Penn Arts and Sciences has named two students from the College of Liberal and Professional Studies as 2019 Dean’s Scholars. This honor is presented annually to students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise. Eighteen additional students from the College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate Division were also awarded the distinction. 

Dr. Cristina Bicchieri, S.J.P. Harvie Professor of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania, has been selected to address the College of Liberal and Professional Studies Class of 2019 at the graduation ceremony on Sunday, May 19.

On Friday, April 12, the Fels Institute of Government welcomed local public sector leaders to speak with students about their career experiences and impact on Philadelphia policy, programming, and development. “Big city local government is where the action is,” says Fels Professor of Practice (and former City of Philadelphia Managing Director) Michael DiBerardinis, who introduced speakers for the Philadelphia Career Day event.

College of Liberal and Professional Studies Post-Baccalaureate Studies alumna and 2019 Dean’s Scholar Ramey Mize has been awarded the 2019 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by Graduate Students for her work in the Department of History of Art. Announced by Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences, and Paul Sniegowski, Stephen A. Levin Family Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, the honorees were recognized at a School-wide reception on Thursday, May 2.

Every year, Wharton People Analytics poses a related challenge to students from institutions around the world. The 2019 case competition tasked participants with determining the ideal caseload for clinicians from Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a national organization that sends nurses to support first-time moms-to-be in their own homes.

On Sunday, May 19, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends and faculty for the Class of 2019 graduation ceremony, honoring 330 students graduating from undergraduate and graduate programs. Vice Dean Nora E. Lewis congratulated a record number of graduates onstage at the Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. “Each of you came to Penn with purpose, agency, and a strong sense of the problems facing our world,” said Lewis in her welcoming address.

Benjamin Rohr (Master of Environmental Studies ‘20—expected) is embarking on his capstone project to culminate his degree. The premise of his experiment is straightforward: to determine the types of trees the lanternfly prefers beyond its known affinity for ailanthus. The bugs, which don’t fly but can hop 20 meters or more in a go, were first seen in 2014 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and quickly extended their range. They’re known to feed on 70 species of tree and vine, 30 of which occur in Pennsylvania.

Anna Carapellotti (LPS Bachelor of Arts, Cognitive Science ’15) has been awarded a Fulbright Grant to conduct international research.

Previously a dancer and teacher with First State Ballet Theater, Anna’s love of dance drew her to cognitive science—and to the Bachelor of Arts program at the College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS).

At 16, Soleil Hawley was the youngest student to enroll in the Bachelor of Fine Arts offered through the University of Pennsylvania in at least the last decade, Penn officials said, and one of only three under age 18 that Penn officials could recall in undergraduate programs offered by Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies.

Cristina Bicchieri, social norms expert and founding director of Penn’s Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS), wanted to understand how different countries’ COVID-19 responses have been affecting individual behavior. Along with MBDS instructor Enrique Fatas, she developed a survey to determine how new social norms like mask-wearing and social distancing have emerged.