The Power Of Penn Arts & Sciences

We’re weeks away from the close of the Power of Penn Arts & Sciences Campaign. When we launched the campaign in 2018, we knew that our faculty and students were innovative, dynamic, and deeply committed to knowledge and learning. We couldn’t have known then how those strengths would be tested, with the stress of a global pandemic, the challenges of online learning, and an overdue national reckoning on race and social justice. Through it all, our faculty and students have shown incredible resilience. Thanks to them, we continue to advance the liberal arts core that drives collaboration and innovation and makes Penn great.

The campaign has made much of this great work possible. With support from alumni and friends, the Power of Penn Arts & Sciences Campaign has fueled our vision. We’re transforming the future of energy science and working toward sustainability; we’re driving global change and advancing important conversations about democracy, immigration, and belonging; we’re using all the tools of the 21st century to explore human experiences through literature, art, and the historical record; and we’re harnessing the power of the brain by investing in technology and research that has the potential to unlock insights about the fundamental nature of being. We are sustaining and strengthening our diverse, dynamic, and collaborative faculty and empowering students to realize their full potential, in a world that needs individuals who know how to think, analyze, communicate, lead, inspire, and create.

I’m happy to share some highlights with you. I hope you will join me in celebrating the campaign’s impact and the future of Penn Arts & Sciences.

— Steven J. Fluharty

Advancing Faculty Distinction

Our faculty is stronger than ever, with professorship gifts increasing the diversity and eminence of scholars at all levels. With cluster hires in energy and in health and inequality studies, we’ve grown our ability to tackle big issues across disciplines.

Realizing Student Potential

We’ve added over $100 million to our undergraduate financial aid endowment through more than 230 gifts—resources that are essential for the largest undergraduate school at Penn.

Creating a Sustainable Planet

We’re transforming the future of energy science with prominent faculty hires, the newly established Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, and our plans for the new Vagelos Laboratory—a cutting-edge home for energy research.

Harnessing the Power of the Brain

MindCORE brings mind and brain research at Penn under one umbrella and supports early-stage research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student learning. With gifts to endow the center and support undergraduate fellowships, MindCORE is poised to have a lasting impact.

Exploring the Human Experience

An endowment gift established the Price Lab for Digital Humanities, which trains students to use digital tools for analysis, preservation, and the democratic dissemination of knowledge, while newly created artists-in-residence positions highlight the intersection of creative practice and critical thinking.

Driving Global Change

The newly endowed Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy advances student research and learning on topics of global importance. Research projects supported by gifts to the Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race, and Immigration and the Making a Difference in Diverse Communities initiative generate knowledge that helps us work toward an equitable future.

To learn more about any of these initiatives or to support the Power of Penn Arts & Sciences Campaign, email Deb Rhebergen, Associate Vice Dean for Advancement, at drheberg@sas.upenn.edu.