With their new Behavior Change for Good Initiative, which launched in fall 2017, Dr. Angela Duckworth of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology program and Dr. Katherine L. Milkman of the Wharton School have an ambitious goal: To understand and improve behavior change across a lifespan. Their method works across many domains using strategies grounded in psychology and behavioral economics.

Students from two courses in the Master of Environmental Studies program spent a day in Washington, D.C., meeting with leaders in the water sector. Throughout the visit, students were introduced to experts at the World Resources Institute, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group.

“One of the most important things I’ve learned in my Penn experience is to look at situations through a different set of lenses,” noted US Army veteran and Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics student Aronda Smith-Benson (‘19—expected). Aronda was the guest of honor and keynote speaker at Penn’s Veterans Day Flag Raising Ceremony on Friday, November 10, 2017.

In her translation of The Odyssey, Dr. Emily Wilson questioned the objectification of women while drawing new readers into the rhythm of the Greek classic with poetic meter instead of archaic English.

Emily teaches in the Classical Studies post-baccalaureate program and she is the first woman to translate the ancient work into English. Read more about Emily’s historic achievement on Omnia’s website >

Two students from the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS) program, Garrett Meccariello (MBDS ‘18—expected) and Tobias Nasgarde (MBDS ‘18—expected), won a €5,000 grant through the Think Forward Initiative Research Challenge.

“I’m most excited to learn from my students,” shares Dr. Allyson Mackey, an expert in brain development and plasticity. She joined the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) faculty in 2017 and is teaching her first course in the program, Positive Education, in spring 2018. “I have a line of work on how the environment shapes the brain and what that means for cognition,” she continues, “I think about positive effects like high-quality education, as well as negative effects like stress and poverty.

Master of Environmental Studies students, alumni, and faculty are working together to better understand urban bird migration. And thanks to a successful Green Fund proposal, a Motus monitoring station will be in operation on Penn’s campus, helping to deliver data that will lead to faster conservation decisions.

Read more on the Penn Current website >

Aminata Sy, an LPS Bachelor of Arts junior and founder of the African Community Learning Program is helping students of African background receive a comprehensive Black History Month education. A native of Senegal, Aminata is an international relations major and English minor and runs the free program for elementary and middle school students in West Philadelphia. Aminata and volunteers from Penn tutor students with their homework, in addition to helping them with language skills, reading and writing. This month each of her students is researching a prominent African figure.

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies, together with LPS’ professional graduate student association LPS gov and Women’s Campaign International, sponsored a panel discussion at Penn Law on Friday, March 16. Panelists included retired Ambassador Richard N. Swett, the Honorable Christopher Shays, Mexican Consul General Alicia Kerber-Palma and the Honorable Marjorie Margolies. The topic of the panel was diplomacy and negotiation in "A Time Like No Other." The interactive conversation with students was remarkable.

This February, Penn Arts and Sciences presented the 2018 Grad Ben Talks, an afternoon of TED Talk-style presentations by graduate students representing the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and professional master’s programs.