Penn Compact | Penn Today

A pair of hands holding a cancer screening kit vial in one hand and paperwork in another extended to a person standing in a park.

How to connect communities to colorectal cancer screening

Penn Medicine has been on a multiyear journey to both raise the rates of screening for colorectal cancer and increase uptake of follow up care, with the goal of driving down colorectal cancer death rates and addressing inequities

Jose S. Campos (left), Alejandra Fausto, and Jorge (Jay) Ortiz-Carpena (right).

Penn INSPIRE guides scientists and physicians to the forefront of academia

Penn Interdisciplinary Network for Scientists Promoting Inclusion, Retention, and Equity (Penn INSPIRE) advocates to empower individuals with diverse ethnicities, backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientations—those at the margins of academia.

A new energy and intentionality to Penn purchasing

The University launched its “Fueling Business Growth” campaign at this year’s Supplier Diversity Forum and Expo, meant to increase support of local, minority-owned businesses.

Q&A

After 12 years as Penn trustees chair, David L. Cohen reflects on his time at the helm

The Comcast executive and Penn Law graduate shares why he has been so committed to the University and its growth throughout the years, what made his working relationship with President Amy Gutmann so strong, and much, much more.

A unique but exemplary academic year: 2020-21 in review

A challenging yet successful year—Penn’s exceptional community of dedicated students, faculty, and staff overcame the world’s most significant obstacles to flourish, from outreach locally through volunteerism, to helping the world globally with mRNA technology. The 2021 academic year highlighted the best of Penn.

Two masked adult students in back of classroom discussing test results.

Systemic barriers to college for low-income and nontraditional students

The release of a higher education report reveals that nontraditional students have many risk factors and financial barriers to navigate to successfully complete their educational goals.

A Zoom video event shows man in a traditional African print shirt with the words "Penn Africa Research Symposium" on the background behind him, as six participants are seen in video images on the right side of the screen, stacked vertically.

Game-changing gift announced at inaugural Penn Africa Research Symposium

The $5 million gift creates the Holman Africa Initiative, expanding financial aid and enhancing opportunities for faculty and students to engage in research and teaching in and on Africa.

Cartoon drawing of an adult reading a book to two children in a library.

Building an illustrated children’s book collection with the community

The “Mirrors Collection,” curated by Penn students, is a list of illustrated children’s books chosen and reviewed especially for Philadelphia School District libraries and their diverse student populations.

Amy Gutmann meets with students virtually on Zoom

Increasing access for students on ‘Faculty Fridays’

For the past few years, PennCAP has hosted “Faculty Fridays” as a means to better connect first generation, lower-income students with the University’s professors. These efforts have continued virtually during COVID-19.

COVID communications and first generation students

Marcus Wright, undergraduate program manager and academic coordinator in the Department of Sociology and doctoral student at the Graduate School of Education, analyzes academic messaging to expose blind spots.

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