Engage

A hub for integrating learning and practice.

The SNF Paideia Program promotes opportunities for service, wellness, engaged citizenship, and dialogue. Engage with Penn students, faculty, and staff through Paideia-sponsored events and programming offered by our many campus partners.

Violence and stigmatized heroes

Violence and stigmatized heroes

America far exceeds the rest of the world in terms of the size and funding for both its military and the systems of incarceration. During… Read More
A construction vehicle drives along the beach in Playa Venao, Panama, on May 18, 2023. | Photos by Anusha Mathur for POLITICO
In the News

‘Positive and Negative, Usually Both’: In Central America, a Booming Economy Comes At a Cost

The once-remote beach village of Playa Venao is suddenly booming with developers, tourists and expats. As visions collide, a town and a continent grapple with the environmental and community costs of newfound prosperity.Read More
Fake news in the post-factual era
Blog

Fake News in the Post-Factual Era–It’s Not Just False Beliefs.

Fake News in the Post-Factual Era--It’s Not Just False Beliefs: The Many Faces of “Post-Factual” Democratic Politics. Open Seminar… Read More
Good Talk with Sara Ropp
Blog

Dialogue Resources from SNF Paideia for Addressing Current Events

It becomes especially important, however, in moments of discernible collective unrest in response to major campus, community, national, or… Read More
Annenberg School of Communication
In the News

Two Communication Majors Present Their Work at Prominent Academic Conferences

Yamila Frej and Sarika Rau were invited to present their research papers at two of the largest conferences in the field of Communication. Having a paper accepted to a conference is a major success for a graduate student. Not all papers get accepted. It’s not even unusual for professors to have their papers turned down. It is then a mark of astonishing scholarship that recently, two undergraduate Communication majors, Yamila Frej (C’23) and Sarika Rau (C’24), had papers accepted to major academic conferences: the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) Conference and the National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention, respectively.Read More
Fake news in the post-factual era
In the News

Fake News in the Post-Factual Era–It’s Not Just False Beliefs: The Many Faces of “Post-Factual” Democratic Politics.

Open Seminar at the University of Iceland: Fake News in the Post-Factual Era by Ian MacMullen, Practice Professor of Political Science,… Read More
Radio host Michael Smerconish spoke at the Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics for a conversation hosted by the SNF Paideia and Red and Blue Exchange Program on Oct. 2. Credit: Victoria Navarrete-Ortiz
In the News

CNN personality Michael Smerconish talks role of media in politics at SNF Paideia event

The Gamba Family Red and Blue Exchange, an initiative of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program, hosted a discussion on the role of the media in contemporary politics on Monday. The conversation featured 1987 Penn Carey Law graduate and media personality Michael Smerconish. The event was titled "Polarization and the Media in American Politics" and was held in the auditorium of the Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics.Read More
Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) co-president Andreas Dracopoulos, (front left), Penn President Liz Magill (front center), and SNF Paideia founding faculty director Michael X. Delli Carpini (front right) gathered with students and alumni in the rare book collection of the National Library of Greece at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, as a part of the SNF Nostos Conference, held in Athens in June 2023.
In the News

SNF Paideia Program at the University of Pennsylvania receives $13 million to promote informed dialogue and civic engagement.

OCTOBER 5, 2023 -- The University of Pennsylvania announced a $13 million grant to support further growth of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Paideia Program from the program’s namesake. Since its inception in 2019, SNF Paideia has experienced high student demand and exponential growth of its program centered on individual and community wellness, service, and citizenship.The new grant, spanning 2024-2029, enables SNF Paideia to continue equipping undergraduates with the knowledge and experiences to foster robust, informed, and respectful dialogue across difference. “A thriving society requires broadly educated and service-minded leaders who express their views openly, listen to others respectfully, and disagree productively,” said Penn President Liz Magill. “We are deeply grateful for the ongoing support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which strengthens opportunities for Penn students to hone and practice these essential skills.” The program’s design provides a cohort of students with a structured and immersive experience, while also providing an increasingly larger number of students, faculty, and the wider community with myriad opportunities to practice civic engagement and civil discourse in a variety of settings.Read More

Opportunities for Action

Penn In Washington Club

The Penn in Washington (PIW) Club organizes and supports students interested in exploring careers in DC. The student group offers engaging programs and activities on-campus with students throughout the academic year. During the summer, the club brings together students and alumni in the DC-metropolitan area for social and speaker events. Learn about career opportunities, public service, networking, and more from our Penn in DC Instagram. The club is open to all students and there is no application process; however, participants must RSVP to attend events and can do so by signing up for the PIW weekly mailing on the PIW website.

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Fox Leadership Program Fellowship

The Fox Leadership Program Fellowship is a paid, part-time position for undergraduate students seeking civic-minded opportunities. Fellows are paired with a nonprofit organization focused on issues facing the Philadelphia community, and work roughly 10 hours a week with their nonprofit during the semester.

Applications for the fall semester fellowships are typically due mid- to late-August and interviews typically take place the last week of August or first week of September.

 

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PORES Fellowship

The PORES Student Research Fellowship is a paid, part-time position for undergraduate students interested in data analysis for the social sciences. Fellows work roughly 10 hours a week with PORES faculty members conducting research on politics, public opinion, and voting habits in the United States and abroad.

Application deadlines:

Semester Deadline
Fall Semester August 22
Spring Semester November 21
Summer February 27
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