A landmark $22.5 million gift from alumnus Gabriel Gilinski and Stephanie Gilinski will establish an endowed scholarship and professorships supporting history, political science, and economics in the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences.
Acknowledging the gift, Penn President J. Larry Jameson said, "Gabriel and Stephanie's generous commitment expands access to a Penn education while investing in the scholars whose outstanding teaching and research enrich our academic community."
The commitment advances affordability and academic excellence at the School of Arts & Sciences, funding both student scholarships and faculty positions across three departments.
In other campus news, Erika James has been reappointed as dean of the Wharton School through June 2032. In making the announcement, Jameson and Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. highlighted her first-term success in strengthening Wharton's academic, financial, and global standing.
"It takes exceptional leadership to advance the world's most exceptional business school," said Jameson. "Doing so through a global pandemic and historic headwinds for higher education makes Dean James's first term all the more impressive."
The University's newly launched $10 million StartUP Fund announced its inaugural investments, supporting three separate Penn faculty-founded companies spanning maternal health, advanced radio-frequency filtering technology, and AI-powered drug discovery.
Penn Engineering will launch a Master's Degree in Data Science & Artificial Intelligence beginning in the fall of 2027, preparing students to build, analyze, and responsibly apply intelligent systems across two rapidly evolving fields.
In health news, an international team including Penn Medicine researchers identified a new condition that gradually impairs peripheral and low-light vision while initially preserving central vision. Their discovery reveals how different variants in the same gene can cause distinct patterns of retinal disease.
At a recent ceremony, the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy conferred the 2026 Carnot Prize to John Kerry, former U.S. senator, secretary of state, and presidential climate envoy.