Diversity News

Megan Becker, of the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, received the Kennedy Center Leadership Exchange in Arts and Disability (LEAD^®) Award for 2018.  The award recognizes outstanding arts administrators and cultural arts organizations whose leadership and work furthers the field of accessibility. The awards increase awareness and focus on the importance of accessibility in artistic venues, cultural institutions, and natural history settings.

Sara “Sally” Bachman has been named dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, effective Jan. 1, 2019. The announcement was made today by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett.

In this episode of the OMNIA podcast, we explore a potential watershed moment in American politics: the unprecedented number of women running for office in 2018. Dawn Teele, Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor of Political Science, researches women and politics, voting rights reform, and candidate recruitment. Right now, she’s studying Emerge, the largest Democratic campaign training program in the United States. The program recruits, trains, and connects Democratic women who want to run for office.

We speak with Teele about the historical underrepresentation of women in politics and discuss some of the cultural narratives and structural factors—from fundraising trends to division of household labor—that potentially impact the success of female candidates in U.S. elections.

2018 College grad Nia Kaudo, a double major in Africana studies and political science with a minor in history, undertook summer research as part of Penn’s Jumpstart for Juniors program. Kaudo combined her academic interests to study the history and present-day status of incarceration in the U.S. and Brazil. Her project is titled Perpetually Bound: The Impact of 20th Century Policies on Black American and Afro-Brazilian Incarceration Rates.

Here, we talk to Kaudo about Jumpstart for Juniors, her research, and her hopes for the future of mass incarceration policies.

John MacDonald, Professor of Criminology, says lessons about environmental stressors and crime can be extended to the relationship between heat and crime.

Sharon Smith, Executive Director of Student Intervention Services, has been named Associate Vice Provost for University Life. Since June 19, she has been a member of VPUL’s Central Resource Management Team (CRMT) reporting directly to Vice Provost Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum.

Joseph S. Francisco joined Penn as the President’s Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, with a secondary appointment in the department of chemistry. Having served as the Elmer H. and Ruby M. Cordes Chair in Chemistry and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Dr. Francisco is an internationally recognized scholar of atmospheric chemistry and chemical kinetics. His work extends across chemical, earth and environmental sciences.

Joseph S. Francisco joined Penn as the President’s Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, with a secondary appointment in the department of chemistry. 

On June 5, Penn President Amy Gutmann was recognized at the I Have A Dream Foundation’s annual Spirit of the Dream Gala in New York City. Nearly 500 supporters, students and alumni gathered to honor leaders who have made a transformative impact in building a more inclusive America and a more equitable education system. Dr. Gutmann was honored with the Eugene M. Lang Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jazmyn S. Pulley was named Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Penn effective July 9. A longtime member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. and the former associate director of fraternity and sorority life at Columbia University, Ms. Pulley has national leadership experience in the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.