Penn’s Enduring Commitment to Global Engagement

Penn proudly welcomes students and scholars from around the world, and our academic community is more rigorous, ingenious, and excellent for this dynamic exchange. I recently returned from a trip to Asia including Singapore and South Korea—home to our fifth-largest international alumni community—where I reinforced a core principle of our University’s mission: bringing the world to Penn and Penn to the world. Walking on stage to the hit song “Golden” from K-Pop Demon Hunters at an all-Penn constituent event was a timely, vivid reminder that creativity, culture, and shared experience can resonate and delight globally. In turn, our alumni shared with me their incredible stories about what they are doing in the world, underscoring how fortunate we are to be an academic home for thousands of international students and scholars representing more than 140 countries and territories.

Our faculty and students bring to bear countless such powerful, resonant stories and achievements – Nobel Prize–winning RNA technology, prestigious global fellowships, Pulitzer Prize recipients, and President’s Innovation and Engagement Prize winners like Ejun Hong who, together with Jack Roney, created Lens Bright to bring photography and cinematography to high school students in West Philadelphia. I am honored and inspired to help champion these stories.

The rich cultural mosaic of our campus has long been a wellspring of discovery and progress in numerous fields—from the arts and literature to agriculture, medicine, and science. In the academy, learning and research are a long game. Penn itself predates our country’s present 250th anniversary, and our strength has always rested on welcoming people, ideas, and discoveries from wherever – and whomever – they might arise. Global engagement is not ancillary to our mission; it is central to who we are and who we aspire to be. With Penn Forward, we are developing strategies to deepen our global connections in the decades ahead.

So, I want to commend the resourcefulness and resilience of our international students, faculty, staff, and alumni. You make Penn better, and I sincerely hope that your time at Penn propels your success and wellbeing. I encourage every member of the Penn community on campus and around the world to take time to welcome, support, and learn from one another and, in doing so, continue strengthening this exceptional University, our nation, and nations everywhere.