I am writing this column the morning after dining with a group of Penn alumni and watching Michael Phelps make history by winning his eighth gold medal in the 4 x 100 medley relay. We roared as Phelps and his relay partners—Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and anchor Jason Lezak—swam to Olympic glory.

John Gearhart: Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor
President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ronald Daniels announced the appointment of John Gearhart as the eighth Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor. His appointment, effective July 1, 2008, is jointly shared between the department of cell and developmental biology in the School of Medicine and the department of animal biology in the School of Veterinary Medicine.