Student Affairs Office
The Student Affairs Office strives to create an engaging, supportive, and collegial environment for holistic student development and success in the areas of student life; leadership and community engagement; as well as health and wellness.
In addition, we assist students with personal matters, short term medical concerns, and family emergencies. We are here to serve as a resource for students, faculty, and staff to successfully navigate both the opportunities and challenges of law school. The Student Affairs team is dedicated to ensuring that students have the best possible experience at Penn Law School and we hope you will view our office as a useful resource and a good place to start with questions.
Get to know us!
If you have a concern about any issue that is impacting your education or a suggestion on how to make your experience more rewarding, we invite you to be in touch. Members of our team can connect you to useful resources offered within the Law School and the larger University. Please stop in to meet with us or feel free to email your questions, suggestions and ideas to Student Affairs: stuaffairs@law.upenn.edu.
Our Team:
Felicia Lin - Dean of Students
Dimitri Islam - Director for Student and Community Engagement
Melissa Clerval - Student Events Coordinator
Maura Matthews - Academic & Student Affairs Coordinator
Claire Wallace - Assoc Dean, Academic Affairs & Student Affairs
Thrive at Penn - a University Resource for Graduate Students
Thrive at Penn, for graduate and professional students, is an online program that assists students with their Penn experience. Thrive at Penn provides information about resources available to support student success. Topics covered include academic integrity; wellness and health; and healthy relationships and sexual violence prevention.
Student Life and Event Planning
Penn Law students are highly engaged outside of the classroom in a variety of activities. With over 100 student organizations and journals, student life at Penn Law provides students with the opportunity to connect with the community and other classmates who share similar interests. Student organizations host 200+ events per year, from organizing conferences, to volunteering with on one of the many public interest opportunities, our students foster a vibrant and engaging atmosphere. Penn Law students are passionate campus and community leaders inside all while enjoying the social and recreational opportunities that the city of Philadelphia and campus have to offer.
If your organization is planning an event, contact Melissa Clerval (mclerval@law.upenn.edu) to assist with all aspects of event planning.
Leadership and Community Engagement
Student leadership and community engagement form vital components to student life at Penn Law School. The Student Affairs Office seeks to encourage and cultivate student growth in these areas. The office works closely with the Council of Student Representatives (CSR – our law student government) on various policy initiatives and community building enterprises, including class elections. Additionally, Student Affairs supports student club leaders as they take the helm of their organizations through instructional programming and “town hall” style meetings.
The Student Affairs Office offers numerous community building activities throughout the year to bolster student life. From pumpkin carving contests to student group lunches and scavenger hunts, the office is committed to fostering a vibrant and close-knit community in engaging, interactive ways.
Health and Wellness
There are many facets to being a successful professional. The legal profession values character and fitness as evidenced by the bar. What often gets overlooked, but is critical to performance, is self-care and wellness. One has to “Be Well to Do Well.” Penn Law recognizes that good health habits start before you enter the profession.
In our continuing effort to assist our students in living a happy and healthy lifestyle, we are pleased to have CAPS counselor, Kyra Selwyn, hosting hours here at Penn Law. Kyra Selwyn, PsyD, is a psychologist at CAPS who provides on-site services at the Law School. She will work with students to provide initial consultation, support, short-term counseling and referral services. To make an appointment, contact CAPS 215-898-7021.
Students should feel free to stop in to our office in Golkin Hall Suite 103 or call/email:
Office of Student Affairs
University of Pennsylvania Penn Law School
3501 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6204
Tel: 215.898.7482
Email: stuaffairs@law.upenn.edu
