As the effects of COVID-19 stretch on, Penn students, faculty, and staff are leveraging their ingenuity and resourcefulness to serve those impacted by the pandemic. Penn Today has been documenting these stories in a series on “side gigs for good.” The latest installment features Lisa Witmer, a biology lecturer in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, and Alexandria Brake, Master of Environmental Studies (MES) ’20.

The University of Pennsylvania’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) has joined over 30 other universities, and our education technology partner 2U, in launching a new scholarship fund to expand access to career-accelerating boot camps. As the economic fallout of COVID-19 continues to mount, certain demographic groups have been impacted disproportionately by the crisis. The Boot Camp Scholarship Fund provides pathways to secure employment for people of color and women, who have suffered the most job losses to coronavirus and are underrepresented in the technology industry.

After her family and friends lost their jobs to COVID-19, Sigal Spitzer (Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences ’20) launched a job-hunting website, I Lost My Job To Covid (ILMJTCV), for the millions of Americans who were also laid off. She co-founded the website with her husband and brother, and partnered with two other Penn students to build out the platform.

Every summer, hundreds of academically talented high school students come to Penn to learn about subjects that excite them, meet like-minded peers, and get a taste of college life. In this historic year, Penn Summer High School Programs are taking place online due to the pandemic. The reimagined summer programs are the latest development in more than 20 years of innovative online offerings from Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS).

On Sunday, May 17, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends, and faculty for the Class of 2020 graduation ceremony. Of the 346 LPS students honored, 283 graduated with master’s degrees and 63 with bachelor’s degrees.

Stephanie and Arielle Mae Pierson both graduated from the Penn LPS Bachelor of Arts program this past Sunday. Stephanie, 48, enrolled at Penn in 2007 and received a Bread Upon the Waters scholarship for part-time female students over age 30. When Arielle, 28, saw how much her mother enjoyed the program she decided to enroll as well. She got a full-tuition scholarship through Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for community college students.

Youqi Fan (MES ‘20), an international student and a relative newcomer to environmental science, describes inclusivity at Penn and envisions the zoo of the future.

Read Youqi’s story >

Penn’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS) program has established an MBDS Advisory Board to guide the program’s development. The board’s inaugural members are thought leaders in the behavioral science field: Charlotte Blank, Chief Behavioral Officer of Maritz; Dr. Michael Hallsworth, Managing Director, North America of the Behavioural Insights Team; Dr.

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies congratulates two of our instructors who have been announced as winners of the 2020 awards for distinguished teaching in the School of Arts and Sciences.

In recognition of outstanding teaching in LPS’s undergraduate and post-baccalaureate programs, Philip Gehrman, LPS lecturer in psychology and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Perelman School of Medicine, is the recipient of this award for his stellar classroom instruction and commitment to student success.