From the Dean

from Honor Bound Spring/Summer 2023

Alumni Spotlight

The Pennoni Honors College is in full swing. Bentley hums with life, after the stalled period of the COVID pandemic and the slow start last year as we acclimated to face-to-face learning and socializing. Students now work on jigsaw puzzles in front of the fireplace in the Annette Pennoni Living Room (see page 27), gather around the piano in the corner of that space (brought in and tuned for our recent Opera Night (see page 8), attend Honors colloquia and Great Works courses in the seminar rooms and meet in study groups and informal chats on the comfortable chairs that spot the first floor and the second-floor Collaboratory.

We have ramped up our programming and find attendance is robust. We have embarked on the second year of our Teagle-supported Program in Civic Foundations, which we plan to scale up further next year. Our 2023 STAR students have now been selected, and we have learned who has received fellowships (a big first triumph this year is by Darrell Omo-Lamai, BS/MS materials science ’13, Honors, who received the Knight-Hennessey Fellowship at Stanford, and Sky Harper, chemistry ’24, Honors, who received the Truman Scholarship (see page 10).

Aspire students are drafting introductions to potential mentors, and we have organized a variety of Pennoni Panels and Wednesdays at Bentley events for students, faculty, and community members. We also offered an innovative series of structured, moderated conversations under the new “Can We Talk?” initiative (see page 24). Meanwhile, Pennoni Playground is helping students relax with a variety of fun activities and accompanying food (see page 27)!

It’s clear students crave in-person engagement and seem to be happier and more productive as a result of it. We are so grateful to our benefactors for helping to support our programs and events. Budgets are tight here, as at many universities, and we hope you will continue to be generous. Pennoni is a happy place, which makes it a great place to learn!

Paula Marantz Cohen Dean, Pennoni Honors College Distinguished Professor of English 215.895.1266 • cohenpm@drexel.edu

BY JONI DAVID

BY ERICA LEVI ZELINGER

Dean: Dr. Paula Marantz Cohen

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