This story was originally published on October 13, 2026 on Penn Today.

For students, administrators, advocates, and educators at Penn who are confronting the tough issue of sexual assault, caring for each other is at the center.

When Penn Today sat down with Deborah Frey, who heads up Penn’s Center for Civil Rights (CCR), to talk about her work centralizing compliance, reporting, investigations, and education around discrimination and harassment, the conversation quickly turned to her daughter—a first-year student on another college campus.

Like many parents, she speaks regularly with her daughter about safety, consent, sexual assault, and how to care for herself and others. For Frey and many others, the topic is deeply personal—not confined to headlines or newscasts—even as it has become part of a national conversation on campuses and off.

For students right now, this is top of mind, everywhere, all the time, says Nicolina Monacelli, a third-year student from Philadelphia who is majoring in political science in the College of Arts & Sciences. Monacelli is the University Council representative and policy chair for Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP) at Penn, a student-run group who raise awareness about abuse, relationship violence, stalking, and sexual assault. “Students are talking about it—on Sidechat, in meetings—and there’s genuine unease and concern. They are asking: ‘What can we do as a community?’” And she says while resources exist many students don’t know about them.

Frey agrees. “We understand that the reporting structure is new under the CCR, and our priority is to make sure that all members of the Penn community can understand it. Our hope,” she says, “is that this coordinated, one-door approach to reporting discrimination and sexual misconduct will be easier for people to navigate.”

This story was originally published on September 30, 2026 on Penn Today.

Career Services at the University of Pennsylvania celebrates a century of helping students, postdoctoral scholars, and alumni translate their Penn experiences into meaningful careers and fulfilling lives.

Marking its centennial this year, Penn’s Career Services—one of the nation’s longest-running university career centers—continues to help students and alumni connect academic learning to meaningful careers. On Sept. 25, Career Services hosted an anniversary celebration bringing together campus partners, current and former staff, students, alumni, and recruiters to mark the milestone.

What began as a traditional placement office has evolved into a data-driven, multiplatform operation serving more than 22,000 undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs each year, in addition to alumni. From the first internship search to lifelong career exploration, the center helps individuals find opportunities, build networks, and navigate an evolving world of work.

In a labor market shaped by rapid technological change and emerging industries, students are preparing for careers that often do not yet exist while seeking guidance on how to align their education with meaningful and fulfilling professional lives.

“We often say that Penn is not just four years, it is for life. Career Services embodies that idea,” says Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “They support our students throughout every part of their Penn journeys, as well as those considering a career change, pursuing graduate studies, launching a new venture, and even leaders looking for a fresh challenge.

“Today, the fundamental promise of higher education is the same: Education creates opportunity. Career Services has played a vital role in helping generations of Penn students and alumni to realize that promise.”

The centennial offers a window into how both career preparation and the workforce have evolved over the last century. Today, Career Services helps students navigate fields ranging from AI and data science to climate, the arts, healthcare, business, research, and public service while providing specialized support for first-generation and international students and lifetime advising for alumni.