Diversity News

Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by literary scholar Adam Bradley is the selected text for the 2013-14 Penn Reading Project at the University of Pennsylvania and kicks off Penn’s Year of Sound.

For the last two years, the History of Art Department has partnered with the College of Liberal and Professional Studies at Penn to run the four-week long summer school for students interested in the arts. The program melds field trips with traditional classroom instruction in an effort to expose students to the array of visual arts on campus and in the Philadelphia area.

Last week, 56 middle school-age girls flocked to Penn to take their computer savvy to the next level by learning to program.  Kate Miller, a rising sophomore, was able to offer this to the University as part of the Penn Girls in Engineering, Math and Science (Penn GEMS) summer camp. Her session on programming was a first for Penn GEMS, which is now in its sixth year.

Graduates and faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Law School played an instrumental role in a lawsuit filed today in federal District Court in Harrisburg seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s ban on same-sex marriage.

The Annual Queen’s Tea was hosted by the African-American Resource Center and Women of Color at Penn on June 21, 2013 at Houston Hall.  More than 150 women donned summer dresses, hats and gloves and enjoyed tea and treats to celebrate their “Queenness.”

Student Carolyn DeChants of the School of Social Policy & Practice has spearheaded a project that creates an online archive of the 30-year history of Penn’s LGBT Center.

Dawn A. Bonnell has been named Vice Provost for Research effective July 1, 2013. Dr. Bonnell is the Trustee Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and director of Penn’s Nano/Bio Interface Center.

Anita L. Allen has been named vice provost for faculty effective July 1.  Dr. Allen is the Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law in the Penn Law School and professor of philosophy in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Daniel J. Mindiola, an internationally recognized inorganic chemist, will become the fourth Presidential Term Professor effective Aug. 1.

A first-generation college student, Saed says Penn chose her. “I had a fascination with Penn since sophomore year,” she says. “I thought it was a great combo of being in an urban environment and actually making use of that in its research, and in its work in the community. Ultimately, I ended up being a QuestBridge Scholar and was matched with Penn, so it just kind of worked out.”