Design to Thrive at the Pennovation Center

Lori Kanter Tritsch and William P. Lauder, University of Pennsylvania Trustee, have created a new program for PennPraxis, the practice arm of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design at Penn.  The University of Pennsylvania recently announced a $7.5 million commitment from Kanter Tritsch and Lauder to support Design to Thrive, a youth development initiative centered on design education and career exploration. Design to Thrive began as a two-year pilot in New York and Philadelphia in response to the limited educational and recreational opportunities during the pandemic. With this gift from Lauder and Kanter Tritsch, Design to Thrive will be a permanent enrichment program produced by PennPraxis, the center for applied research, outreach, and practice at the Weitzman School. 

The Design to Thrive program is taking place at the Pennovation Center during the entire month of July and gathers students ages 13 to 18 four days a week for an intensive design and making studio.  PennPraxis Design Fellows will  teach design skills and approaches, including welding with blowtorches, creating ceramic molds for porcelain bells, and building a precise topographic model. Read more about the Design to Thrive program in the article featured in Penn Today.