Ripple effects: Positive psychology cultivates meaningful connections through Wharton Circles

During the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program, students work in small groups to partner with organizations from around the world and put their positive psychology expertise to work. Each service learning project studies the organization's structure, mission, and goals and develops an actionable plan to make an immediate impact and advance the mission.

John MacDonald

John MacDonald is a professor of criminology and sociology in the Department of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on policing strategies to reduce crime, racial, and ethnic disparities in policing, police use of force, community–police relations, and the impact of police reforms on officer behavior. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed research articles, 25 book chapters and research reports, and four edited books.

Anthony A. Braga

Anthony A. Braga is the Jerry Lee Professor of Criminology and the Director of the Crime and Justice Policy Lab in the Department of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania. He collaborates with criminal justice, social service, and community-based organizations to produce high-impact scholarship, randomized field experiments, and policy advice on the prevention of crime at problem places, the control of gang violence, and reductions in access to firearms by criminals.

Heidi Boerstler

When Heidi Boerstler (Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts ’26—expected) received the title of Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado Denver Business School, where she teaches ethics and health law, she was ready to try something new. “I decided to go back and study things I’d never studied before,” she recalls. “I had always been so focused on raising my daughter, getting tenure, teaching, doing research and all.

Announcing the new Director of Professional Masters Programs in Earth and Environmental Science, Dr. Siobhan Whadcoat

Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) is pleased to welcome Dr. Siobhan Whadcoat as the Director of Professional Masters Programs in Earth and Environmental Science (EES). This role oversees the Master of Environmental Studies and Applied Geosciences Program, which includes the online Master of Science in Applied Geosciences as well as non-degree certificate and course-taking options.

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