Family Weekend

Thank you for your interest in this year's Family Weekend events hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences. More information for Family Weekend 2026 College of Arts and Sciences' events is available below!

Schedule of Events

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23 

SAS Commons Panel Discussion: The Mathematics of Elections and Voting

3:30pm – 5:30pm 

Penn Museum, Rainey Auditorium, 3260 South Street

Just ahead of the US midterm elections, this wide-ranging discussion featuring both Penn faculty and guest speakers will focus on the mathematical foundations of democracy, from districting and electoral maps to voting itself.  

Speakers:  

• Daniel Wodak (Philosophy, UPenn) 
• Dan Hopkins (Political Science, UPenn) 
• Bailey Flanigan (Computer Science/Political Science, MIT) 
• Ismar Volić (Mathematics, Wellesley College; Director, Institute for Mathematics and Democracy) 

More information: https://sascommons.sas.upenn.edu/events/mathematics-elections-and-voting 

SAS Commons engages students, scholars, and the public with the goal of exploring a single theme across the arts and sciences over a two-year period. Through a variety of courses, programs, and events, the Commons fosters exchange across disciplines, the development of new ideas, and meaningful public dialogue. The current, inaugural theme is Democracy and Knowledge. 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24

LIGHT BREAKFAST 

9:15am — 10:00am

Reading Room, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street

Start the day mingling with other College families over coffee and continental breakfast.

DEAN'S WELCOME & PANEL DISCUSSION: FLOURISHING IN THE COLLEGE

10:00am — 10:45am

Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street

Hear from Dean Peter Struck about the power of a College education driven by curiosity, and learn from current students, faculty, and staff about the College and Penn’s commitment to supporting student academics, wellbeing, and intellectual growth.

Panelists:

• Sudeep Bhatia, Associate Professor, Psychology. 
• Gabriella Jean, C'27, Economics, minors in Statistics and Theatre Arts 
• Doug Paletta, Associate Director of Advising & Assistant Dean 
• Rylee Reeves, C'29, Political Science, minor in Journalistic Writing  

PANEL DISCUSSION: LEARNING IN PRACTICE

 11:00am — 11:45pm

Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce St

Students in the College have many opportunities to integrate their learning with practical applications, including research, work study positions, internships, and maker projects. A panel of faculty and students talk about the educational value of these opportunities and how to access them. 

Panelists:

• Julia McWilliams — Co-Director, Urban Studies Program
• Jeffrey Saven — Professor of Chemistry
• Enmanuel Martínez — Assistant Dean for Advising
• Margot Englander — History major and recent SHIP intern at the National Constitution Center
• Ryan Lee — Neuroscience major and CURF Research Peer Advisor
• Ricardo O. Howell, moderator — Associate Director and Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs

DEAN'S RECEPTION, UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH POSTERS, ADVISOR CHATS 

12:00pm — 1:00pm

Hall of Flags, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street

Join us for light bites and a chance to chat informally with Dean Struck, College Advising staff, and students presenting research projects.

Research Posters

• Chelsea Abramowitz, Darien Lu - Space-Filling Geometry and the Work of Robinson Fredenthal
• Sara Adler - Perseverative Thinking Predicts Perceptions of Interpersonal Reward and Closeness in Everyday Social Interactions
• Marin Agris- MLS/Biochemistry recommendation; Research title not supplied
• Pedro Aguilar - Microfinance Exposure and Social Network Change: Village-Level and Dyadic Evidence from Karnataka
• Isabel Alvarado Maciel - History and Outcomes of a Maternal-Child Health Program: Socioeconomic Factors, Clinical Health, and Postpartum Experiences Among Maya Indigenous Women in Santiago Atitlán,Guatemala

• Sara Michele Alvarado Rodríguez- What Did You Eat? Studying Galaxy Formation through the Milky Way’s Accretion History

   

• Angel Ayala - Engineering Removable Glass-Bottom PDMS Devices for Modular Cell Culture
• Angelyn Campillo - MLS/Biochemistry recommendation; Research title not supplied
• Kaya Denhardt - Alpha tACS Induces Immediate OscillatoryEntrainment and Reduces Semantic Competitionin Language Production Co-presenter(s): Denise Harvey, Sahana Kapoor, Chinechelum Anwunah
• Marie Dillard - Law as Archive: Interracial Kinship, Property, and Black Family Life in Postbellum Rappahannock County, Virginia
• Nicholas Godwin - MLS/Biochemistry recommendation; Research title not supplied

• Jessica Katz - How Do Area-Based Measures of
  Socioeconomic Status (SES) Influence
  Government Understanding of Population Health?

   

• Alejandro Mosquera García - Against the Shadow of Coercion: Exposure, Anticipation, and the Limits of Political Align
• Adell Murray - Relations Between Unprompted and Prompted Math Talk and Mathematical Skills in Early Childhood
• Olayinka Osinowo - SLFN11 Depletion Can Control SARS-CoV-2 Infection
• Jasmin Palacios - Mapping out Dark Matter using Diffusion Posterior Sampling
• Liam Tan - Faith Across Borders: Christianity in East Asia and Its Pilgrimage to Asian American
  Communities
• Victoria Viera - External Validity and Video-based Conjoints: A Study of Candidate Choice
• Grace Zhao - Automating Brown-headed Cowbird Identification and Multi-Camera 3D Tracking in a Smart Aviary

PANEL DISCUSSION: Life After the College

 1:00pm — 1:45pm

Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall, 3417 Spruce Street

Hear from alumni how their College education prepared them for a variety of career pathways. You may be surprised to learn what alumni go on to do with their majors.

Panelists:

• Daniel Gonzalez (C’20 HSOC), Senior Associate Philanthropy Consultant at Geneva Global
• James Park (C’01 CLST), Professor of Clinical Medicine at Perelman
• Jonah Proepper (C’24 COMMS, PSCI), Senior Associate, True Search
• Isabel Rioja-Scott (C’01 INTR, HIST), Director, Office of Mexican Affairs, State Department