Inclusion: Increase Access

aerial view of Philadelphia skyline from vantage point of Penn's campus

New Projects for Progress prize designed to promote equity and inclusion

Applications are now open for a new University initiative, Projects for Progress, which will award prizes of as much as $100,000 to support proposals by teams of students, faculty, and staff designed to promote equity and inclusion and make a direct impact in Philadelphia.

Louisa Shepard ・February 15, 2021

Close-up of a smiling person in a black V-neck shirt, standing outside near marble pillars.

When the message matters, use science to craft it

An interdisciplinary initiative called the Message Effects Lab aims to understand, tap into, and develop communication around what motivates specific behaviors for specific populations. Its first projects center around COVID-19 testing and vaccines.

Michele W. Berger ・February 11, 2021

Woman with folded hands stands near Locust Walk

Mamta Motwani Accapadi ‘uplifts the student experience’

As vice provost for university life, Mamta Motwani Accapadi is dedicated to giving students the support they need to thrive.

Kristina García ・February 10, 2021

Al Día

2021 AL DÍA Top Doctors: A celebration of diversity in medicine unlike any other

Iris Reyes of the Perelman School of Medicine is among 12 Latino doctors honored by AL DÍA for contributions to the profession and the community. Reyes founded the UPHS-CHOP Alliance of Minority Physicians which has expanded diversity in the Health System, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Perelman School of Medicine. “I am proud to work alongside such talented and passionate medical students, trainees and faculty who seek to change the status quo,” said Reyes.

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Ruby Washington holds a bioengineered cast in the shape of a human leg.

Ruby Washington is poised to make her mark in bioengineering

The senior in Penn Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering weds biomedicine and her pursuit in addressing healthcare disparities in the Black community.

From Penn Engineering Today ・January 25, 2021

Vote That Jawn written in bright yellow chalk on the sidewalk

Engaging in the election

In a collaborative English course taught by Lorene Cary in the fall, students shared their experiences with civic engagement by writing for publication, partnering with nonprofits like Vote That Jawn to share non-partisan information with other young first-time voters.

Louisa Shepard ・January 15, 2021

The Economist

Economists are rediscovering a lost heroine

Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in economics, attended Penn as an undergrad in 1916 before returning to the school twice more: once to get her doctorate and again for a law degree, which she used to help desegregate Philadelphia.

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Chronicle of Higher Education

‘Is inclusion even possible?’

Dean John L. Jackson Jr. of the Annenberg School for Communication participated in a conversation about how colleges can be more inclusive and equitable. “Difficult as it is, as challenging as it always has been, this is something we have to imagine,” he said. “The alternative is far too dark.”

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