Angela Duckworth to speak at Penn GSE Commencement

Penn GSE is pleased to announce that Angela Duckworth, the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and faculty co-director of the Penn-Wharton Behavior Change for Good Initiative, will serve as the commencement speaker for the 2025 ceremony on May 17 in the Palestra.

Duckworth has made her home at Penn since 2002, when she began her doctoral work in psychology, and holds a secondary appointment on the faculty of Penn GSE. A 2013 MacArthur Fellow, she has advised the World Bank, NBA and NFL teams, and Fortune 500 CEOs. Her 2016 book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, was an instant New York Times #1 bestseller, and her related TED talk is one of the most viewed of all time.

Prior to her career in research, she founded a summer school for underserved children that was profiled as a Harvard Kennedy School case study and, in 2023, celebrated its 30th anniversary. She has also been a McKinsey management consultant and a math and science teacher at public schools in New York City, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

“We are honored to have Dr. Duckworth address our graduates,” said Penn GSE Dean Katharine Strunk. “In Together for Good, we commit to advancing Penn’s leadership in translating research into practice in service of the public good. Dr. Duckworth’s entire career has embodied this commitment. Her pathbreaking scholarship has reshaped our understanding of character development and learning, and her work has touched the lives of countless learners around the world. I know she will inspire our graduates as they prepare to lead and make a difference.”