Alumni Happenings

First September: New Friends Share Memories of Penn
Welcome the Class of 2011, our newest alumni, at a regional club near you.

A Celebration of Penn Medicine’s Rising Stars
Networking is the name of the game for the current generation of female medical students. This was apparent at The 49th Annual Elizabeth Kirk Rose, M'26, Women in Medicine Luncheon held this spring on the top floor of the Biomedical Research Building. The event provided a space where networking, mentoring, camaraderie, and career support flourished.

Meet two Alumni Trustee Nominees
Get to know two new candidates nominated to fill alumni trustee positions for terms starting January 1, 2012.

Cycle, Hike, and Ride in Chile & Argentina
Get out and be active among the vineyards of Chile and Argentina. Walk through Viña Peréz Cruz, cycle in the Valle de Uco, and ride a horse to the ancient Incan drawings in Viña San Esteban. Our tour includes the best of Chile and Argentina’s wine areas and is an excellent mixture of culture, wine, food, and activity suitable for most ability levels.

Campus Insider

Transforming the Addams Color Lab
Change is afoot at the School of Design. Take a tour of the in-progress construction of the new Addams Hall Color Lab, a cutting-edge photo facilities space that will house photo courses, visiting artist seminars, and state-of-the-art photography production equipment for the Penn fine arts community.  

Dean Jameson Makes 36
J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, became the 36th dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and executive vice president for the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System on July 1. He brings a distinguished record as a leader in academic medicine to his new role. As an endocrinologist, he is internationally-known for his own research in areas such as transcription factors and the genetic basis of disease.

$15 Million Gift to Enhance Student Life and Cultural Learning
Alumni within ten years out are probably familiar with the Arts, Research and Culture House, also known as the ARCH building, located in the heart of campus at 36th and Locust Walk. Alumni more than ten years out may recognize this building as the former Christian Association. This past spring, a $15 million anonymous donation was made to renovate this historic building where thousands of alumni have shared memories for generations.

Arts

Penn Libraries Recieve Songwriter Ray Evans Archives
Penn recently acquired the papers and memorabilia of songwriter and Penn alumnus Ray Evans. Evans and his songwriting partner Jay Livingston, who met at Penn in 1934, are among the world’s most successful songwriting duos, writing for popular movies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Together, they won three Academy Awards for best original song. Items in the collection include Evans’s clarinet, his gold records and ASCAP awards, recordings of his songs, photographs, sheet music, and press clippings.

Annenberg Center Meets William Penn Challenge Match Goal
With nearly 400 new donors and increased gifts, the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts reached its $80,000 goal for the William Penn Challenge Match.  These gifts support all programming at the Annenberg Center, including international touring theatre, culturally-specific roots programming, Dance Celebration, Jazz, and the Philadelphia International Children’s Festival

Sports + Recreation

VERSUS to Televise Three Penn Football Games in 2011
Without taking the field in 2011, the University of Pennsylvania football team has already tied a school record. For the second time in school history, Penn will have three nationally-televised games. In a deal announced by VERSUS and the Ivy League on Wednesday, the two-time defending Ivy League champions will be broadcast nationally on the VERSUS network at Columbia (October 15), vs. Yale (October 22), and at Harvard (November 12).

Meredith, Penn Relays to be Inducted into Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
All-time Penn track great James Edwin "Ted" Meredith and The Penn Relays will be a part of the 8th Inductee Class of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame on November 10 as announced at the Hall of Fame press conference.

Research

Penn Leads Study that Uses Buses to Promote HIV-Testing
A University of Pennsylvania study will determine if public transit can convey more than the number of people going from point A to point B. Video displays on public buses in Los Angeles will be used to help determine the efficacy of an innovative soap opera-like video program designed to increase the number of people who decide to have HIV testing.

Saving Veterans from Suicide
An estimated 18 American military veterans take their lives every day. Even after weathering the stresses of military life and the terrors of combat, these soldiers find themselves overwhelmed by the transition back into civilian life.  A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues discovered that veterans who have attempted suicide not only have an elevated risk of later suicide attempts, but face mortality risks from all causes at a rate three times greater than the general population.

Genetically Modified T Cells Obliterate Tumors in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
In a cancer treatment breakthrough 20 years in the making, researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center and Perelman School of Medicine have shown sustained remissions of up to a year among a small group of advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients treated with genetically engineered versions of their own T cells.