Affirming Our Purpose

Spring at the School of Arts and Sciences is typically a time of celebration, when my colleagues and I can look back at the year and appreciate the people, projects, and accomplishments that define us as a great institution. This year is no exception: We have achieved much, both individually and as a School. 

We started 2024 with the announcement of a transformative gift—the largest ever in the School’s history—from P. Roy and Diana Vagelos. Their generosity and vision will be shaping the future of science research and education at Penn Arts & Sciences for generations to come. 

Our faculty have distinguished themselves through a series of honors, ranging from teaching awards to appointments to prestigious academic societies, even a Pulitzer. They continue to produce scholarship that is shaping conversations within and beyond the academy. And our students continue to demonstrate potential that is truly inspiring. 

But there is no looking back at the past year without acknowledging the profound impact on our community of the horrific Hamas attack on Israel and the continuing war in Gaza. We witnessed reactions to world events descend on our campus, along with campuses across the country and globally, in a way that has not been seen in more than a generation. 

Why have campuses become ground zero for unrest? In no small part, it stems from our commitment to hearing diverse voices, and our conviction that it is the job of institutions of higher learning to uncover truth, even when the questions get hard. We aspire to a high standard of open discourse—a standard that, at times, tests us. But while these conversations are hard, it has never been more clear that opening ourselves to challenging discourse is our greatest strength, where our ability to advance and create knowledge is rooted. 

Our vibrant campus life this spring is a testament to how our community values discourse, in events that brought us together on a range of topics. Our Living the Hard Promise series has continued, including a series of 60-Second Lectures exploring related themes and an Alumni Weekend Hard Promise event featuring Paul Sniegowski and Beth Wenger. An audience of 1,500 people listened to Margaret Atwood’s discussion with Professor Emily Wilson during the annual Stephen A. Levin Family Dean’s Forum. Alumni came to hear faculty discuss climate and sustainability at our Ben Talks events in New York and California. 

In May we closed out this academic year at our School’s three graduation ceremonies—celebrating the accomplishments of nearly 400 graduate students; 500 lifelong learners from the College of Liberal & Professional Studies; and more than 1,300 undergraduates, representing some 50 majors, from the College. Despite a year of hard discussions, we all came together as a community for these celebrations. As we sent our graduates out into a complex world, where there are many difficult questions and few simple answers, we took away with us an affirmation of our purpose and the fundamental importance of our work. I look forward to continuing engagement and discussion with these graduates, with all our alumni, and with the rest of us on campus as we return in fall and begin again.

– Steven J. Fluharty, C’79, GR’81, PAR’07, Dean and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience