Obituary: Anthony N. Penna was an Environmental Historian and College Leader

Anthony N. Penna, an environmental historian and former Carnegie Mellon University faculty member, died peacefully at home in Waltham, Massachusetts, on March 1, 2024. He was a teacher, mentor, author, scholar, father, avid hiker and loyal friend to many.

Joseph Devine, associate dean for undergraduate studies at Dietrich College, remembers Penna as a humble and grounded man, but his first interaction struck fear in his heart. When visiting Carnegie Mellon University as a Doctor of Arts applicant, Devine recalls how Penna grilled him on American historiography.

“He was a great example of tough love,” said Devine. “He held his students to high standards while being very devoted to them. As a result, his students were also very devoted to him. Tony became a great friend and mentor. I owe him so much, on so many levels.”

Penna received his Doctor of Arts degree from CMU in 1969 and began his career as an assistant professor in the university’s Department of History the same year. He was elevated to associate professor with tenure in 1978. He served as director for the Carnegie Mellon Education Center from 1978 to 1980. In 1980, he was named associate dean of what is now the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences for a three-year term and stepped into the role of acting dean from 1984 to 1985.

In his academic research, he explored the environmental history of the Northeast, including New England, Eastern Canada, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania from different critical perspectives. In addition, Penna joined his CMU colleague, Matthias von Brauchitch, on a series, called “The Design and Teaching of Dramatic Films: An Approach to Values Education,” for WQED Metropolitan Pittsburgh Public Broadcasting.

Throughout his career, Penna wrote several books, the most notable of which was “The Human Footprint,” a global environmental history, translated into several languages. In the book, Penna offered a comprehensive multi-disciplinary history of the planet, from the Paleolithic to the present. Each chapter touches on a theme that addresses the impact of humans on the planet from evolution to agriculture to urbanization. Penna carried these themes through much of his writing, which secured his distinguished reputation among environmental historians.

Penna departed CMU in 1985 to teach at Northeastern University where he was a professor of environmental studies and provided instruction in the university’s Department of History and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He taught until 2015 when he retired.

Penna was born March 28, 1938, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Anthony Penna and Mary Olympia Penna, both from immigrant Italian families. He grew up in the Cambridgeport neighborhood of Cambridge near Central Square with his two sisters, Gloria and Janet, both of whom died at an early age.

Penna is survived by his daughter, Christina Penna Turner, his son-in-law, Matthew Turner, and his grandson Olan Turner of Ridgefield, Connecticut; and his son Gregory Penna of Worcester, Massachusetts. A private memorial will be held in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent in Penna's name to Habitat for Humanity in Boston, Doctors Without Borders or The Greater Boston Food Bank.