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West Philadelphia
Undergraduate fellows in new Office of Social Equity & Community make a positive impact
The inaugural class of eight undergraduate fellows in Penn’s new Office of Social Equity & Community are already making progress, working with those who are homeless and food insecure and using their leadership and research to address inequities in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
Student-athletes for an anti-racist society
Junior Jelani Williams of the men’s basketball team and senior Michae Jones of the women’s basketball team are leaders among Penn’s student-athlete community in the fight for social justice and racial equality.
The stories trees tell
In a photo essay, Penn Today highlights some of campus’s most iconic trees.
Helping salons safely reopen in West Philadelphia
A Penn Medicine program called SHARP, or Safe Haircuts As We Reopen Philadelphia, helped refine plans for hair salons and barbershops to safely reopen.
An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods
A new paper centers racial equity and address the structural barriers that have prevented Black and other underrepresented minority communities from being vaccinated against COVID-19 at equitable rates.
Public Health Management Corporation and Penn Medicine announce opening of the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar
The Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic’s transition of the former Mercy Catholic Medical Center—Mercy Philadelphia Campus, along with coalition partners, including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Independence Blue Cross Foundation, envision integrated health care and social services for the West and Southwest Philadelphia community.
A Q&A with Trina Sokoloski, house director of New College House West
As New College House West prepares to welcome its inaugural residents this fall, House Director Trina Sokoloski talks with Penn Today about what to expect and what it means to build a new community
A pivot, from financial literacy to restorative justice
Collective Climb won a 2020 President’s Engagement Prize as a West Philadelphia-based financial literacy project, but shifted their focus to engage with young people around the issue of community violence.
How Penn Medicine is getting COVID-19 vaccines to communities that need it most
Direct outreach to elderly and vulnerable populations, and working with Philadelphia faith leaders has led to community-based clinics throughout West Philadelphia.
A partnership to help fight COVID and develop a STEM career pipeline
Working with the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, University City District’s workforce development program, Penn Medicine is creating pathways to science careers for local jobseekers.
In the News
Here’s what these youth advocates have to say about Philly’s truancy problem, and how they would fix it
The Netter Center for Community Partnerships has more than 30 years of investment in connecting resources that address truancy, such as establishing after-school programming.
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Event recognizes legacy of Judge A. Leon Higginbotham
A West Philadelphia mural has been dedicated to the late Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, formerly of Penn Carey Law, with a quote from Osagie Imasogie.
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Education power players—Lauren Overton, Principal, Penn Alexander School
In a video interview, Lauren Overton, principal of the Penn Alexander School and a doctoral candidate in the Graduate School of Education, discusses how she and her staff at PAS have adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The West Philly housing crisis that was utterly avoidable
An in-depth examination looks at the solution that might have put a stop to the UC Townhomes housing crisis, with a glimpse at what President Liz Magill and her office are doing to help.
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Penn to build new Stuart Weitzman performing arts center in the heart of campus
Christopher Gruits of Penn Live Arts says that the new Stuart Weitzman Theatre will give artists more flexibility and completely transform the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
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University City is running out of real estate for life sciences development. The answer? Densification
At a Philadelphia Business Journal event, Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli discussed the lack of available land in Philadelphia for life sciences development and the need for densification.
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