Penn Athletics receives $20 million gift to support wrestling
A lead gift from former University Trustee, alumnus Dave Pottruck, launches a new campaign and will kick off renovations inside Weightman Hall for a new wrestling facility.
Penn Graduate School of Education professors and programs are engaged in more than 150 international partnerships and projects in over 60 countries around the globe to enact positive change through education.
250 years in the making, Penn Libraries’ postal archives
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States Post Office, Penn Today highlights postal-related items in the Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections.
Public investments in biomedical research have an outsized effect, driving new scientific insights, economic growth, and ultimately treatments and cures.
Research from Professor Michael Mann and Ph.D. students Annabelle Horton and Mackenzie Weaver shows that as the worst of these East Coast winter storms intensify, so does their destructive potential—a facet that current coastal risk assessments often ignore.
A hands-on education of Pennsylvania and New Jersey ecology
Sally Willig has been teaching Regional Field Ecology at Penn since 1999, educating students about plants, soils, and more at sites such as Ringing Rocks County Park and the Pine Barrens.
Research from Professor Michael Mann and Ph.D. students Annabelle Horton and Mackenzie Weaver shows that as the worst of these East Coast winter storms intensify, so does their destructive potential—a facet that current coastal risk assessments often ignore.
Mark Dingfield named executive vice president at Penn
As executive vice president, Dingfield will oversee Penn’s business and administrative operations, including finance, investments, human resources, business services, information technology, facilities and real estate services, audit, public safety, and more.
Organized by the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, this program will feature the ceramic work of Artist-in-Residence Marguerita Hagan, who transforms complex scientific concepts into tangible, visual forms rendered on ceramic shields. Attendees will experience firsthand how these clay shields act as conversation starters, breaking down scientific jargon and making complex ideas more relatable. Register to attend.
Visitors will walk along a shady path to view the glory of summer at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens—all while keeping cool. The summertime tree canopies will be at their fullest expanse, offering remarkable panoramas. Attendees will also get a chance to view several garden features tucked away in the shade. Free with Penn ID.
Rows of Virginia live oak (Quercus virgniniana) planted as a trial at Morris Arboretum.
Penn’s guiding principles are the University’s enduring values and distinctive strengths: anchored, inventive, interwoven, and engaged. The practices support and strengthen Penn’s core educational mission.
At Penn Today, we focus on some of the ways the University is putting this framework into action. From student, faculty, and staff profiles to research updates and event coverage, Penn Today highlights the latest examples of the University’s principled approach to excellence.
Keeping it local: Penn’s partnerships with Philadelphia-based vendors boost local economy, neighborhood impact
According to the University’s latest Economic Impact Report, Penn helps power Philadelphia’s economy by procuring goods and services from neighboring businesses. Local CEOs discuss the meaningful impact that Penn has on their bottom line and in the community.
Using behavioral economics-based interventions, a 2025 President’s Engagement Prize-winning project will address health and nutrition inequities in a West Philadelphia elementary school.
Penn lends support to Rebuilding Together Philadelphia effort repairing 11 local homes in two days
Marking a milestone block build, 70 Penn volunteers combined forces with Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, a nonprofit with roots at the University, to revitalize owner-occupied houses in the West Philadelphia community. The momentous two-day event involved a block build and speaking program—with a local homeowner sharing a heartfelt message.
Supporting a community for learning, research, and thriving
Four months after the launch of the Office of Religious and Ethnic Interests (Title VI), the office is combating discrimination in all forms while leading educational efforts about dialogue and adaptive leadership.
Long periods of social isolation can physically shrink the brain
A study by Mathias Basner and David R. Roalf of the Perelman School of Medicine finds that the brain can shrink due to social isolation after a year spent cut off from the wider world.
Postdoc Sarah Tomke of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that black squirrels are the result of a genetic mutation rather than a different species.
Health insurers are denying more drug claims, data shows
A study led by Michael Anne Kyle of the Perelman School of Medicine and Leonard Davis Institute found that cancer patients with prior authorization requirements were more likely to have a sudden interruption in access to their oral chemotherapy medication. Penn Medicine’s Aaron Schwartz, also of LDI, says that claim denials are opaque, with many decisions made by private actors.
