Marci Hamilton: Penn Arts and Sciences’ Third Professor of Practice
Marci A. Hamilton, one of the country’s leading church-state scholars, has been appointed Penn Arts and Sciences’ third Professor of Practice, in the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program. Ms. Hamilton also serves as a Fox Family Pavilion Senior Fellow in Residence in the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program’s Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) and is Co-Chair of the Common Ground for the Common Good Program.
Ms. Hamilton, L’88, is the founder, CEO and academic director of Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, or CHILD USA, a nonprofit dedicated to interdisciplinary research and advocacy to end child abuse and neglect. She co-leads the organization with Steven Berkowitz, a leading child traumatologist, director of the Penn Center for Youth and Family Trauma Response and Recovery, and associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine; and Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at CHOP and Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine.
Ms. Hamilton is a tireless pro bono advocate for access to justice for all child sex abuse victims and an international leader in the movement to eventually eliminate statutes of limitations (SOL) in child sex abuse cases. She has submitted testimony and advised legislators in every state where significant reform has occurred. CHILD USA tracks and provides analysis on the SOL movement in the United States and around the world, as well as information regarding ages of majority, consent and marriage; religious liberty statutes that create opportunities to harm children; and medical neglect laws.
Ms. Hamilton is the author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty, which was nominated for a 2015 Pulitzer Prize; Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children; God vs. the Gavel: Religion and the Rule of Law, which received Foreword Magazine’s Political Science Book of the Year Silver Medal; and numerous scholarly articles.
Ms. Hamilton was recently honored with the prestigious 2017 Louis H. Pollak Award, which is awarded each year by the Penn Law Alumni Society’s Board of Managers to a Penn Law alum who has pursued a career of advancing justice through service to others. Ms. Hamilton has also received the 2016 Voice of Gratitude Award from Voice Today, Inc.; the 2015 Religious Liberty Award from the American Humanist Association; the 2014 Freethought Heroine Award; the National Crime Victim Bar Association’s Frank Carrington Champion of Civil Justice Award in 2012; the E. Nathaniel Gates Award for outstanding public advocacy and scholarship in 2008; and the Pennsylvania Woman of the Year Award in 2012, among others. She is also frequently quoted in the national media on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, First Amendment, clergy sex abuse and statute of limitations issues.
“Marci Hamilton is a force of nature on issues of religious freedom. In the context of the Penn Common Ground for Common Good Project, she has proven once again that civil and respectful church-state debates remain possible even among and between leaders who hold strongly opposing views,” said John J. Dilulio, Jr., the Frederic Fox Leadership Professor of Politics, Religion, and Civil Society and Director of Penn’s Fox Leadership Program for undergraduates. “She is also a national champion for abused children, an amazing classroom teacher and a brilliant writer. We’re lucky to have her with us at Penn.”
The Robert A. Fox Leadership Program supports Penn’s commitment to producing future leaders, by equipping students with hands-on leadership experience and connects them with successful leaders—including Penn alumni and senior University faculty and administrators—for discussion and mentorship.
Thrashed by Hurricane Maria, Monkey Island Tries to Rebuild, Bolstered by Support from Scientific Community
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and other international universities are working to save an invaluable scientific resource badly damaged during Hurricane Maria: a population of rhesus macaques living on the remote island, Cayo Santiago, as well as the staff and facilities that support them.
More than 1,000 free-ranging monkeys live on Cayo Santiago, a small Puerto Rican island. These animals have provided researchers a unique field site since the 1930s, the longest-running primate site in the world. It is work that cannot be done almost anywhere else.
The monkeys roam free on the natural tropical island, but they also are so habituated to humans that they can be involved in up-close and personal work, allowing researchers unprecedented access into the animals’ daily lives. This social microcosm has shed light on questions as diverse as how the monkeys think, choose friends and choose mates, as well as the genetic underpinnings of their complex social behaviors.
On September 20, Cayo Santiago received a direct hit from Hurricane Maria, then a Category 4 storm, that devastated Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean.
