Honors and Other Things |
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November 15, 2011,
Volume 58, No. 12
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Penn Law Alumni Society Awards
Regina Austin, L’73, William A. Schnader Professor of Law, received the Distinguished Service Award for her service to the Law School.
She was one of five Penn Law graduates—with expertise ranging from human rights law to sex discrimination to judicial reform—who were honored for their career achievements, pro bono work, service to the legal profession and service to the Law School. The other recipients:
Chandra Bhatnagar, L’01, received the Young Alumni Award, which honors the professional achievement of an alumnus/a who graduated within the past 10 years.
Marcia Greenberger, CW’67, L’70, received the James Wilson Award for her service to the legal profession.
Lynn A. Marks, L’79, received the Alumni Award of Merit, for her professional achievement and service to the Law School.
James J. Sandman, L’76, received the Howard Lesnick Pro Bono Award, which honors an alumnus/a who has embodied the spirit of the Public Service Program through a sustained commitment to pro bono and/or public service throughout a private sector career.
School Reform Commission
Lorene Cary, lecturer in the department of English in SAS, was appointed to the Philadelphia School District’s School Reform Commission (SRC). Mayor Michael Nutter stated that she “has an incredible passion for the well-being of children; she cares very personally about parents and she’s very focused on supporting teachers.”
Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli will chair the Financial Operations and Systems Working Group to advise the SRC. This group will study what’s in place and make recommendations during the school year.
Festschrift for Dr. Churchill
Dr. Stuart Churchill, professor emeritus of chemical and biomolecular engineering in SEAS, has been honored with a Festschrift on the occasion of his 90th birthday in the August 2011 issue of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research (Volume 50, Issue 15).
The Festchrift notes, “He understands the importance of teaching students how to translate engineering science principles into process and product designs that satisfy consumer needs and to seek designs that optimize profitability in the face of uncertainty.”
See the full Festschrift issue of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, online at http://pubs.acs.org/journal/iecred
Science Center Board: Dr. Jameson
Dr. J. Larry Jameson, executive vice president of the University for the Health System and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, was elected to the Board of Directors of the University City Science Center. The Science Center supports technology commercialization and technology-based economic development at the Science Center and in the Greater Philadelphia region.
AIRI President: Mr. Keinath
Mr. Larry Keinath, The Wistar Institute's vice president for finance and administration, was named president of the Association of Independent Research Institutes (AIRI) last month.
Mr. Keinath's two-year term is from October 2011 until October 2013. His leadership responsibilities include serving on AIRI's Government Affairs, Nominating and Program committees. Mr. Keinath will also collaborate with other AIRI leaders to improve methods of sharing operating information among AIRI member institutions.
RWJF Faculty Scholar: Dr. McHugh
Dr. Matthew D. McHugh, an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, has won a competitive grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to study the relationships among where people live, where they receive hospital care, and the outcomes of that care. Dr. McHugh is one of just 12 nurse educators from around the country to receive the three-year $350,000 Nurse Faculty Scholar award this year. It is given to junior faculty who show outstanding promise as future leaders in academic nursing.
Innovator Award: Dr. Raj
Dr. Arjun Raj, assistant professor of bioengineering in SEAS, is the recipient of the 2011 NIH New Innovator Award for his proposal “A Comprehensive Spatial Picture of Transcription in the Nucleus.” The award, providing $1.5 million over five years, supports the development and application of new microscopic imaging tools to reveal how the physical organization of the genetic code determines the manner in which the cell reads the code itself. The development of these methods will establish a “nuclear GPS,” allowing researchers to directly visualize genetic organization in single cells. An understanding of this organization will be important for elucidating how defects in translating the genetic code contribute to diseases such as cancer.
Penn Among Most Affordable Private Institutions
The University of Pennsylvania has been named one of the most affordable private universities in the United States.
The ranking was issued by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and lists “the private universities and liberal arts colleges that combine outstanding quality with affordability.” Penn was ranked sixth.
Princeton University was ranked first among universities, and Pomona College was first among liberal-arts colleges. In addition to Penn and Princeton, three other Ivy League institutions made the top 10 among universities.
Penn President Amy Gutmann has increased the University’s undergraduate financial-aid budget by more than 100 percent since 2004, launching a no-loan policy in 2008 that meets the full demonstrated financial need of every undergraduate student.
“Cost should not be a barrier to a Penn education,” Dr. Gutmann said. “It is our responsibility to help educate future generations of leaders, regardless of economic background. As students and their families experience mounting financial needs, we are committed to keeping Penn affordable to every undergraduate who enrolls.”
Human Relations Awards
Honored for her lifelong work on behalf of women everywhere, Carol E. Tracy, CGS’76, the executive director of the Women’s Law Project (WLP) and lecturer in Penn’s interdisciplinary Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies program in the School of Arts and Sciences, received the inaugural Sadie Alexander Leadership Award in early October from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.
The award, named for one of Penn’s most distinguished alumnae, was presented during a celebration of the Commission’s 60th anniversary.
The Commission recognized Ms. Tracy for her 30 years of work “to combat discrimination in all forms, to make systems responsive to the needs of women, and to create and influence public policy to create a safer, fairer society for women and their families,” according to the program brochure.
Also receiving accolades from the Commission was the student-led organization Penn Monologues, a program of the Penn Women’s Center, which received an Arts and Culture award. Penn Monologues is a co-ed writing and performing group that brings a student perspective to issues raised in Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, including gender-equality, sex and sexuality and the end of violence.
USDA Award: Fox Leadership Program
The University of Pennsylvania Fox Leadership Program was one of three Pennsylvania Summer Food Service Programs that received the Summer Champion Award from the US Department of Agriculture. The Summer Food Service Program provides federal funding to non-profit organizations that provide nutritious meals to children under the age of 18 while school is not in session. The Fox Leadership Program was cited for its development of the online resource, www.pasummermeals.com, which is an electronic-based summer meals location finder to assist families in locating nearby summer meal sites. |
