City of Philadelphia

Marking a milestone block build, 70 Penn volunteers combined forces with Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, a nonprofit with roots at the University, to revitalize owner-occupied houses in the West Philadelphia community. The momentous two-day event involved a block build and speaking program—with a local homeowner sharing a heartfelt message.

The building that houses Penn’s Greenfield Intercultural Center has been listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, thanks to a nomination authored by Ke-An Chiang, a graduate student at Penn’s Weitzman School. Built circa 1845, the Reed-Hubley Residence, a 3-story villa at 3708-12 Chestnut Street, is believed to be the oldest building owned by Penn, outside of Hospital properties, which served several families as a suburban villa before being acquired by the University in 1982.

The School District of Philadelphia’s High School of the Future and Horace Howard Furness have been selected as the inaugural participants in “The Academy at Penn,” a new initiative designed to create a national and scalable model to transform high school education and expand college and career opportunities for students from underserved communities. The $8 million-funded project is a partnership between Foundations, Inc., Penn GSE, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at Penn GSE, and the School District of Philadelphia.

How the Penn Libraries Community Engagement team is improving the classic “storytime” or “read-aloud” experience for elementary school students in Philadelphia.

Several researchers from Penn Medicine’s Department of Neurology are featured throughout the Franklin Institute’s Body Odyssey exhibit.

The University, Philadelphia’s largest private employer, generates economic development across the city, Commonwealth, and region.

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.