A Champion for the Liberal Arts

Peter Struck, Vartan Gregorian Professor of the Humanities, shares his journey as an academic, an educator, and now, Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Mary Caldwell standing at a lecturn, with her arms up and outstretched.

Topics ranged from social learning and the importance of reproductive health to the Civil Rights movement, the city of Philadelphia, and whether dance can exist without music.

Physics_SAIL_class

Bill Ashmanskas is using the Structured Active In-Class Learning format to help his students grasp high-level physics concepts.

Graduate students sitting in living room.

In a graduate seminar taught by Professor of Music Carol Muller, students re-examined ethnographic research methods and worked on field projects aimed at documenting Philadelphia’s Black music history.

Small Seminars Foster Sense of Belonging for New College Students

Sixty first-year seminars offer complex subjects in a comfortable group setting, as well as close connections to professors and peers. This year, 10 are also taking part in a pilot program focused on teaching students how to have respectful dialogue around difficult topics.

Pain Management

Jessica Wojick, doctoral candidate in the Department of Biology, examines the inner workings of chronic pain, and how to mitigate the suffering of those who are afflicted.

Memories and Manifestos

Ala Stanford is a surgeon, a national leader in health equity, and Professor of Practice at Penn. In a new book, she chronicles the ups and downs of her path from North Philly, how she served thousands during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her work to end health disparities.

Living the Olympic Dream

The Paris Games will mark the second for Regina Salmons, C’18, who will represent the U.S. in women’s eight boat. She reflects on her experience and what it means to push yourself “to the absolute limits of human ability.”

A Proud American

In his new book The Ballad of Roy Benavidez, historian William Sturkey explores the life of this Hispanic war hero, his fight to maintain veteran disability benefits, and the ways in which Hispanic Americans have long shaped U.S. history with scant acknowledgement.

Spring/Summer 2024

Omnia SS24 Cover

In this issue, we feature research on sound, Africana studies at Penn, the LPS certificate program, alums working in the art auction world, the Vageloses, and so much more.

Penn Arts & Sciences in the News

NPR

Everyone Wants Taylor Swift’s Vote. But Celebrity Endorsements are Complicated.

August 22, 2024

Michael Platt, James S. Riepe University Professor, says that having a celebrity endorsement in politics can backfire. “Maybe it’s a celebrity that you don’t like or is not aligned with you politically.” Plus, he adds, there’s the “vampire effect,” where a celebrity who is too famous shifts the attention away from the candidate he or she is endorsing. 

Discover

How Were These Four Iconic Ancient Stone Structures Built by Early Civilizations?

August 22, 2024

Josef Wegner, Egyptologist and chair of the Department of Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures, comments on the technology used to build the Great Sphinx of Giza. “The Egyptians were masters of limestone masonry, and their sculptors would have easily been able to carve at this scale,” he says.

ABC News

Yes, Party Conventions Matter

August 21, 2024

“We have a lot of good research and political communications that suggest that the types of people who would be most exposed to conventions are the most politically engaged people, the types of people who would probably be the most certain to vote and the most certain to vote for specific candidates,” says Marc Meredith, a professor in the Department of Political Science. 

Los Angeles Times

News Analysis: The Audacity of ‘Hope’ from an Incumbent Democratic Party

August 21, 2024

Loren Goldman, Associate Professor of Political Science, has studied the use of hope as a political tool through history. He says that Democrats “embracing the language of hope” allows them to “claim the mantle of the future,” adding that it positions Harris as someone inheriting the legacy of President Barack Obama and contrasts her with her opponent, Donald Trump.