You can connect directly with students to assist with career, internship, and networking opportunities via MyPenn (mypenn.upenn.edu), Career Services (careerservices.upenn.edu), and HandShake (upenn.joinhandshake.com/login). In MyPenn, you can indicate that you are willing to share your expertise with current students in “Employment Information” on your profile. Please note that you will be asked for your PennKey. 

Gifts to help students during this period of transition can be directed to

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
· Gifts to help aided undergraduate students and their families during this time can be directed to the COVID-19 Special Response Fund in Student Financial Services. This fund will be used to support emergency and ongoing financial needs for undergraduates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Give Now to COVID-19 Special Response Fund for Undergraduate Financial Aid

· Gifts to help international undergraduate students and their families during this time can be directed to the COVID-19 Special Response Fund for International Undergraduate Aid in Student Financial Services. This fund will be used to support emergency and ongoing financial needs for international undergraduates due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Give Now to COVID-19 Special Response Fund for International Undergraduate Financial Aid

GRADUATE, PROFESSIONAL AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
· The University Life College Access & Retention Fund supports all Penn students -- undergraduate, graduate and professional -- with pressing emergency needs that can threaten their academic progress. This flexible fund is unique in its ability to assist graduate and professional students, who may be experiencing new and unexpected financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Give Now to The University Life College Access & Retention Fund

In this time of uncertainty brought on by Covid-19, we appreciate Penn alumni who are interested in promoting job and internship opportunities to current Penn students or more experienced Penn alumni who may be looking for new opportunities. We urge alumni with such opportunities to post them on Handshake, Penn’s internship and job platform, which is free and easy! Positions can be posted for opportunities in the U.S. and international locations. Simply register for an employer account by visiting https://app.joinhandshake.com/employer_registrations/new. After creating an account, choose to connect with the University of Pennsylvania as one of your schools of interest. As soon as you request access to Penn through the platform, please send Penn’s Handshake administrator, Natty Leach (nleach@upenn.edu) a quick email so that we can go in and quickly approve your account. After your account is approved you will be able to post the job or internship in Handshake.

Given the situation with Covid-19, we have seen many employers posting virtual or remote internship opportunities and would encourage you to consider this option if it is a possibility for your organization. We recommend including the word “remote” in the job title or job description so that it can be easily found via keyword search.

If you would like to specifically promote your internship to first generation and / or low income (FGLI) students at Penn please include the following line in your job description: “We especially encourage Penn FGLI students to apply for this opportunity.” Interested students will then be able to keyword search for such opportunities in Handshake and we can also promote it through other channels to FGLI students. We will encourage students to indicate in their cover letters that they self-identify as having a first generation and / or low-income background. Please note that we recommend that all employers seeking to recruit FGLI students for internships offer an hourly rate of at least $15 an hour.

Penn is committed to supporting all students as they navigate this transition. Office of Penn First Plus, College House and Academic Services, Student Financial Services, and International Student and Scholar Services in partnership with many others are working closely with students who need additional support.

A Message to the Penn Community
on Major Changes to Commencement

from
Amy Gutmann, President

I write today to share what I know will be disappointing for so many, as it is to me. Based on the recent recommendations of the CDC and leading public health experts, who are now directing against any public gatherings of more than 50 people for the next two months, we cannot responsibly plan to bring thousands of people to campus for our traditional Commencement and Alumni Weekend in May. To protect the health of our graduates, their families, alumni, and faculty and staff of the University—our highest priority in the face of this unprecedented coronavirus pandemic—we are cancelling this year’s on-campus Commencement events and moving them to a virtual ceremony that will be broadcast online.

Given the uncertainty of when it might again be safe to bring such large groups together, and the rapidly changing scale of the pandemic, we know that this change is the only responsible action we can take.

Many things have rapidly changed in our world in the past few weeks, and we know how difficult and confusing this can be. Commencement is such an important tradition at Penn, a time of abundant joy and pride, where we all publicly celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our graduates. While it will not be the same as our traditional ceremony, we are committed to finding the best way possible to recognize the achievements of the Class of 2020, and we will strive to make the virtual event as meaningful and celebratory as the circumstances permit. We are also exploring the possibility of an on-campus celebration for this year’s graduates that could be held in the fall. We will let you know details of that as they become clearer.

I wanted to get this information to you as soon as possible, so that graduates and their families, along with our wonderful Penn alumni, can make appropriate plans. We will provide more specific details regarding the virtual ceremony as they are developed in the coming weeks. We will broadcast the events on the same dates as were originally planned for the on-campus activities so please hold those same days—May 16-18—for the virtual celebrations. There will be communication to Penn Alumni about the reunion celebrations later this week from Alumni Relations.

