Dr. Elizabeth Flower, one of the pioneering women in philosophy in the U.S. and a member of the University for more than 50 years, died on June 26 at the age of 80.
A teacher of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., of novelists Chaim Potok and John Edgar Wideman, and of numerous philosophers including Hilary Putnam, Dr. Flower was noted for her quiet activism and its integration with coursework in ethics that "preserved historical insights and perspectives at a time when American philosophy had largely abandoned historical perspectives," a colleague said. Dr. Flower had continued to write and participate in University activities since becoming emeritus professor in 1985; she was one of the "Schmoozers" who met at the School of Medicine and she was involved with colleagues in philosophical discussion even in the weeks before her death of cancer.
Dr. Flower completed her Ph.D. here and began teaching in 1937, at a time when female faculty were rare in the University. In 1956 she became the first tenured woman in the philosophy department. Dr. King audited her "Ethics and the History of Philosophy" course in 1949-50, while he was enrolled full-time at Crozer Theological Seminary; 15 years later, King and Flower would meet again as participants in a one-day seminar held at Penn.
Dr. Flower began in chemistry as an undergraduate at Wilson College, where she later served as a trustee for several decades, but soon developed an interest in ethics and its relations to psychology and social science, to law and education, and to the larger social and intellectual context.
Her best-known work is the two-volume A History of Philosophy in America, written with Dr. Murray Murphey of American Civilization, now a standard in the field. Dr. Flower also taught or lectured at Columbia (Barnard), Hamilton College, and Latin American universities from San Marcos in Peru to the National Universities of Colombia, Chile, Guatemala and Mexico.
Early in her career, Dr. Flower worked with the American Friends Service Committee in Mexico, where she joined work camps and met with exiled Spanish Republican intellectuals and philosophers. In later years, she pioneered intellectual exchanges with Latin America, and worked with the Organization of American States in a series of monographs tracing the history of philosophy in each country.
Closer to home, in the '50s and '60s she headed a pioneering program that brought gifted Philadelphia public high school students to Penn for advanced work. She was also involved with undergraduate scholars' programs, with cooperative courses that joined the humanities and sciences from across the University, and in mentoring of women and minority students.
Among her many honors and awards were two fellowships from the American Association of University Women. In 1987, Dr. Flower was named Woman of the Year by the Society for Women in Philosophy. The following year, her colleagues published Values and Value Theory in Twentieth Century America: Essays in Honor of Elizabeth Flower.
This March, Dr. Flower and Dr. Edel received jointly the Herbert W. Schneider Award of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.
Dr. Flower is survived by her husband, stepdaughter Deborah Edel, and three step-grandsons. A memorial service is planned for fall.
(Photo caption: Dr. Flower with her husband Dr. Edel in a 1988 photograph.)
Thomas Angeloff, former executive assistant to the deputy dean of the Wharton School, died on June 27 at the age of 41.
A 1977 magna cum laude graduate of the University, Mr. Angeloff joined the Wharton School as an administrative coordinator of Finance and Administration in 1979 and received his master's degree as an NDFL Title IV Fellow the same year. In 1981 he became associate director of Finance and Administration, serving until 1987 when became director of administration and human resources. In 1991 he was named executive director to the deputy dean.
Mr. Angeloff was also a consultant to performing artists from Spain, Mexico, Great Britain, India and New York.
Memorial gifts may be made to the AIDS Information Network, 1211 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107.
Dr. Shiv K. Gupta, professor of marketing, died June 8 at the age of 68, in New Delhi, India after a long illness. He had been there on medical leave since 1992. He previously had been chairman of the Operations Research Program at Wharton from 1971 to 1984. He was a visiting professor at the University of Sussex in England from 1969 to 1970, associate professor of finance at Wharton from 1966 to 1969, and professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta from 1963 to 1969. In 1960 he received his Ph.D. in operations research at Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland. He took his M.A. and B.A. with honors in mathematics from Delhi University in 1949 and 1947, respectively.
Dr. Gupta consulted for a large number
of companies, such as
Anheuser-Busch Co., The World Bank,
Atlantic Richfield, and AT&T. He
belonged to many professional societies,
including the American
Marketing Association and the Operations
Research Society of America. He
published some 40 articles on production
inventory control, marketing,
estimation theory, education, investment
decisions, implementation and
systems science in various journals of
international reputation, and co-
authored three books, Scientific Method
(1962), Mathematics for Modern
Management (1963), and Fundamentals of
Operations Research for
Management (1974).
Dr. Samuel R. Sapienza, the former vice
dean and Peat, Marwick,
Mitchell Professor of Professional
Accounting at the Wharton School,
died on June 25 at the age of 78.
A World War II veteran who served in the
U.S. Army Air Force from
1941-45, Dr. Sapienza was a captain and an
armament officer of a B-17
aircraft squadron in the 303rd Bomb Group
in Molesworth, England and
received a Bronze Star Medal. He returned
to Niagara University to
complete studies and earned his bachelor's
degree in accounting magna
cum laude in 1947. He received his MBA
from Penn in 1948 and his Ph.D.
in applied economics in 1955.
During his graduate studies he was an
instructor of accounting at
Wharton. The author of 18 books and
articles on business combinations
and foreign operations, Dr. Sapienza was a
Wharton faculty member for
over 30 years: as assistant professor,
1956-61; associate professor,
1961-64; and full professor, 1964-87. He
was vice dean and director of
Wharton's Graduate Division from 1969-77
and chair of the accounting
department from 1982-85.
Dr. Sapienza consulted for DuPont,
Deloitte Haskins and Sells,
ITT, ITE Imperial, Hercules and New
Holland Machine Corporation. He was
an expert witness in anti-trust suits and
was director of the Pine
Street Fund and a board member of the
Compass Income Fund and Glennell
Corporation.
Dr. Sapienza is survived by his wife
Carol Sapienza; daughters,
Susan and Alice Sapienza and Clare
Sapienza-Eck; son, Stephen; four
brothers and two sisters. A memorial
service is being planned for the
fall; information will be available from
the accounting department after
Labor Day.
Almanac
Tuesday, July 18, 1995
Volume 42 Number 1
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