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Education, Business, & Law
Revitalizing and expanding Penn GSE’s space for modern learning
The planned building expansion for the Graduate School of Education adds more than just space: It brings a new approach to building design to accommodate new technologies and spaces for collaboration.
Report shows MSI leaders connecting with students through social media
A new report from Penn GSE’s Center for Minority Serving Institutions examines how presidents of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are using social media to interact with students, and what lessons leaders at all colleges could learn from them.
The business of voting
The chaos that befell the 2000 election sparked a revamping of the election technology industry. Wharton experts have drafted a report detailing the business side of modernizing voting technology.
STEM and business classes mesh for Philadelphia high schoolers
As part of the SMASH Wharton program, 35 students live and breathe college life in the summer, staying for three years in Harnwell College House and taking classes at Huntsman Hall.
Digital currency ‘Initial Coin Offerings’ expose investors to risks
A research team led by Penn Law professor David Hoffman has conducted the first detailed analysis of Initial Coin Offerings of virtual currencies, revealing the estimated $25 billion dollar industry’s protections against self-dealing may leave investors exposed to risks they don’t anticipate from issuers.
Leadership lessons from the Thai cave rescue
Wharton's Michael Useem and Andrew Eavis from the International Union of Speleology discuss the combination of leadership, cooperation and altruism that freed the Thai soccer team.
Talking philosophy, privacy, and race with Anita Allen
On July 1, the Vice Provost and professor of Law and Philosophy became the first female African-American president of the American Philosophical Association’s Eastern Division.
Pardon power: Rogers Smith on presidential privilege
The political science professor discusses the legality of the current president applying the power of presidential pardon to himself, and concludes that there's no definitive constitutional answer.
Why people don’t prepare for disasters
Wharton's Robert Meyer discusses the lack of disaster preparedness individuals take in response to hurricane season, and the psychology of decision-making in relation to disasters.
College opportunity at risk: A Penn GSE report on 50 states
A new report by Professor Joni Finney finds the U.S. is “woefully unprepared” to meet 21st-century workforce challenges, and all states must make significant changes in their approach higher education. The College Opportunity Risk Assessment is the first state-by-state analytic tool to compare the risks to higher education.
In the News
Philadelphia Inquirer
Trump-friendly Newsmax bundled into Comcast’s Xfinity service
The Annenberg School for Communication’s Victor Pickard discussed conservative news channel Newsmax and its recent deal with Comcast. If Comcast is “feeling the heat from the right, it will make sense to appease some of those critics,” said Pickard.
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Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call
Pennsylvania Supreme Court relents for now on medical malpractice changes
Responding to threats by a large health network outside Philadelphia to end cross-county partnerships if venue restraints on medical malpractice lawsuits were lifted, Hanming Fang of the School of Arts and Sciences and the Leonard Davis Institute said changing the venue rule would allow lawyers to file lawsuits in Philadelphia regardless of affiliations with the city’s health systems. “I don’t see that logic,” said Fang.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
From self-care to dumpling tours, Valentine’s Day is becoming more than flowers and chocolates
The Wharton School’s Barbara Kahn spoke about changes in Valentine’s Day gift-giving trends. “It’s easier and easier to acquire stuff, but people are also saying I don’t need just stuff anymore,” she said, in response to this year’s uptick in gifts that center a shared memory or experience.
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“The Pulse,” (WHYY Radio)
What’s the best way to teach math?
Caroline Ebby of the Graduate School of Education said that in the U.S. many people learn math as a set of rules to follow but don’t fully understand the procedures used to solve equations.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
Hershey School’s law firm was arguing two cases before a federal judge—and then hired his son
David Hoffman of the Law School commented on a judge’s decision to reintroduce negligence claims to the suits against the Milton Hershey School. “Federal judges rarely change their mind on reconsideration, and when they do, that kind of open-mindedness should be celebrated,” said Hoffman.
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