Penn is Making History -- every day

Penn Donors Make History -- Online

In this historic year, midway through our campaign, we're celebrating our donors in a brand new way -- online.

No, we're not talking about a .pdf of a printed donor list.

We're talking about a dynamic, multimedia website where you can see, like never before, the Penn family of 99,657 alumni and friends who made gifts, pledges, and pledge payments of $2,500 or more in FYO9.

      view People Supporting Penn 2009

Read their stories, watch their videos, search their names, and -- most important -- discover how this amazing and diverse community, inspired by Penn and united by purpose, has come together for good.

Together for good. That's the story of Penn people whose collective impact -- from a local elementary school in West Philadelphia, to a small town in North Carolina, to a community of weavers in rural India -- is as real as it is inspiring. And it's a story that's distinctively Penn.

At Penn this is how history is made, and we're pretty confident that People Supporting Penn online could become a model for other universities who celebrate their donors. Let us know if you agree!

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Penn President Amy Gutmann Wins Carnegie Leadership Award

Penn President Amy Gutmann has just won a $500,000 Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award.

      news release | news article

Thrilling news -- but what makes this award even more special is that it recognizes all of our Making History campaign priorities, and celebrates Amy Gutmann's commitment to "making history together."

Just listen:

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Young Penn Alum, Helen Lu, Receives Presidential Honor

Penn people are making history -- again.

This time, it's a young Penn alumna, Helen H. Lu, who received her BSE, MSE, and PhD from Penn and who is now an associate professor at Columbia University's Department of Biomedical Engineering.

From Columbia's website:

Helen H. Lu has received the nation’s highest honor for young scientists.

Associate Professor Helen H. Lu of the Department of Biomedical Engineering has been selected to receive the nation’s highest honor for scientists at the outset of their professional careers. She is one of 12 National Institutes of Health-nominated winners of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

In announcing the awards, President Barack Obama said, "These extraordinarily gifted young scientists and engineers represent the best in our country. With their talent, creativity, and dedication, I am confident that they will lead their fields in new breakthroughs and discoveries and help us use science and technology to lift up our nation and our world."

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Edna Coplin Warsowe, CW'34, to Lead Penn's Alumni Parade

The theme of this year's Alumni Weekend at Penn is "Old Friends, New Ideas," and nowhere, perhaps, is that spirit more perfectly expressed than in the person selected to lead the Alumni Parade. Edna Coplin Warsowe, who graduated 75 years ago from the College of Women, remains to this day a passionate public advocate for change.

"Your dedication to improving the fabric of our society makes you the perfect choice," Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations F. Hoopes Wampler wrote, "from your work in support of literacy and public schools, to encouraging citizen participation in an honest, accountable democracy. Your life's work will benefit countless generations."

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Prof. Richard Beeman Appears on The Daily Show

"Super villain Bee-Man. Half man, half bee, all t-- . Sorry, Richard Beeman, He's an author. Are you sure it's not Bee-Man? It'd be very entertaining to go up against the Bee--  It's a book about the Constitution. Well, I'm sure that'll be good, too."
    -- Jon Stewart, The Daily Show April 23, 3009.

So enthused Jon Stewart during the lead up to his interview with Penn history professor Richard Beeman. And the interview is good.

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