Student
2024 Year in Review
As the calendar flips to 2025, we look back at a few of the dozens of stories we had the privilege of sharing this past year.
Archaeological Science, Hands On
The Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials, a joint endeavor between Penn Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum, celebrates 10 years of teaching students how to interpret the past in an interdisciplinary context.
A First-of-its-Kind Master’s Program for Police Leaders
The new graduate degree from the Department of Criminology and the College of Liberal & Professional Studies will begin next fall. It aims to teach evidence-based research to foster more equitable practices.
Penn Arts & Sciences Pathways: Tova Tachau, C’25 (Video)
Tachau entered Penn as a biochemistry and biophysics double-major, but a class in 20th-century Russian literature inspired her academic journey, which now includes a major in Russian and East European Studies.
Emergency Response
Solving the complex challenge that is climate change requires breadth in approach. Penn Arts & Sciences is positioned to lead.
What History Can Be
Assistant Professor Hardeep Dhillon’s first-year seminar explores the history of children in America while equipping students with foundational skills.
The Other Emissions Coming from Cars
Tiny tire particles discharge into the environment every time a vehicle brakes, accelerates, or rounds a curve. In a UN brief, geochemist Reto Gieré and colleagues aim to educate the world about this lesser-known environmental obstacle.
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department Renamed Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures
The new name better represents the scope of research and teaching by the department.
Fox Leadership Program Turns 25
The program, founded in 1999 through a gift from Robert A. Fox, C’52, and Penny Fox, ED’53, aims to equip and empower Penn students and alums for present and future roles as ethical and effective leaders.
How Do You Get the World to Pay Attention to Water Scarcity?
Joey Wu, C’25, thinks the way to do it is by sharing stories of hope, and he launched the nonprofit Waterroots for this purpose.
Politics in Perspective
A first-year seminar taught by Michele Margolis, an associate professor of political science, applies the lessons of political science to a consequential election—and leans into difficult conversations.
Students of the Occult
In a class this semester, Becky Friedman, C’10, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of English, leads students down the dark, historical spiral of witchcraft, examining its persecutorial past and transition to palatable and raucous entertainment.
On the Record
Launching a podcast about the experience of being first-generation college students opened up a new world—and skills beyond STEM—for biochemistry major Khaliun Dorjmenchim, C’25.
Just the (Arti)facts
Ethan Nemeth, C’26, spent nine weeks on the Penn Museum’s public engagement team as part of the Summer Humanities Internship Program.
A Pandemic Puzzle
This summer, Matthew Breier, C’26, worked with Associate Professor David Barnes to research how the 1918 flu pandemic affected Philadelphia’s Black and immigrant neighborhoods.