Assistant
Dean Leslie, Social Work
Former
Assistant Dean of Social Work, Orneice Dorsey Leslie, MSW '71,
died on December 31, at the age of 68 of a brain tumor.
Mrs.
Leslie received a bachelor's degree in business from Lincoln
University in 1956, and an MSW from Penn in 1971. She was
Assistant Dean in Academic Advising at Social Work from
1973 until 1986. She became director of admissions in the
School of Social Work in 1987 and remained there until
she retired. She was the faculty leader for the School's
Study Abroad program and taught in the program at the University
of Ibadan in Nigeria. She retired in 2001 and served as
a consultant until 2003.
Mrs.
Leslie was a founding Board member of the African American
Resource Center--which was established in 1989--and she continued
to serve on AARC's Board for many years. She was also co-chair
of the Women's Center Advisory Board, where she advocated
increased benefits for women and campus safety. In 1999
she received the Helen O. Dickens Lifetime Achievement
Award from the Women of Color for her "...work with and
for the African American community in particular, the special
needs of girls and women of color have consistently been
at the forefront of her campus work beyond her responsibilities
at the School of Social Work. She was one of the greatest
advocates for the establishment of an African American
Resource Center." The Award also noted, "Her leadership
style is one of inclusion, respectful debate, and action.
She has been an advocate for change in relation to University
policy development and other aspects of Penn's culture
on behalf of all women students (undergraduate, graduate/professional),
faculty, and staff." She also received the School's Alumni
Association's Award for Outstanding Service to the School
and the profession. The Association of Women Faculty and
Administrators honored her with the Leonore Rowe Williams
Award in 1999.
She
was a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the
Alliance of Black Social Workers, Community Program Developers,
Inc., Fresh Start and the African American Association
at the University. She was also a member of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority.
She
is survived by her husband, Robert E. Leslie, Sr.; daughter,
Valerie Dorsey Allen (AARC director); five stepchildren,
Gail, Robert, Jr., Gerald, Diane and Verna Leslie; two
grandchildren; five step grandchildren; and five siblings.
Donations
may be made to Freedom Theatre, 1346 N. Broad St., Philadelphia,
PA, 19121.
Mrs.
Peterson-Pace, Office of VPUL
Mrs.
Susan Peterson-Pace, office coordinator for the Office
of the Vice Provost for University Life, died on December
19, at the age of 48 of lung cancer.
Mrs.
Peterson-Pace joined Penn in 1972 as a file clerk in the
Student Financial Aid Department. From 1973-1980 she worked
in the department of oral medicine at the School of Dental
Medicine and then at CHOP. She left Penn in 1980 to work
at Colonial Penn Life Insurance Company. She returned to
Penn in 1981 as a receptionist in the Office of the Vice
Provost for University Life, where she was promoted to
business administrator in 1988 and then to office coordinator
in 1996.
Throughout
her career at Penn, Mrs. Peterson-Pace participated in
many programs and activities at Penn. She was the administrative
coordinator for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship
Program, a VPUL coordinator for the annual Penn's Way campaign,
and a member of the Women of Color Planning Committee,
the African American Association, the Black Senior Awards
Committee and the Association of Business Administrators.
Mrs.
Peterson-Pace is survived by her husband, Raymond Pace,
Sr.; daughters, Hope and Lacy; son Raymond, Jr.; four grandchildren;
mother, Evelyn Peterson; two sisters and two brothers.
A memorial service will be held on campus later this month.
Dr.
Rubinoff, CIS Pioneer
Dr.
Morris Rubinoff, emeritus professor of computer and information
science, died on December 11, at the age of 86 of complications
from cancer.
A native
of Toronto, Dr. Rubinoff received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.
degrees from the University of Toronto. He joined Harvard
University in 1946 as a physics instructor and fellow.
In 1948 he joined the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton
where he helped in the design of an electronic digital
computer.
He joined
Penn in 1950 as a research assistant, became an
assistant professor in 1951 and was promoted to associate
professor in 1954. From 1957 to 1959 while on leave, he
was chief engineer for computers at Philco Corp. and during
that time the company sent him to Europe and Israel to
speak to schools and companies about advances in computer
technology. Dr. Rubinoff was an inventor who held several
patents involving computer technology. In the 1950s he
helped design and develop the modern simulated-flight trainer.
In 1964 he became professor of computer and information
science. He directed the Chemical Engineering Calculating
System in the early 1970s, which was jointly administered
by the School of Chemical Engineering and the Information
Systems Laboratory of the Moore School of Engineering.
The system was being created for computer simulation and
design of industrial chemical manufacturing.
Dr. Rubinoff became emeritus professor in 1984.
Dr.
Rubinoff was a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers and belonged to many professional
organizations including the Society for Industrial and
Applied Mathematics.
He is
survived by his wife of 62 years, Dorothy Weinberg Rubinoff;
sons, David and Robert; and four grandchildren.
