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.

The Thouron Award, a graduate exchange program between the United Kingdom and the University of Pennsylvania, offers a life-changing opportunity for exceptional students.

Tom Stanley, a staff member at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and current Master of Liberal Arts student is enrolled in the anthropology course Cultural Heritage and Conflict which explores cultural heritage protection and preservation. In March, one class session was a change of pace for the students. After studying a handbook entitled “Endangered Heritage: Emergency Evacuation of Heritage Collections” the instructor Dr.

A Philadelphia native returns home to change the way the region thinks about horticulture

On Sunday, May 13, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends and faculty to celebrate the graduating Class of 2018. The ceremony took place in the Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and honored 306 students graduating from undergraduate and graduate programs.