” a film that showcases the making of Afghanistan’s first all-girls robotics team.

Peter Cook and J. Larry Jameson in front of a portrait of Julian Abele.

Celebrating the architectural legacy of Penn’s first Black architecture graduate

At a gathering at Eisenlohr Hall, a portrait of renowned architect Julian Abele and a series of his paintings were unveiled, formally recognizing his design contributions to one of campus’ iconic structures.

Penn named top producer of 2024-25 Fulbright Scholars

The Department of State has named Penn a Fulbright U.S. Student Program “Top Producing Institution,” one of the colleges and universities with the highest number of awardees, for the 2024-25 academic year. Last year, 15 Penn students and alumni were offered Fulbright grants to 13 countries.

Sadie and Raymond Alexander with a film projector in a room with books on bookshelves and framed photos behind them.

From the Archives: Raymond and Sadie Alexander family home movies

The University Archives’ Alexander Family Papers document the professional and personal lives of Penn trailblazers Raymond and Sadie Alexander, as well as some of their family members. Included are more than 100 home movies, dating from 1930 to 1961.