New Leaders for Penn Futures Project

The Deans of the School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), the Graduate School of Education (GSE), and the School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) are appointing two faculty leaders to the Penn Futures Project (PFP) in order to build upon and accelerate the successes of the program since its inception.

Penn Nursing’s Terri Lipman, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, the Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Professor of Nutrition, Professor of Nursing of Children, and the Assistant Dean for Community Engagement; and GSE’s Vivian Gasdsen, Ed.D, the William T. Carter Professor of Child Development & Education, the Director of the National Center on Fathers and Families, and the Associate Director of the National Center on Adult Literacy will now head up PFP, a collaboration developed three years ago to improve the lives of Philadelphia youth and families.

“We all know deans can only take things so far,” said GSE Dean Pam Grossman. “It takes the faculty stepping in and providing intellectual leadership to take it to the next level.”

“Drs. Lipman and Gasdsen are the right leaders at the right time to continue the growth of PFP. Their expertise and desire to promote social justice across professions will benefit vulnerable children throughout the city,” said Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel.

During the past three years, PFP projects involving students and faculty from all three schools have changed how the city of Philadelphia uses big data to deliver social services, forged ground-breaking partnerships between teachers, counselors, social workers, and nurses at a high school in the Kensington neighborhood, and developed better ways to serve LGBTQ students. PFP has grown to include five projects, as well as appointing three Calvin Bland Fellows who are also developing new initiatives to promote social justice.

“We are confident that we have appointed two very inspiring and innovative leaders who will undeniably – and thoughtfully – champion the continued expansion and impact of Penn Futures on all three Penn Schools and throughout the community for many years to come,” said SP2 Dean John L. Jackson, Jr.