Wharton Impact Newsletter, Our community, your inbox.

January 2024 • Edition 28

Lauder students explore new corners of the world, Analytics at Wharton documents a year of discoveries and successes, and BEPP looks back on 40 years of its pioneering program.

Lauder Students Embark on First-Ever Argentina and Uruguay Intercultural Ventures

Lauder students explored sustainability in Switzerland and the intersection of sports and culture in Uruguay and Argentina.

Thanks to donors like you, Lauder students have a front-row seat to global business, political, environmental, and social issues through field-based immersions around the world known as Lauder Intercultural Ventures (LIVs).

LIVs are an important component of the Lauder Institute’s international studies curriculum. In addition to meeting local leaders and experts in a foreign country, each LIV involves coursework outside the classroom. Penn-affiliated faculty members show students how a country’s local context informs the art of commerce.

Back in November, Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Reto Gieré led 16 students to Switzerland, where they explored the country’s commitment to sustainability. While visiting Zurich, Montreux, and Grimselwelt, the students examined how different industries — from waste management to hospitality — work to lower their environmental impact.

Meanwhile, 14 students learned about the unique social and economic impact of sports in Argentina, the most recent champion of the men’s World Cup. The LIV also included a short excursion to the first ever host and winner of the World Cup, Uruguay.

See where else students have visited, diving deep into local economies, cultures, languages, and history.

Learn About LIVs

2023: A Year of Innovation and Leadership

Analytics at Wharton reflects on its impressive catalogue of accomplishments from 2023.

For Analytics at Wharton, 2023 was filled to the brim with incredible achievements, research developments, opportunities to connect with each other, and more — thanks to donors like you. Here’s a glimpse into some moments that made 2023 a year of innovation and leadership:

In June, four Wharton undergraduate students began the MindCORE Summer Fellowship program, sponsored by the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and Analytics at Wharton. August brought us the launch of Wharton Analytics’ teaching initiative, AI at Wharton. And in November, the Wharton Sports Business Summit drew more than 200 alumni and sports industry leaders to campus.

See More 2023 Highlights

BEPP Merges Political Science and Economics
for 40 Years

In 1979, Anita Summers, a Philadelphia Federal Reserve employee at the time, agreed to teach a program that would be the first of its kind.

For four decades, donors have supported the Business Economics and Public Policy (BEPP) department’s endowed faculty, laying the groundwork for the one-of-a-kind program’s success.

Ben Lockwood, the Clarence Nickman Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy; Joe Harrington, Department Chair and Patrick T. Harker Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy; and Judd Kessler, Howard Marks Professor, have all played roles in shaping the department into an academic powerhouse. Donor support has made it possible for these BEPP professors to teach future leaders how to integrate issues such as workplace discrimination, sustainability, and international industrial policy into management.

Read Wharton Magazine’s story that encapsulates the 40-year evolution of BEPP — from an intellectual hub to “the greatest program in the world,” as faculty member Peter Linneman calls it.

 

Explore BEPP, Then and Now