Straws in the Wind - Part 462

From the Daily Pennsylvanian: Several administrative and other staff members at Penn’s School of Nursing were recently laid off as part of cuts to the school’s operating budget, multiple employees told The Daily Pennsylvanian. Five Nursing affiliates — who requested anonymity for fear of retribution — attributed the job losses to University-wide spending reductions driven by federal funding uncertainty. One employee estimated that seven or eight individuals were terminated from their positions. Penn’s fiscal year 2027 budget states that the school “continues to monitor the challenging federal funding environment and is modeling and budgeting the projected impact.”

Multiple requests for comment were left with Penn Nursing. The budget comes after Penn directed all schools and centers to reduce certain expenditures by 4% in January, citing “uncertainty about how evolving federal policy changes might impact” the University... 

Full story at https://www.thedp.com/article/2026/09/penn-nursing-layoffs-staff-federal-funding-cuts-budget.

Straws in the Wind - Part 460

From Inside Higher Ed: Starting this fall, the University of Pennsylvania will require students to satisfy prerequisite requirements for six advanced calculus and algebra courses. The change comes as college officials across the country are working to address incoming students’ declining math skills. Penn’s math prerequisites aren’t new; they have always been listed alongside course descriptions in the catalog, but now the university will verify them instead of relying on students to decide whether or not they meet the requirements, according to Molly McGlone, deputy dean of undergraduate studies in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“Faculty in Math and other disciplines have carefully designed the courses in a sequential manner to support student learning. Students who are in courses that they are not adequately prepared for can often run into challenges.” ...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty/learning-assessment/2026/09/01/penn-now-enforcing-math-prerequisites.

Alternative Advice

If you go to Yale, you should embrace uncertainty. But if you go to Penn, you can explore bravely.

Straws in the Wind - Part 427 (Is Penn Mightier?)

From the Daily Pennsylvanian: As Penn President Larry Jameson prepares to step down next year, he leaves behind a reputation as a stabilizing force during a turbulent era for higher education. Jameson announced his intention to leave his position as president by June 2027 in a campus-wide message last month. Since being named interim president in December 2023, he has steered the University toward institutional neutrality and launched campus-wide initiatives while confronting the lasting effects of student protests and federal turmoil. His term as permanent Penn president, which began in March 2025, will be the second shortest — longer only than that of his predecessor, Liz Magill. The University Board of Trustees has begun the search for Penn’s next leader and is currently inviting community feedback through a survey.

...Jameson was appointed interim president in December 2023 after Magill resigned amid backlash for her remarks regarding Penn’s response to antisemitism. The following months were marked by pro-Palestinian protests, culminating in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on College Green which was dismantled by police in May 2024. Weeks later, Penn instituted temporary standards for campus demonstrations — which tightened requirements for event planning and banned encampments — and initiated a review of the Guidelines on Open Expression. Nearly a year into his interim term, Jameson announced new guidelines surrounding Penn’s “response to external events.” At the time, Jameson wrote that Penn would “refrain from institutional statements made in response to local and world events except for those which have direct and significant bearing on University functions” in an email to the University community.

...In April 2025, as Penn and other universities were impacted by sweeping federal changes to higher education, Jameson cited institutional neutrality as the reason for Penn’s quieter stance... Jameson is expected to review the final draft recommendations and publish the new open expression guidelines. The deadline for a finalized version was extended further into the fall following campus pushback...

In March 2025, the Trump administration froze $175 million in federal funding to Penn, criticizing the University’s failure to remove transgender athletes from women’s sports. Penn entered a resolution agreement with the administration in July — becoming the first Ivy League to settle with the White House and restoring the University’s funding...

Full story at https://www.thedp.com/article/2026/08/penn-president-larry-jameson-institutional-neutrality-civil-rights-federal-government-trump.