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Graduate Students

Fostering the next generation of Black philosophers at Penn
ben baker sitting on the steps looking up

Fostering the next generation of Black philosophers at Penn

In the past decade, the department has become a hub for race theory and a welcoming environment for a diverse group of young academics, mentored by those who have paved the way before them.

Michele W. Berger

New Projects for Progress prize designed to promote equity and inclusion
aerial view of Philadelphia skyline from vantage point of Penn's campus

The new Projects for Progress initiative will award prizes to support proposals by teams of Penn students, faculty, and staff designed to promote equity and inclusion and make a direct impact in Philadelphia. 

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

Mamta Motwani Accapadi ‘uplifts the student experience’
Woman with folded hands stands near Locust Walk

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

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 Linnea García

Project Quaker testing program key to a safe campus reopening
a person looking at a robotic pipetting machine on the other side of a glass partition

Project Quaker testing program key to a safe campus reopening

Developed in partnership with Penn Medicine, the program aims to conduct 40,000 COVID-19 tests each week and will support ongoing plans to bring students back to campus this spring.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Graduate student artists persevere during pandemic and find new inspiration
Patricia Renee Thomas paints on a large canvas in her studio.

Graduate student artists persevere during pandemic and find new inspiration

Penn Master of Fine Arts students are not only adapting to this year’s challenges, but are pushing their work in different directions, as they continue to paint, draw, sculpt, photograph, and film during the pandemic.

Louisa Shepard

Uncovered burial ground reveals history of 36 enslaved Africans in 18th-century Charleston
Two people looking at documents, with one person explaining them to the other. More people stand in the background.

At a community engagement event in 2019, Theodore Schurr of the Department of Anthropology explains DNA test results to Regina Scott, one of the participants involved in the research project. (Pre-pandemic image: Lauren Petracca/Post & Courier)

Uncovered burial ground reveals history of 36 enslaved Africans in 18th-century Charleston

According to the research, many of these individuals originated in sub-Saharan Africa, in line with historical accounts of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This work, the largest DNA study of its kind to date, was co-led by anthropologist Theodore Schurr and conducted with support from and at the request of the local community.

Michele W. Berger