Penn is Making History -- every day

Penn Park Begins: Transforming Campus and the City for Good

"No other urban campus has done something this transforming," said Amy Gutmann.

And she's right.

Penn Park had its official groundbreaking ceremony today, marking the beginning of the transformation -- where 24 acres of barren asphalt and concrete will become a thriving urban ribbon of green.

      Penn Park | video clip | radio clip

Calling the project an "extreme makeover, Penn style," Gutmann said that when the park is completed, in 2011, it will spur commercial development along the Walnut Street corridor and complete William Penn's historic plan to create a "green country towne."

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Penn Goes Green on College Green

Two years ago, I pledged that by 2009 Penn would create a plan to reduce its carbon footprint and enhance its overall sustainability practices. We now are poised to deliver on that promise.

We will announce our plan to the Penn community at a public event on College Green at noon on Wednesday, September 16.

The Climate Action kick-off event will feature exhibits that tell Penn's sustainability story with information on research and teaching, energy, recycling and waste management, as well as transportation and our physical environment. We also will provide students with information about green courses available to them.

Please join me in gathering on College Green in celebration of our achievements. This is a terrific opportunity for Penn to highlight the important steps that we will take in the future to reduce our environmental footprint, share in the pride of our accomplishments, and to learn more about what we can all do to advance this critical initiative.

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Penn Athletics: 33 Sports, 1000 Athletes, and a New 51,200 Square Foot Pavilion

It was a summer barbeque to mark a very important occasion: the June 18 groundbreaking for the George A. Weiss Pavilion, a weight training and fitness center that will be built inside the northern arcade of Franklin Field stadium.

Why the buzz?

As Steve Bilsky, Director of Athletics (W'71) puts it: "It's the opening to a whole new part of campus which, fortunately, athletics is going to play a major role in."

It's also a key first step for Penn Connects, Penn's long-term campus development plan. By design, Weiss Pavilion will -- physically, programmatically, and symbolically -- connect Penn's revered stadium westward to the core of campus and eastward to Penn Park.

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It's So Easy Being Green at Penn

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The Power of Propagation: Morris Arboretum's Internship Program Turns 30

When the Morris Arboretum established its internship program in 1979, it changed the educational landscape for aspiring horticulturists. Offering paid internships in nine specialties to men and women interested in pursuing careers and research in horticulture, for 30 years the program has provided a much-needed inroad to a rarefied field.

Now, thanks to a gift from Martha Wallace and her husband, former University Trustee Edward Kane, C’71, to endow the ninth and until-now unfunded internship, the program can look ahead with more confidence than ever.

“This wonderful gift from Marty and Ed brings the internship program to a new level, and solidifies the Arboretum’s core identity as an educational institution” says Paul Meyer, the F. Otto Haas Director of the Arboretum.

For Jeremy Jungels, the inaugural recipient of the Wallace Endowed Internship in Plant Propagation who entered the Arboretum program fresh from a master’s program in ecology, the internship has been a turning point -- "my transition into the horticulture field."

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