The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional festivities, but the College of Arts & Sciences celebrated the Class of 2020 with a virtual graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 17. It included addresses from Dean Steven J. Fluharty, Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, and Paul Sniegowski, Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of the College and Professor of Biology, as well as a virtual roll call and slideshow of the graduates. Emily Wilson, College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities in the Department of Classical Studies, and Lucy Hu, C’20, were the featured speakers.
Emily Wilson, College for Women Class of 1963 Term Professor in the Humanities in the Department of Classical Studies, and Lucy Hu, C’20
Renowned classical scholar Emily Wilson is the author of a bestselling edition of Homer’s Odyssey, the first English translation by a woman. Her research focuses on Greek and Roman literature and its reception and translation, with particular interests in epic, tragedy, and philosophy. Wilson’s internationally recognized research has been supported by distinguished honors including the American Council of Learned Societies National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, a MacArthur Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is the author of six books and many articles and essays. Her verse translation of The Odyssey received wide acclaim, named by The New York Times as one of its 100 notable books of 2018 and shortlisted for the 2018 National Translation Award.
Lucy Hu, from Auckland, New Zealand, majored in political science with a minor in survey research and data analytics, and wrote an award-winning honors thesis. She was on the Dean’s List during her first three years, and was selected for Phi Beta Kappa. Hu was active with the Penn Program on Opinion Research and Election Studies (PORES) as a student fellow and teaching assistant. She also conducted research at Perry World House, and was published in the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics, and World Affairs. She interned at the Penn Biden Center in Washington D.C.; Comcast NBCUniversal; and the Philadelphia Inquirer, and she volunteered with the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project and Civic Youth Action Partnership. Hu is now working for a political polling and public opinion firm.
Spring/Summer 2020
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