I regret that this semester has been upended in so many ways. But in our lifetime the world has not faced a challenge as unique and complicated as the one that we currently confront. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to conclude the semester in a safe and positive way.

Together we will make it work. It is one of the countless reasons I’m so proud of everyone in the Penn family.

All information about Penn’s response to COVID-19 can be found on the University’s website: coronavirus.upenn.edu.

Specific information for students and families is listed here: coronavirus.upenn.edu/students-families/student-faq. Both webpages will be frequently updated.

Dear Parents,

We write again today to seek your partnership during a time of unprecedented challenge.

In a matter of days, we have moved to depopulate a sprawling urban campus of nearly 50,000 students, faculty, and employees. We need your help ensuring that your student follows these directives to leave Penn and return home immediately.

We instructed all residents of University housing to leave by Tuesday March 17 and expect off-campus students to vacate their residences by the same time. We have communicated Penn’s position to local landlords and asked them to work with their tenants to support this public health necessity. Spring Break has been extended by a week to facilitate the transition to remote learning for the remainder of the semester. Some students are taking this extension as a cue to have parties, socialize, and frequent local restaurants or clubs – violating medical guidance to practice social distancing. We cannot overemphasize the importance of changing personal behavior at this time.

Below are two articles that speak to the importance of social distancing:
From Containment to Mitigation of COVID-19 in the US
Flattening the Coronavirus Curve

We are including below the email that was sent to students yesterday. We implore you to talk candidly as a family and to take this situation seriously. All members of the Penn community must participate in thoughtful prevention of the spread of COVID-19.

We appreciate everything you are doing to help all of us stay safe and healthy during this crisis. We will continue to update you as events move forward.

Wendell Pritchett, Provost

We understand that some students are unable to travel home for personal reasons or because they live in an area that is under travel restrictions. Residential Services will be working with these students and are requesting that they submit an exception request. Dining facilities will remain open, but on a more limited basis, for students who cannot leave campus.

International students can also access additional information at: coronavirus.upenn.edu/students-family/international-student-faq.

March 16, 2020

Dear Penn Alumni,

As we all continue to monitor the progress and impact of coronavirus (COVID-19), I wanted to take a moment to share directly with you how Penn is responding to this pandemic, in keeping the well-being of our students, faculty, staff and local community a priority. Every difficult decision is being made with great care, with the safety and health of the Penn community being paramount.

In recent days, President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett have been in close contact with the Penn community to keep them informed of the actions the University is taking in response to this unprecedented public health challenge.

Because eliminating large gatherings and creating social distancing is vital to helping prevent the spread of the disease, the University has taken the following measures:

We are extending Spring Break one week and asking students who are currently out of town not to return to campus. Students who are on campus should depart by Tuesday, March 17.

We will support students living in the College Houses or University housing who are absolutely unable to return home for personal reasons. We are migrating all classroom teaching to virtual instruction for both undergraduate and graduate classes, beginning Monday, March 23, for the remainder of the spring semester, and on-campus activities will be limited.

We recognize that many of you are also learning how to navigate these circumstances in your personal as well as professional daily activities. We sincerely thank you for your support and understanding during this uncertain time, and we hope you and your families are safe and well.

For complete and up-to-date information on Penn’s response, please visit the University’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information and Resources webpage.

Sincerely,

F. Hoopes Wampler, EdD GrEd’13
Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations
University of Pennsylvania

April 13, 2020 - The guiding priority of the University, from the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been to protect the health and safety of Penn students, faculty, staff, postdocs, patients, and visitors. Moving to a virtual learning platform and depopulating the campus in a matter of days required an unprecedented effort. We are profoundly grateful to everyone at Penn who contributed to facilitate this extraordinary transition. It was a heroic accomplishment, and it ensures that our core missions of teaching, learning, and research can continue despite the significant disruptions brought about by the pandemic. While many of us are working remotely, we wish to thank and acknowledge the dedicated staff – including custodial, dining, safety officers, animal care, and skilled trades – who continue to come to campus to serve our students, support our faculty and research, steward our buildings, and keep us and our Philadelphia neighbors safe.

We are announcing today that all summer courses and in-person programs must be delivered remotely or online. There will be no summer programs offered in-person on campus, including summer camps and summer courses. This extends our previous guidance about the summer to include Summer Session II, which begins on July 2. For undergraduates, please check Penn InTouch for updated summer course information. For graduate and professional students, please consult your Schools and programs. For camps and other non-credit programs, please check with the program for specific guidance. Summer study abroad remains cancelled, along with all other University-related travel, as originally announced on March 13. There will be no changes to previously established costs and grading policies for credit-bearing undergraduate courses in the Summer Sessions.