“This fragile population somehow survived this awful storm, but we need to act quickly to save them and the important scientific possibilities they represent,” said Michael L. Platt, the James S. Riepe University Professor at Penn with appointments in psychology, neuroscience and marketing in the School of Arts & Sciences, Perelman School of Medicine and Wharton School. “Unless we immediately rebuild the infrastructure on the island, as well as the lives of the people who support it, this important resource may disappear.”
International researchers are now working hard to do just that. The team includes scholars from Penn, New York University, Yale, University of Buffalo, University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, University of Michigan, University of Puerto Rico and University of Washington from fields such as biological anthropology, psychology and neuroscience.
After Hurricane Maria hit, the staff of the Caribbean Primate Research Center (CPRC) went to heroic lengths to reach the island and assess the monkey groups, even surveying damage by helicopter.
“All the different social groups on the island have been accounted for,” said James P. Higham of NYU, “which means that most of these resilient monkeys weathered this powerful storm.”
But the situation is still precarious.
“Vegetation on the island has been decimated, and the infrastructure providing life-sustaining fresh water has been destroyed,” said Noah Snyder-Mackler of the University of Washington.
The scientists said they hope this newly organized relief effort can address these pressing problems. People living in surrounding communities are suffering even more. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico—which still has limited electricity, fuel, food and water—has had a dire impact on the neighboring community of Punta Santiago and the region of Humacao in general. Many of the staff who live near the site have lost everything, and limited phone service has left others still unaccounted for.
Two GoFundMe sites have been set up for this relief effort Cayo Santiago Monkeys: Maria Relief and Relief for Cayo Santiago Employees.
Nominations: University-Wide Teaching Awards: December 1
Nominations for Penn’s University-wide teaching awards are now being accepted by the Office of the Provost. Any member of the University community—past or present—may nominate a teacher for these awards. There are three awards:
- The Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching honors eight members of the standing faculty—four in the non-health schools (Annenberg, Design, SEAS, GSE, Law, SAS, SP2, Wharton) and four in the health schools (Dental Medicine, PSOM, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine).
- The Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring honors two faculty members for their teaching and mentoring of PhD students. Standing and associated faculty in any school offering the PhD are eligible for the award.
- The Provost’s Award for Teaching Excellence by Non-Standing Faculty honors two members of the associated faculty or academic support staff who teach at Penn, one in the non-health schools and one in the health schools.
The nomination forms are available at the Teaching Awards website. The deadline for nominations is Friday, December 1, 2017. Full nominations with complete dossiers prepared by the nominees’ department chairs are due Friday, February 2, 2018.
Note: For the Lindback and Non-Standing Faculty awards, the health schools—Dental Medicine, Nursing, PSOM and Veterinary Medicine—have a separate nomination and selection process. Contact the relevant Dean’s Office to nominate a faculty member from one of those schools.
There will be a reception honoring all the award winners in the spring. For more information, please email provost-ed@upenn.edu or call (215) 898-7225.
Criteria and Guidelines
- The Lindback and Provost’s Awards are given in recognition of distinguished teaching. “Distinguished teaching” is teaching that is intellectually demanding, unusually coherent and permanent in its effect. The distinguished teacher has the capability of changing the way in which students view the subject they are studying. The distinguished teacher provides the basis for students to look with critical and informed perception at the fundamentals of a discipline, and s/he relates that discipline to other disciplines and to the worldview of the student. The distinguished teacher is accessible to students and open to new ideas, but also expresses his/her own views with articulate and informed understanding of an academic field. The distinguished teacher is fair, free from prejudice and single-minded in the pursuit of truth.
- Skillful direction of dissertation students, effective supervision of student researchers, ability to organize a large course of many sections, skill in leading seminars, special talent with large classes, ability to handle discussions or structure lectures—these are all attributes of distinguished teaching, although it is unlikely that anyone will excel in all of them. At the same time, distinguished teaching means different things in different fields. While the distinguished teacher should be versatile, as much at home in large groups as in small, in beginning classes as in advanced, s/he may have skills of special importance in his/her area of specialization. The primary criteria for the Provost’s Award for Distinguished PhD Teaching and Mentoring are a record of successful doctoral student mentoring and placement, success in collaborating on doctoral committees and graduate groups, and distinguished research.
