On Saturday, May 18, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends, faculty, and the Class of 2024 for a graduation ceremony in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center in downtown Philadelphia. This year, LPS conferred 503 degrees on graduating students: 103 undergraduate degrees and 400 master’s degrees.
In her opening remarks, Vice Dean Nora E. Lewis addressed the body of graduating students—a group representing 21 countries and a wide range of professions. “On this occasion, we rejoice in the celebration of ideas and people who embody the excellence we associate with Penn: extraordinary minds, outstanding scholarship, and endless potential,” she said. “We celebrate your development into citizens of the 21st century, continuing to grow and reinvent yourselves, knowing—because the doors of wisdom are never shut—that you will never stop learning.”
Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of the Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences and Thomas S. Gates Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, also welcomed graduates and their supporters to the ceremony. “The LPS students of today are a tremendous source of pride for us in Arts and Sciences,” said the dean. “Each of you has a remarkable story and a reason why you came to Penn at this point in your lives for an undergraduate or master’s degree…. Each and every one of you has contributed something unique to the dynamic learning environment of LPS.”
The 2024 graduation speaker was Dr. Michael Weisberg, Bess W. Heyman President’s Distinguished Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Penn. He began by reflecting on University of Pennsylvania founder Benjamin Franklin, whose vision of education focused on preparing free thinkers to form and debate ideas for a new nation. Franklin and his Enlightenment contemporaries invoked the Latin phrase sapere aude: dare to know, or have the courage to use your understanding. Dr. Weisberg then spoke of the experiences that led him to advising small island nations at the United Nations Climate Conferences, where high stakes negotiations depend on those same Enlightenment principles of wisdom and courage. He concluded with the wish for our graduates to apply their education in similar ways to the challenges of the future. “You have honored us faculty by being our students, and now we hope that you can take what you’ve learned here and use it to think boldly and freely,” he said.
We invite you to join us in lauding the accomplishments of our Class of 2024. Several members of the Class of 2024 received awards for their leadership, dedication, service, and academic excellence. Take a look at the full list of student award recipients and the faculty members who received 2024 Distinguished Teaching Awards.
View photos from the ceremony on the Graduation Photos page >
Watch a video of the ceremony on YouTube >
