The University’s Board of Trustees gathered on campus last week for its annual Winter Full Board Meeting.
Ahead of the full board’s stated meeting on March 6, trustees met in committee sessions to review updates on Penn’s financial outlook, tuition and student aid policies, campus construction projects, and new academic programs. Administrators also presented on the University’s artificial intelligence initiatives and how the technology could impact students.
Here are six key takeaways from the meeting.
Jameson addresses Iran tensions amid global uncertainty
At the beginning of the stated meeting on Friday, Penn President Larry Jameson addressed the United States military conflict in Iran, outlining steps the University has taken to monitor the situation and support members of the Penn community connected to the region.
According to Jameson, the University has contacted students in the area, “all of whom are accounted for and safe.”
Jameson added that Penn officials have conducted regular wellness checks with other University affiliates with ties to the region and have distributed updated travel guidance to students, faculty, and staff.
On March 2, Penn Global advised students to defer travel and transit through the Middle East until further notice, following rising regional tensions and potential “travel disruption.”
University-affiliated undergraduate travel to the region will also be prohibited through March 15, at which point the ban will be reevaluated. Penn Global’s alert cited risks including “military operations” and “airspace closures.”
At the meeting, Jameson characterized the situation as a “fast-moving international crisis,” adding that it “deeply affects many of our students, scholars, alumni, and Penn families who have ties to the region.”
Leaders at Perry World House and Penn Washington — alongside faculty experts and campus centers — previously weighed in on the potential geopolitical fallout of the conflict.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and care for our Penn global community in every way that we can,” Jameson said.
New campus construction projects underway
The Board reviewed updates on a series of campus construction and renovation projects during the Budgeting & Finance and Facilities & Campus Planning Committee meetings last Thursday, including new academic facilities and revisions to existing buildings.
Vice Provost for Research David Meaney and James Simeo, the principal CO Architects, highlighted the Physical Science Building, a planned $520 million, 325,000 square foot academic complex connected to the existing north wing of the David Rittenhouse Laboratory.
According to Simeo, the facility is intended to modernize the “poor condition” of DRL.
“We are going to tackle and improve the infrastructure of the building with new mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems,” Simeo said.
The committee also heard updates on other campus projects, including the recent opening of the Stuart Weitzman Hall — the Stuart Weitzman School of Design’s first major building project in nearly 60 years.
Executive Vice President Mark Dingfield also referenced several capital investment projects underway across campus, including the renovations to the Quadrangle and work at 3600 Civic Center Boulevard.
Vice President of the Office of Budget Planning and Analysis Trevor Lewis pointed to Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, a $400 million and 200,000 square foot project that will “expand access to advanced clinical care, research integration and clinical trials as part of Penn’s growth strategy.”
The facility — which broke ground in October 2025 and is expected to open in 2028 — will expand clinical care and research capacity.
Lewis also described the continued progress on the Platt Student Performing Arts Center, which is supported by what he called a “visionary gift” from 1979 College graduates Julia and Nathan Platt.
The Board approved a $11.5 million renovation of the lower level of the McNeil Building, converting the former Career Services space into centrally scheduled classrooms and seminar rooms.
Annenberg School for Communication Dean Sarah Banet-Weiser added that the school is in the design phase of a large-scale renovation project with a current budget of $65 million.
“I would like to walk into my building and feel, just from looking around the building, the kind of amazing work that we are doing in communication and media in that building,” Banet-Weiser said. “All of this is to show people as they come in that what we do in the Annenberg School is cutting-edge research in media communication.”
Two new master’s programs announced
At the Academic Policy Committee meeting, the Board approved two new master’s programs.
The new Master of Medical Science in the Perelman School of Medicine is designed for Penn M.D. students who are unable to complete their medical degree after substantial progress in the program. Vice Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education at the Medical School Jennifer Kogan said the degree would provide “compassionate off-ramps” for students whose careers shift because of academic or personal circumstances.
The Board also approved a Master of Applied Science in Computer Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, which is meant to serve as an update to the existing Master of Computer and Information Technology program.
Penn Engineering’s Senior Associate Dean for Education and Global Initiatives Boon Thau Loo said the change reflects how the technology job market has evolved beyond traditional IT roles.
“We’re not only training people to become programmers,” Loo stated. “This is really a program to train them to become software engineers, tech leaders, data scientists, AI engineers, cyber security experts, and it’s useful to be able to recognize these pathways by creating these transformations.”
AI usage at Penn
Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Russell Composto and Vice Provost for Graduate Education Kelly Jordan-Sciutto discussed the University’s AI initiatives at the Academic Policy Committee meeting.
They highlighted AI @ Penn — a cross-campus initiative aimed at “advancing science, society, health, and business with groundbreaking research and transformative applications” — and workshops for faculty and staff hosted by the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Innovation.
Composto reiterated the University’s existing AI policy, which is that instructors decide “what the role of generative AI is in their teaching and learning space.” He and Jordan-Sciutto also highlighted increased AI-related course offerings for both undergraduate and graduate students.
