Francesco Agostinelli Named Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences

Agostinelli

Francesco Agostinelli has been named Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences. A leading scholar in labor economics and the economics of education, Agostinelli is an empirical microeconomist who conducts research on child development, education, family economics and applied econometrics. His recent work focuses on the determinants of children’s skill formation, family choices and educational investments in children, the role of socioeconomic environments, and the development of new methods for identifying the mechanisms driving inequality in economic opportunities.

Agostinelli’s service and affiliations include not only departmental roles such as PhD Admission Committee Member, Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee Member, Empirical-Micro Seminar Organizer, and Empirical-Micro Lunch Workshop Organizer, but also Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research in the Children Program, Research Associate at Penn’s Population Studies Center, a member of the Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group at the University of Chicago, and a member of the Stone Center for Research on Wealth and Inequality and Mobility at the University of Chicago. This year he received Penn’s Kravis Award for Undergraduate Teaching in recognition of his outstanding teaching in economics.

The late Janice Bers graduated from Penn with an education degree in 1939. Her husband, the late Julian Bers, graduated from Wharton in 1931. He received Penn’s Alumni Award of Merit in 1968, and served as a Trustee of the University, while Janice Bers served as president of her class and on the 50th reunion gift committee.

Arts & Sciences News

$50 Million Legacy Gift to Penn Arts & Sciences Funds Undergraduate Aid

With an estate gift of more than $42 million, William J. Levy, a graduate of the Wharton School and Law School, has contributed $50 million in support of undergraduate students in the College.

View Article >
Jeffrey Kallberg Named Interim Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences

Kallberg, Deputy Dean and William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Music, will step into the role as of January 1, 2025.

View Article >
Josephine Nock-Hee Park Named Associate Dean for Arts and Letters

The School of Arts and Sciences President’s Distinguished Professor of English will oversee the School’s humanities departments and research centers.

View Article >
2024 Making a Difference in Global Communities and Klein Family Social Justice Grants Announced

The funding went to 11 projects from faculty in nine Penn Arts & Sciences departments, with work focusing on everything from better crime policy to a philosopher-in-residence program and psychology education in middle schools.

View Article >
Bo Zhen Named Jin K. Lee Presidential Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy

Zhen’s research focuses on the study of electromagnetic waves, such as light, in engineered environments.

View Article >
Marisa Kozlowski Named Ponzy Lu Endowed Professor of Chemistry

Kozlowski’s research focuses on the rational design of new methods and catalysts for use in organic synthesis.

View Article >