Advancing Knowledge Across Disciplines

cloud of symbols representing learning

By breaking down traditional barriers and working across disparate fields, Penn faculty and students uncover new approaches to scholarship and unexpected practical solutions that change our world for the better. Exceptional collaborations would not be possible without exceptional minds, and named professorships recognize and reward eminent faculty for their passion and expertise, helping Penn to attract and retain the very best. At the same time, renovations and new buildings made possible by The Power of Penn Campaign are transforming spaces to support and facilitate cross-disciplinary study for years to come.

Angela Duckworth

Through Increased Support for Faculty and Staff

  • Increased endowment for faculty and staff positions at each of Penn’s schools and centers has strengthened our capacity to recruit and retain distinguished scholars and eminent leaders.
  • The creation of 12 new Penn Integrates Knowledge Professorships is fueling discoveries by empowering collaborative research across multiple schools.

Through Groundbreaking Cross-Disciplinary Programs

  • Wharton Neuroscience uses the study of the brain to bring together scholars from Penn Medicine, the Annenberg School for Communication, Penn Engineering, and Penn Arts & Sciences.
  • Behavior Change for Good combines the social sciences, medicine, computer science, and neuroscience to better understand deep-seated human behaviors impacting everyday life.
  • The Penn Humanities Forum was renamed and expanded as the Wolf Humanities Center, a hub that connects humanities scholarship with other disciplines.
  • The Price Lab for Digital Humanities is a collaborative incubator space for arts, culture, and humanities research using advanced digital tools and methods.
  • MindCORE (the Mind Center for Outreach, Research, and Education) is galvanizing Penn’s resources dedicated to the integrative study of the mind.
  • The Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy initiative at the School of Social Policy & Practice develops integrated data systems so government agencies can serve constituents better.
Academic research building

With collaborative new spaces

  • The Penn Museum Building Transformation provides enhanced access to knowledge and perspectives across time and disciplines.
  • The new Academic Research Building brings together many of the Wharton School’s research and programs, with a focus on business data and analytics.
  • Once completed, the new Data Science Building at Penn Engineering will integrate diverse communities across Penn and Philadelphia, enabling students and faculty to transform data into actionable insights.

Through Expanded Scholarly Resources

New collections at the Penn Libraries—including the Ashley Bryan Archive and the Arnold and Deanne Kaplan Collection of Early American Judaica—add to the breadth of scholarly cultural materials.