Sigal Ben-Porath appointed faculty director of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Paideia Program

Penn GSE Professor Sigal Ben-Porath has been named faculty director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Paideia Program. She will assume the role Sept. 1.

Ben-Porath, who holds secondary appointments in the Department of Philosophy and the Department of Political Science in the School of Arts & Sciences, is a world-renowned scholar of democratic theory and practice, especially the role of schools and colleges as democratic institutions and hubs of free speech and civil discourse. Her scholarship has focused on how schools and universities can help sustain and advance democracy, making her a perfect fit for the Padeia Program and its mission of providing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be informed, engaged and effective members of their community.

The program was founded in 2019 with a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. It takes inspiration from the ancient Greek ideal of paideia — "education of the whole person."

Read more about Ben-Porath’s appointment to this role in Penn Today.