Penn saw many noteworthy events during the 2021-22 academic year, including the first in-person semesters following the COVID-19 pandemic, the nomination of Amy Gutmann as the United States ambassador to Germany, and the announcement of Liz Magill as the University's next president. Controversy also arose surrounding the Gene Therapy Program, Mackenzie Fierceton, and Amy Wax.
COVID-19
The fall 2021 semester was the first to have fully in-person classes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students also regained access to campus amenities, including the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center and Van Pelt Library.
Fully vaccinated students no longer had to undergo regular COVID-19 testing or mask indoors, though all students had to participate in gateway testing upon move-in. By October, 99% of Penn undergraduates had been fully vaccinated.
Penn also mandated that students receive a flu vaccine, hosting a flu clinic that vaccinated nearly 14,000 community members.
Toward the end of the fall semester, the COVID-19 case count on campus began to rise — peaking with 241 community members testing positive between Dec. 12 and Dec. 18. Combined with the spread of the Omicron variant, the University made the second week of finals virtual and required all students to receive a COVID-19 booster by the end of January.
Penn also made the first two weeks of the spring 2022 semester virtual and reinstated indoor masking requirements until March. As a result, COVID-19 cases reached their lowest point during the semester in February.
In April, Cheat Codes and Flo Milli headlined the first in-person Spring Fling since 2019.
Penn's presidency
In July 2021, President and former Penn professor Joe Biden announced his nomination of Penn President Amy Gutmann as the U.S. ambassador to Germany. By September, Penn had formed a committee to undergo a search for the University's next president.
Gutmann's nomination was confirmed by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Feb. 8, 2022, and Liz Magill was announced as the University's next president. Provost Wendell Pritchett was selected as Penn's interim president, and Magill was unanimously confirmed by Penn's Board of Trustees before beginning her term as president on July 1, 2022.
Controversies
The year was not without controversy.
In November 2021, The Daily Pennsylvanian reported on allegations of a toxic workplace environment in Penn's Gene Therapy Program. 11 employees alleged inappropriate office behavior and extreme work disorganization in interviews with the DP. University officials had also allegedly manipulated a Perelman School of Medicine investigation into the allegations to protect its own interests.
In January 2022, Penn graduate and former Rhodes Scholarship recipient Mackenzie Fierceton filed a lawsuit against the University for its inquiry into allegations that challenged her status as a first-generation, low-income college student and a survivor of abuse. Penn had placed her master's of social work degree on hold, but lifted it in April following public outcry.
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor Amy Wax made inflammatory comments about Asian Americans and immigration, resulting in Penn Carey Law Dean Ted Ruger beginning the ongoing University sanctions process against Wax in January 2022 to determine if she had violated standards of behavior.
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