The College of Liberal and Professional Studies is pleased to recognize the LPS students selected to participate in the Professional Master’s program category of this year’s Penn Grad Talks. The competition, which took place at the Penn Museum on February 23, features TED Talk-style presentations by Penn Arts and Sciences graduate students from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and professional master’s programs.

During the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program, students work in small groups to partner with organizations from around the world and put their positive psychology expertise to work. Each service learning project studies the organization's structure, mission, and goals and develops an actionable plan to make an immediate impact and advance the mission.

Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies congratulates Adam K. Thiel, who was recently named Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia by Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker. Thiel previously served as the Fire Commissioner for the Philadelphia Fire Department and Director of the Office of Emergency Management for the City of Philadelphia.

The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and Perry World House led a delegation of more than two dozen Penn people at COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Dubai. They shared knowledge on the energy transition, climate finance, China, health, food systems, and more. Penn LPS is proud to recognize our colleagues who attended, including Kleinman Center Executive Director Cory Colijn (MSAG ’14), Organizational Dynamics Programs instructor Steve Finn, and Master of Environmental Studies adjunct professor Lolita Jackson.

On January 4, 2024, Penn announced the naming of Ramanan Raghavendran (ENG ’89, W ’89, MLA ’15) as the new Chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. In addition to his thirty-year career in venture capital and growth equity, Ramanan has held a plethora of volunteer leadership positions with his alma mater leading up to this prestigious role.