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New campus choir finds harmony
Members of Penn’s choir.

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New campus choir finds harmony

The new Penn Staff & Community Choir, formed by Penn’s Office of Social Equity and Community in the fall, will have its debut mini-concert on Feb. 4, led by director Ruth Naomi Floyd.
Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability
Jules Dingle.

Architect and professor of practice of historic preservation at the Weitzman School Jules Dingle.

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Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability

The Philadelphia architect and professor of practice in historic preservation joined the Weitzman School in the fall.

From the Weitzman School of Design

What’s That? Black squirrels
a black squirrel perched on a tree trunk

A black squirrel on College Green in the fall of 2024. 

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What’s That? Black squirrels

Penn Today spoke to Sarah Tomke in the School of Veterinary Medicine’s Wildlife Futures Program about the black squirrels regularly seen on College Green. They are black because of a genetic mutation in the melanin receptor protein, which regulates pigment.
Care across cultures: Penn Medicine African Health Clinic
Members of Penn’s African Health Clinic.

From check-ups to managing diabetes, treating common illnesses, and X-raying injured extremities, the care team handles a variety of patients’ needs right from the off-site clinics.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine News)

Care across cultures: Penn Medicine African Health Clinic

For the last two years, the Perelman School of Medicine has partnered with the African Family Health Organization to offer weekly family-medicine/primary care clinics for recent immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean.

Alex Gardner

‘Deeply Rooted’ community partnerships
Jovian Patterson looks at some raspberry bushes growing in a community garden.

Jovian Patterson has used Deeply Rooted community green grants to expand an annual garden class for his West Philadelphia neighbors.

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‘Deeply Rooted’ community partnerships

Deeply Rooted is a community partnership that plants trees, greens vacant lots, and funds grassroots programs. The goal: health justice in action.

Christina Hernandez Sherwood for Penn Medicine Magazine

Free West Philly community clinic, which provided care to hundreds, is closed
WHYY (Philadelphia)

Free West Philly community clinic, which provided care to hundreds, is closed

Penn Medicine resident Noor Shaik and Michael Rubenstein of the Perelman School of Medicine discuss a West Philadelphia clinic that became a model for collaborations between academic health systems and community organizations.

Update on Penn’s $100M pledge to Philadelphia public schools
Exterior of Roxborough High School in Philadelphia

The funding Penn is providing to Philadelphia Public Schools is being used to remediate environmental hazards in schools throughout the city, including the 100-year-old Roxborough High School in North Philadelphia.

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Update on Penn’s $100M pledge to Philadelphia public schools

Significant progress has been made in the four years since Penn pledged $100 million to the School District of Philadelphia to remediate environmental hazards, including asbestos and lead, in hundreds of school buildings.