- Since distinguished teaching is recognized and recorded in different ways, evaluation must also take several forms. It is not enough to look solely at letters of recommendation from students or to consider “objective” evaluations of particular classes in tabulated form. A faculty member’s influence extends beyond the classroom and individual classes. Nor is it enough to look only at a candidate’s most recent semester or opinions expressed immediately after a course is over; the influence of the best teachers lasts, while that of others may be great at first but lessen over time. It is not enough merely to gauge student adulation, for its basis is superficial; but neither should such feelings be discounted as unworthy of investigation. Rather, all of these factors and more should enter into the identification and assessment of distinguished teaching.
- The Lindback and Provost’s Awards have a symbolic importance that transcends the recognition of individual merit. They should be used to advance effective teaching by serving as reminders to the University community of the expectations for the quality of its mission.
- Distinguished teaching occurs in all parts of the University. Therefore, faculty members from all schools are eligible for consideration. An excellent teacher who does not receive an award in a given year may be re-nominated in some future year and receive the award then.
- The Lindback and Provost’s Awards may recognize faculty members with many years of distinguished service or many years of service remaining. The teaching activities for which the awards are granted must be components of the degree programs of the University of Pennsylvania.
From the President and the Provost: Consultative Committee for the Selection of a Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication
We are pleased to announce the formation of an ad hoc Consultative Committee to advise us on the selection of the next Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication. The members of the Consultative Committees are listed below. The Committee welcomes—and will keep in the strictest confidence—nominations and input from all members of the University community. For fullest consideration, communications should be received, preferably in electronic form, no later than November 15, 2017, and may be sent to Adam P. Michaels at adampm@upenn.edu.
—Amy Gutmann, President
—Wendell Pritchett, Provost
Chair
Theodore Ruger, Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law (Law)
Faculty
Joseph Cappella, Gerald R. Miller Professor of Communication (ASC)
Emily Falk, Associate Professor of Communication, Psychology, and Marketing (ASC)
Daniel Gillion, Presidential Associate Professor of Political Science (SAS)
Robert Hornik, Wilbur Schramm Professor of Communication and Health Policy (ASC)
Victor Pickard, Associate Professor of Communication (ASC)
Susan Yoon, Associate Professor, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Division (GSE)
Barbie Zelizer, Raymond Williams Professor of Communication (ASC)
Students
Karissa Hand, Undergraduate Student
Aaron Shapiro, PhD Student
Alumni
Shawnika Hull, G’07, Gr’10
Nikhil Sinha, ASC’89, Gr’91
Ex Officio
Joann Mitchell, Senior Vice President for Institutional Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer
Staff to the Committee
Adam P. Michaels, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the President
Consultants to the Committee
Vivian Brocard, Isaacson, Miller
Greg Esposito, Isaacson, Miller
Sarah Hadjian, Isaacson, Miller
From the President and the Provost: Consultative Committee for the Selection of a Dean of the School of Dental Medicine
We are pleased to announce the formation of an ad hoc Consultative Committee to advise us on the selection of the next Dean of the School of Dental Medicine. The members of the Consultative Committees are listed below. The Committee welcomes—and will keep in the strictest confidence—nominations and input from all members of the University community. For fullest consideration, communications should be received, preferably in electronic form, no later than November 15, 2017, and may be sent to Adam P. Michaels at adampm@upenn.edu.
