Penn Professors Receive 2020 NYC Coalition for the Homeless Compassionate Community Award

melissa sanchez and corinne low

Melissa E. Sanchez, Donald T. Regan Professor of English, and Corinne Low, Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School, are leaders of the Upper West Side Open Hearts Initiative, an organization that was awarded the 2020 NYC Coalition for the Homeless Compassionate Community Award.

Low co-founded the Open Hearts Initiative to support the residents of three shelters that have been temporarily relocated to Upper West Side hotels to reduce crowding and stop the spread of COVID-19. Sanchez soon joined the leadership committee. Working with shelter residents and care providers and local neighbors, schools, businesses, and religious leaders, Open Hearts has provided unhoused New Yorkers with moral and material support. As part of this effort, Open Hearts has organized community art events to show shelter residents welcome and support; rallies, marches, and sleep-outs; voter registration drives; addiction and recovery counseling; and drives in which people can donate food, supplies, clothing, and MetroCards.

To read the full announcement, click here.

Arts & Sciences News

1 / 2
Tej Patel, C’25, W’25, and Sridatta Teerdhala, C’25, W’25, Selected as Marshall Scholars

The students, both part of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, will receive funding for up to three years of graduate study in the United Kingdom.

View Article >
$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 >