Staff

Each year, the program shines a light on the University’s stellar staff. This year, the University is proud to honor the professionals who exemplify the dedication, care, and innovation that helped the Penn community persevere during the pandemic.

Penn Today brings together noteworthy stories and images from the past year and highlights ways for individual members of the Penn community to share their personal experiences.

Applications are now open for a new University initiative, Projects for Progress, which will award prizes of as much as $100,000 to support proposals by teams of students, faculty, and staff designed to promote equity and inclusion and make a direct impact in Philadelphia.

In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, President Amy Gutmann knows the strength and determination of the Penn community, facing the crisis together, but also apart. In an audio message, Gutmann encourages students, faculty, and staff to stay positive during such unprecedented times—a lesson she learned from her mother.

“These days bring back memories of when I was in high school and my father suddenly died. My life was split in two,” Gutmann says. “Everything that was comforting and good had come before. Now my life was uncertain and more than a little frightening. It hurt.”

But Gutmann’s mom found the means to make other lives better while calming the chaos that disrupted their own. “In the midst of misfortune, she found great meaning,” Gutmann explains.

In the midst of misfortune, Gutmann continues, “each of us can find meaning. Each of us has a calling.”

Gutmann’s full message can be listened to below.