—Amy Gutmann, President
—Wendell Pritchett, Provost
Chair
Antonia Villarruel, Professor and Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing (Nursing)
Faculty
Hydar Ali, Professor of Pathology and Director of Faculty Advancement and Diversity (SDM)
Faizan Alawi, Associate Professor of Pathology; Director, Penn Oral Pathology Services; and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (SDM)
Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia, Professor of Biochemistry (SDM)
Eve Higginbotham, Professor of Ophthalmology and Vice Dean for Inclusion and Diversity (PSOM)
Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, Chair and Professor of Pathology (SDM) and Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Director of Biomedical Graduate Studies (PSOM)
Bekir Karabucak, Chair and Associate Professor of Endodontics (SDM)
Eric Stoopler, Associate Professor of Oral Medicine and Director, Oral Medicine Residency
Program (SDM)
Students
Sehe Han, D’18
Bret Lesavoy, D’19
Alumni
William Cheung, D’81, GD’82 (Chair of Penn Dental Medicine Board of Overseers)
Martin Levin, D’72, GD’74 (Chair of Penn Dental Medicine Dean’s Council)
Ex Officio
Joann Mitchell, Senior Vice President for Institutional Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer
Staff to the Committee
Adam P. Michaels, Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the President
Consultants to the Committee
Kenneth Kring, Korn Ferry
Warren Ross, Korn Ferry
Reappointment of Vice Provost for Faculty Anita Allen
Provost Wendell Pritchett announces the reappointment of Vice Provost for Faculty Anita Allen, who was initially appointed to a five-year term in 2013.
“Anita Allen is a world-renowned expert on ethics and privacy law whose interests span law, philosophy, race relations and civil and women’s rights,” said Provost Pritchett. “Recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine and President-Elect of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association, she is an essential leader in advancing our campus-wide goals for faculty diversity, recruitment and retention. In particular, she is an invaluable partner in implementing the Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence, which has enhanced diversity across every measure, including a remarkable 30% increase in underrepresented minority faculty. She has also become an energetic leader of the arts on campus, chairing the Provost’s Arts Advisory Council and launching the exciting new Sachs Program for Arts Innovation and its hub for arts innovation in the Annenberg Center.”
Vice Provost Allen is the Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law in the Penn Law School and professor of philosophy in the School of Arts & Sciences. As Vice Provost for Faculty, she oversees faculty life and the academic personnel process at Penn, including recruitment, retention and retirement; appointments, tenure and promotions; enhancement of faculty diversity and gender and minority equity; and resolution of individual faculty issues, including grievances. She chairs the Provost’s Arts Advisory Council and oversees the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Arthur Ross Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Art and Sachs Program for Arts Innovation.
2016-2017 Report of the Office of the Ombuds
Lynn Hollen Lees, University Ombuds
The Office of the Ombuds offers a safe space where all members of the Penn community can bring complaints and concerns. We welcome the chance to discuss problems relating to Penn and to explore options for their resolution. During the past year, the University recognized the Ombuds Office as a confidential resource in matters involving sexual harassment, sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking. Both the Ombuds and the Associate Ombuds have undergone training in the counseling of victims of sexual violence. We can provide advice and support, as well as discussion about next steps and the availability of other University resources. We will neither identify our visitors nor discuss their concerns with anyone unless we have been given explicit permission to do so. The only exceptions to confidentiality arise when there is a risk of imminent harm to the visitor or to someone else, or if we have a legal obligation to disclose information. We are not agents of the University for purposes of reporting complaints of sexual violence or harassment.
The Ombuds Office does not take sides in disputes. Rather, we are neutral and independent. We aim to de-escalate tension and to settle problems informally. Although the Office does not carry out investigations, we can make inquiries and seek out information as needed, for purposes of illuminating matters of concern. We cannot impose a particular resolution of a problem, but we can and do advocate for fairness and consistency. When we see patterns of problematic actions, we bring these to the attention of appropriate University administrators. The Ombuds Office operates under guidelines conforming to “best practices” as outlined by the International Ombuds Association. Marcia Martínez-Helfman, the associate ombuds, is a certified mediator. In short, our office is a resource for all members of the Penn community—faculty, staff, graduate and professional students, undergraduates and post-docs—who are having difficulties in any aspect of their work and life on campus.
