Silfen Forum | Penn Today

Three panelists on stage and the seated crowd at Penn’s Silfen Forum.

Penn’s Silfen Forum addresses ‘waging peace’

At the 2024 Silfen Forum, former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Salam Fayyad and former Israeli Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich spoke about dialogue and diplomacy in the Middle East.

Interim president Wendell Pritchett interviewing Ken Burns.

Ben Franklin: A voice from the past that speaks to our time

At the 2022 Silfen Forum, Penn Interim President Wendell Pritchett chatted with filmmaker Ken Burns about his new two-part documentary on Benjamin Franklin.

Biden speaking in his offie at the Penn Biden Center

Joe Biden’s longtime ties to Penn

As the nation prepares for its 46th president to take office Wednesday, Jan. 20, Penn Today reflects on the lasting impact he’s had at the University.

This year’s Silfen Forum, moved to a live, online format due to COVID-19, featured Ashley Parker, Julián Castro, Donna Brazile, Peggy Noonan, and Jeb Bush, in conversation with the Paideia Program’s inaugural director Michael Delli Carpini. President Amy Gutmann kicked off the event, which engaged the theme “Civil Discourse in Uncivil Times.”

Panelists ‘lay out the stakes’ of civil discourse

At the 2020 Silfen Forum, hosted by President Amy Gutmann, students, faculty, staff, and alumni tuned in to hear from a group of distinguished experts—Ashley Parker, Julián Castro, Donna Brazile, Peggy Noonan, and Jeb Bush, with Michael Delli Carpini of the Paideia Program serving as the event’s moderator.

An epidemic that affects us all

Public officials and medical experts meshed on stage for this year’s Silfen Forum, discussing the complex issues surrounding the nation’s opioid crisis.

Talking immigration, at home and abroad

This year’s David and Lyn Silfen University Forum focused on “People and Policy Adrift: A 21st Century Framework for Asylum Seekers, Refugees, and Immigration Policy.”

Penn hosts cancer conversation with Biden, other experts at Silfen University Forum

The wide-ranging discussion emphasized the importance of collaboration among researchers, the challenge of prevention, and the crucial importance of discovery and innovation in reaching milestones in cancer prevention and treatment.

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