Penn Arts & Sciences

09/03/2026

Join us for a kickoff event of the latest Penn Arts & Sciences event series. Penn Arts & Sciences School Dean Mark Trodden and historian Sophia Rosenfeld will introduce and discuss the 2026-28 theme, “Democracy and Knowledge”

For more info, please visit https://bit.ly/4i4tnQw

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09/03/2026

Marcia Chatelain, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies, authors an article on "The Black women whose voices lifted hearts at the March on Washington."

Tags: University of Pennsylvania

Sixty-three years later, the voices and vision of the women of the march have yet to be appreciated.

09/01/2026

If you’re among the many readers who learned to love “The Odyssey” through Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation, you might be surprised that she’s going to translate it again.

Emily Wilson's 2017 translation of “The Odyssey” is a million-seller. It's also not the end of the story.

09/01/2026

Over the weekend, NASA launched its long-awaited Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, carrying one of the most advanced wide-field cameras ever sent to space. Cosmologists and astronomers Bhuvnesh Jain, Mike Jarvis, Masao Sako, and Robyn Sanderson helped build the software to analyze Roman’s data for information on dark matter, distant light, and the Milky Way’s faintest neighboring galaxies. In this story from the Penn Today archives, the team traces Roman’s unlikely path from spy satellite to cosmic voyager.

Researchers from Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences are part of a collaboration to develop Hubble’s wide-eyed cousin, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

08/31/2026

Sarah Gronningsater, Associate Professor of History, has been appointed to the Evan C Thompson Chair for Excellence in Teaching. The honor, which took effect July 1, recognizes teaching excellence in the four undergraduate schools at Penn.

Tags: University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania History Department

08/31/2026

Big ideas in just one minute!

A Penn Arts & Sciences tradition since 2003, the 60-Second Lectures return to College Green this fall!

Join us at 12 p.m. next Wednesday, September 9, as Melissa Wilde of Sociology kicks off the fall season with her lecture, "Political Neutrality and Sociology."

And as always, there will be free cookies!

For more info, please visit https://bit.ly/4wVMWxZ

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08/31/2026

It’s been 50 years since Legionnaires’ disease was discovered in Philadelphia. David Barnes, associate professor of history and sociology of science, says people can learn a lot from that moment.

"It’s worth looking back to remind ourselves that our complacency and confidence is often more fragile than it appears," says Barnes. In other words, he adds, when public health systems succeed, they’re imperceptible—a luxury that disappears when they stop working.

Tags: University of Pennsylvania

It’s been 50 years since Legionnaires’ disease was discovered in Philadelphia. David Barnes, associate professor of history and sociology of science, says people can learn a lot from that moment.

08/28/2026

Arica Shepherd, C’19, has built a career at the intersection of technology, data, and innovation. In our latest edition of Penn Arts & Sciences at Work, she reflects on her journey from Penn to the tech industry, and how her experiences at Penn continue to shape the way she approaches her work and leadership.

"It’s hard to believe how much time has passed since I was attending Penn. I think my younger self would be surprised at my career because I came to Penn wanting to get my PhD in chemistry, or go to dental school. But I think she would be very happy to see the life I have now. As a student, being a tour guide was one of my favorite extracurriculars because I got to guide people, both literally and figuratively. I loved helping people learn about Penn so they could make the right decision for themselves. Helping someone come to an understanding is so rewarding, and I love that I still act in a guiding role in my work today," says Shepherd.

Arica Shepherd is a Business Intelligence Manager and Data Scientist at BlackLine
in Washington, D.C.

Tags: University of Pennsylvania, Penn Alumni

Shepherd, a chemistry major who minored in biological basis of behavior and gender, sexuality, & women’s studies, is today a business intelligence manager and data scientist at BlackLine.

08/27/2026

Agriculture has long been considered a marker of human progress, one that has dramatically reshaped humanity’s relationship to plants. This summer, in partnership with the Price Lab for Digital Humanities, four students—Alana Cyril, C’27, Stella Stein, C’29, Samantha Pierce, C’29, and Arianna Baptiste, C’27—helped Professor of History Marcy Norton create a database of plants and their historic purposes on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. https://buff.ly/X0idVgh

Assisting Marcy Norton, Professor of History, four undergraduates spent their summers combing through centuries-old texts to learn more about the vital history of the area’s plants.

08/26/2026

In late August, students packed Houston Hall to learn about Penn Arts & Sciences departments, waved hats in Annenberg Plaza, and heard from Deans Trodden and Struck as they welcomed the Class of 2030.

“Whether your interests lead you to a laboratory, an archive, a field site, a studio, or somewhere in between,” Trodden told the students, “you’ll find faculty and classmates who will challenge you to think deeply, embrace complexity, and pursue knowledge with purpose.”

In late August, students packed Houston Hall to learn about Penn Arts & Sciences departments, waved hats in Annenberg Plaza, and heard from Deans Trodden and Struck as they welcomed the Class of 2030.