During the academic year 2016-2017, our office served 154 visitors from all parts of the University. Of that group, 43 percent were staff, 21 percent graduate and professional students, 20 percent faculty, nine percent undergraduates and three percent post-doctoral fellows. These proportions among our visitors have remained approximately the same since 2011. (See charts 1 and 2.) Our visitors are drawn from all 12 schools and all parts of the Penn community.
Alternative resources are also available to members of the Penn community. The Division of Human Resources, the Offices of the Vice Provost for University Life and Faculty, Dean’s offices, and other resource offices step in to help resolve many disagreements. The Ombuds’ Office offers another option for the discussion of concerns and complaints, as well as for conflict management and mediation of disputes, and we encourage those with unanswered questions or need for advice to consult with us.
During this past year, the office has seen significant shifts in the types of issues that have been brought to our office. The proportion of complaints that concern academic matters—denials of tenure, procedural irregularities, disputes over particular decisions, etc.—has decreased from 30 percent to 25 percent, when 2016-2017 is compared with the period 2011-2016. At the same time, grievances relating to individual behavior—disrespectful treatment, bullying, abusive language, or other inappropriate comments and actions—increased from 16 percent to 23 percent during the same period (See charts 3 and 4). During the past several years, more and more of our visitors have complained about the way they were treated by other members of the Penn community. When an adverse decision is made or there is a disagreement about a policy, what we hear about is not the substance, but rather the manner in which it was communicated and implemented.
Fears about retaliation have made it difficult for some people to raise concerns directly within a department or a work unit. In a diverse community where there are many individual differences that shape opinions and actions, everyone must remember the value of respectful communication and civility. All members of the University community must be treated with respect, whatever their status or points of view. We continue to work with departments and units that have identified issues or situations that have made it difficult for them to function smoothly. In such cases, we have held group meetings and facilitated discussions about outstanding problems. We can also relay concerns, doing “shuttle diplomacy” among the parties to a dispute.
Questions regarding the rights and responsibilities of those involved in graduate education are regularly brought to our office from different parts of the university. Disagreements over academic policies reveal a lack of transparency in the implementation of those policies, as well as inadequate communication of their substance. What should a student expect from an advisor or a teacher with respect to accessibility, timely commentary on work, or writing recommendations? How should evaluations of performance or decisions about dismissal from a program be handled? Too often, departments do not have detailed guidelines or handbooks that specify policies and promote consistency and clarity. Irregular contacts between faculty and students compound these problems. Post-doctoral fellows also have raised questions about their rights and responsibilities, complaining of their treatment by faculty supervisors. When there is a lack of written procedures, the ability of faculty, students and post-docs to resolve disputes is hampered.
Our office is located in 113 Duhring Wing adjoining the Fisher Fine Arts Library in the center of the Penn campus. We can be reached by phone at (215) 898-8261 or at Office of the University Ombuds. Please consult our website for more information on our office and its activities. We respond to inquiries quickly, and we encourage anyone experiencing difficulties related to their work, academics, or any other aspect of life as a member of the Penn community to set up an appointment. Our office is staffed during regular business hours. The Ombuds Office keeps neither the names of visitors nor written records. Those who wish to speak with us may do so without providing names or other identifying information if they so choose.