The vice provosts’ presentation was followed by a panel discussion on AI, which explored how instructors are adapting their teaching materials and how students are using the technology.
“We really want to build in strategies where AI is more a tutor or companion to help them learn and not something that replaces them doing that challenging work,” Jessica Morris, CETLI’s director of instructional design and technology, said.
Another theme of the discussion was career anxiety among students who worried about AI affecting their job outcomes. According to College junior Arshiya Pant — who serves as the chair internal of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education — SCUE research found that 37% of surveyed undergraduate students reported being “worried that their career plans will be negatively affected by generative AI.”
Computer science professor Chris Callison-Burch concluded the panel with an appeal to Board members who lead companies.
“If we can be twice as productive or use half as many employees, I really lean heavily into twice as productive,” Callison-Burch said. “Don’t pull up the ladder for those who are just entering the job market.”
Penn professors have previously described their efforts to maintain the learning process and support energy sustainability while pursuing AI advancements in interviews with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Financial planning amid budget constraints
The Board of Trustees approved a 3.9% increase to undergraduate tuition from $63,204 to $65,670 for the 2026-27 academic year, which the Budget and Finance Committee initially brought forward at its meeting on Thursday. The total cost of attendance will increase 3.8% from $91,112 to $94,582.
The tuition increase is similar to the one approved by the Board at its February meeting last year, which raised both tuition and the total cost of attendance by 3.7% for the 2025-26 academic year.
The undergraduate financial aid budget will also increase by 3.8% for fiscal year 2027, expanding financial aid offerings under the Quaker Commitment initiative announced in 2024.
At the meeting, Associate Vice President of Student Registration and Financial Services Mariana Valdes-Fauli discussed the financial aid policies under the initiative, which include meeting “100% of demonstrated need with grants and work study,” not considering home equity for aid eligibility, and providing at least full tuition coverage for families earning up to $200,000 per year.
Valdes-Fauli also explained the Quaker Commitment’s “measurable impact on students and families,” such as larger grant awards, less borrowing, and a streamlined financial aid application process. She highlighted additional investments made by the University from FY25 to FY26.
“Overall, these investments reflect a continued effort to expanding access, strengthening affordability, and supporting students,” Valdes-Fauli said.
At the stated meeting, Dingfield presented Penn’s financial report for the first quarter of FY26, reporting increases in the University’s net assets and cash balances.
According to Dingfield, total net assets for the consolidated University reached $35.7 billion as of December 2025, representing a $1.8 billion increase over fiscal year 2025. The change in net assets from operations totaled $400 million on a consolidated basis, including $146 million from the academic component and $253 million from the Health System.
He also reported that cash and invested cash totaled $12.8 billion, representing an approximate 21% increase over the previous year.
“This is primarily due to returns on cash balances as well as new debt issuances,” Dingfield explained.
Dingfield’s update comes after Penn reported significant financial growth in FY25. According to the University’s most recent financial report, Penn’s total net assets increased by approximately $2.9 billion in FY25, while the endowment grew to $24.8 billion after 12.2% annual return.
University officials have also warned that upcoming federal policy changes — including a higher excise tax on university endowments — could affect future financial planning. In January, Penn directed its schools and centers to continue cutting costs ahead of budget planning for the upcoming fiscal year.
At the time, Dingfield and Provost John Jackson Jr. attributed a 4% reduction to certain expenditures across all schools and centers to “uncertainty about how evolving federal policy changes might impact” Penn.
New administrative appointments
The Board approved several administrative appointments during the stated meeting, including the formal appointment of Colleen O’Neill as Vice President for Finance and Treasurer.
At the stated meeting, Jameson said that O’Neill — a 1998 College, 1999 Graduate School of Education, 2016 Fels Institute of Government, and 2018 Wharton MBA graduate — will serve as “the primary steward of Penn’s financial assets, lead the University’s central financial functions, and partner closely with Penn Medicine leadership in the management of their finances.”
In the role, she will also oversee Penn’s cash management, short-term investment, and capital financing strategies. Her appointment follows Dingfield’s August 2025 departure from the role to serve as the University’s executive vice president.
Since July 2023, O’Neill has overseen financial operations, facilities, capital projects, and human resources at The Wharton School in her role as chief operating and financial officer. During her tenure as the school’s COO and CFO, she led optimization efforts that created the largest operating margin in Wharton history.
Jackson also announced at the stated meeting that Laura Perna has been appointed Senior Vice Provost for Faculty, after serving as Vice Provost for Faculty.
He added that Perna is “essential to sustaining the eminence and welcoming of our faculty,” credited her leadership in guiding Penn’s COVID-19 faculty policies, and highlighted her work steering initiatives related to “faculty hiring, promotion, and retention.”
Staff reporter James Wan covers academic affairs and can be reached at wan@thedp.com. At Penn, he studies communication and computer science. Follow him on X @JamesWan__.
Senior reporter Ananya Karthik covers central administration and can be reached at karthik@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies communication and economics. Follow her on X @ananyaakarthik.
Staff reporter Cathy Sui covers federal policy and can be reached at sui@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies finance and statistics.