Table 1
July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017 |
|
Number |
Percentage |
Visitors |
154 |
100% |
Visitors by Issues Raised |
Academic, General |
10 |
6.49% |
Academic Integrity |
3 |
1.95% |
Academic Procedures |
18 |
11.69% |
Academic Research |
7 |
4.55% |
Employment, General |
32 |
20.78% |
Employment, Promotion |
8 |
5.19% |
Employment, Compensation |
6 |
3.90% |
Employment, Benefits |
1 |
0.65% |
Employment, Procedures |
11 |
7.14% |
Procedures, General |
6 |
3.90% |
Miscellaneous, Personal |
10 |
6.49% |
Financial Matters |
7 |
4.55% |
Student Services |
0 |
0.00% |
Discrimination |
1 |
0.65% |
Sexual Harassment |
0 |
0.00% |
Behavior |
34 |
22.08% |
Other |
0 |
0.00% |
Visitors by Status |
Staff |
66 |
42.86% |
Faculty |
31 |
20.13% |
Post-Doctorates |
5 |
3.25% |
Students - Undergraduates |
14 |
9.09% |
Students - Graduate/Professional |
33 |
21.43% |
Other |
5 |
3.25% |
Chart 1
2016-2017 Visitors by Status |
Staff |
43%
|
66
|
Faculty |
20%
|
31
|
Post-Doctorate |
3%
|
5
|
Undergraduate |
9%
|
14
|
Graduate/Professional |
21%
|
33
|
Other |
3%
|
5
|
TOTAL |
100%
|
154
|
Chart 2
2011-2016 Visitors by Status |
Staff |
42%
|
304
|
Faculty |
21%
|
150
|
Post-Doctorate |
4%
|
27
|
Residents |
0%
|
2
|
Undergraduate |
11%
|
81
|
Graduate/Professional |
20%
|
145
|
Other |
3%
|
22
|
TOTAL |
100%
|
731
|
Chart 3
2016-2017 Visitors by Issue |
Academic Related |
25%
|
38
|
Employment Related |
38%
|
58
|
Behavior |
23%
|
35
|
Other |
15%
|
23
|
TOTAL |
100%
|
154
|
Chart 4
2011-2016 Visitors by Issue |
Academic Related |
30% |
221 |
Employment Related |
39% |
286 |
Behavior |
16% |
118 |
Other |
15% |
106 |
TOTAL |
100% |
731 |
2018 Models of Excellence Award Nominations: October 20
Nominating your coworkers for Penn’s Models of Excellence awards is meaningful way to show appreciation to truly outstanding staff members. Nominations for fiscal year 2018 are open now through October 20, 2017.
The online nomination form is available at the Models of Excellence website.
The Models of Excellence award program celebrates the extraordinary achievements of full- and part-time staff members and teams across the University’s schools and centers.
Awards are given in three categories:
Models of Excellence Award—Recognizing staff member accomplishments that reflect initiative, leadership, increased efficiency and a deep commitment to service.
Model Supervisor Award—Honoring supervisors who contribute to Penn’s success.
Pillars of Excellence Award—Celebrating the important work that weekly-paid staff members do to promote Penn’s success.
Your deserving colleagues can’t receive these awards without your nominations. Being nominated for Models of Excellence is an honor in itself. All nominees receive a certificate of appreciation for their service.
Models of Excellence, Pillars of Excellence and Model Supervisor winners each receive $500 and a symbolic award. Nominees selected for honorable mention receive $250 and a symbolic award. Awards are presented at the Models of Excellence ceremony on April 4, 2018 in Irvine Auditorium. The entire Penn community is invited to attend.
Visit the Models of Excellence program website for more information, or contact Human Resources at models@hr.upenn.edu or (215) 898-1012 if you have questions.
DRC Pilot and Feasibility Grants: December 4
The Diabetes Research Center (DRC) of the University of Pennsylvania is now accepting applications for support to perform pilot and feasibility studies in diabetes and related endocrine and metabolic disorders.
The application deadline is Monday, December 4, 2017 by 5 p.m.
The Pilot and Feasibility program is intended to support new investigators and established investigators new to diabetes research. Established diabetes investigators pursuing high impact/high risk projects or projects that are a significant departure from their usual work are also eligible for support under the DRC P&F program. Applications are welcome from basic, clinical and translational investigators.
Grants will be reviewed by the DRC Pilot and Feasibility Review Committee, as well as internal and external reviewers. Funding level maximum is $50,000.
For detailed information and instructions, see the Diabetes Research Center website.
Investigators who are currently in the first year of support through this P&F Program may reapply for an additional year of funding. Continuation requests need to be carefully justified and will be considered as competing renewals.
For more information please contact Lisa Henry at henryli@pennmedicine.upenn.edu; (215) 898-4365 or Doris Stoffers, director, DRC Pilot and Feasibility Grants Program at stoffers@pennmedicine.upenn.edu; (215) 573-5413.