On a sad note, Katie Brant, COL'92, died of brain cancer on July 10, 1999, at the age of 28. She was diagnosed with the disease while still in college, and despite intensive chemotherapy she graduated cum laude from Penn. She formed the non-profit organization, Katie's Kids for the Cure, which works for the eradication of childhood brain tumors through research. The organization was set to award its first research grant shortly before Katie's death. Her doctors remember Katie as being utterly dedicated to the organization right through to the end, and her sister-in-law, Caroline, calls Katie's Kids Katie's legacy. For more information on Katie's Kids for the Cure visit the website at www.katieskids.org or call 1-877-KTS-KIDS, or write to P.O. Box 8084, Radnor, PA 19087.
D. Jeffrey Lenn, WH'62, was recently appointed Senior Associate Dean of the School of Business and Public Management at George Washington University. Before joining GWU, he taught at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Connecticut. His main areas of interest and scholarship include business and public policy, corporate strategy, business/government relations, managerial ethics, and managing the Chinese enterprise. This last topic brought Jeffrey to Beijing in 1995, where he was a Fulbright Professor of Management at Peoples University.
Mike Sherman, COL/WH'79, is now heading up McKinsey's Asia-Pacific marketing practice, which enables consultants to do better and more marketing work with their clients. In this capacity, Mike covers a territory that includes China, Korea, Japan, Australia, India, and Southeast Asia. In addition, Mike serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the U.S affiliate of the AFS student exchange program. Based in Hong Kong, Mike has also done extensive travelling throughout Asia, including China, Vietnam, and Korea.
On February 9, 2000, Patrick T. Harker, EAS'81, was named the 12th Dean of the Wharton School. Patrick finished graduate school from Penn in 1983 and went on to join the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The next year, he joined the Wharton School. In 1991, he was named the UPS Transportation Professor for the Private Sector, and he served as director of Wharton's Fishman-Davidson Center for the Study of the Service Sector from 1989-1994. Patrick received the 1986 National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, and in 1991-1992 he was a White House Fellow, special assistant to the director of the FBI. He has been editor-in-chief of the journal Operations Research since 1985. We wish Patrick all the best in this new position.
Arthur Jenkins III, COL'89 MED'93, has now graduated from the Medical School at New York University after eleven years on the path towards becoming a neurosurgeon. He is now doing his spinal surgery fellowship at Brigham and Womens Hospital. His research interests involve the use of neural prosthetic devices to stimulate the spinal cord in a patient like Christopher Reeve, so that he will be able to walk.
Sharon Block, COL'90, went from Penn to Princeton for a Ph.D. in History. Five years later, her dissertation on Coerced Sex in America was ready. Sharon travelled all the way to Tasmania to hike across the island. After her Ph.D. she accepted a two-year post-doctoral fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Early American History in Williamsburg, VA. She is currently working on a book and an article on white women's reaction to sexual coercion for Women's America.
Debra Ross (Cermele), COL'91, toiled for four years as Managing Editor of the Hatherleigh Company before starting her own company, Axton Enterprises. Axton is a computer consulting firm providing computer and operations training, as well as custom programming, to the mail-rder industry. Debra married David Ross, an industrial mathematician at Eastman Kodak, in 1996. On September 10, 1999, their first child, Madison May Ross, was born. For more information on Axton, visit www.axton.com.
Nolan Miller, WH/COL'94, left Penn for graduate school at Northwestern, where he studied math and mathematical economics for 5 years, and had the misfortune to experience a mass exodus of his dissertation committee in the third year. He is now Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the John F. kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Jason Diaz, WH'95, founded a new non-profit organization that provides New York City cab drivers with 911-access to allow them to report crimes and emergencies they witness when on duty. For more information on Cab Watch, visit www.cabwatch.org.
Brian Holland, EAS'96, entered medical school after graduation and is currently about to enter his fifth year headed for a career in pediatrics. In June 1998, Brian got married to Sara Farley Gibbons, a classmate from Penn. She graduated from law school at the University of Pittsburgh in May 1999, and is currently clerking for a judge in Pittsburgh. Sara and Brian were both part of the Army ROTC Program at Penn and are about to enter service to pay for their scholarships, she as an army lawyer and he as a pediatrics resident. They wanted to be stationed in sunny Honolulu, HI, and were ecstatic when they got their wish.
Finally, we extend our best wishes to Allison Bosniak, COL'98, who will marry Brett Pogany, EAS/WH'97, in September. Incidentally, this is the second marriage that traces its origins back to the good old BFS office.
George Blaustein, COL'00, is a History and English major from Racine, Wisconsin. A longtime jazz pianist, he became involved with the Kelly Writers House in his first year, performing there regularly with other Penn and Philadelphia musicians. George was awarded the Beinecke Brothers Memorial Scholarship last year, which he will use towards graduate work in an American Studies program. His senior thesis focused on the history of jazz, race, and mass culture communism in the American 1930s.
Emily Robin, COL/WH'00, is in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, a dual-degree program of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School. An active participant in several Penn groups, including FLASH (Facilitating Learning About Sexual Health) and the Management 100 Program, Emily was recently named a Thouron Scholar and she will be studying in England. Emily wrote a thesis on French immersion programs in Louisiana (her home state) and Canada.
Tereza Slepickova, COL'00, is a native of Prague, the Czech Republic. She majored in International Relations and German Studies, as well as doing minors in Economics and Political Science. Among the many distinctions she earned during her time at Penn are being placed on the Dean's List in 1996-97 and 1997-98; she is a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. She worked full time for 8 months as a research assistant to Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's former National Security Advisor, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. In the spring of 1999, Tereza was studying abroad at the Freie Universitat in Berlin. She plans to enter a graduate program at Georgetown University this fall, where her focus will be on obtaining an M.A. in German and European Studies in combination with a Ph.D. in Comparative Government. In her free time, Tereza is a passionate ballroom dancer.
Andrew Zitcer, COL'00, created the Foundation Community Arts Initiative while at Penn. The Foundation hosts weekly concerts and educational programs in partnership with the West Philadelphia community, with the goal of fostering meaningful interaction and social change through the arts. His passion for the arts has also manifested itself into a long-term study of mysticism and music in Islam and Judaism. In the summer of 1999, Andrew visited Israel with the support of a BFS Summer Research Grant, a Dorot Foundation Travel Grant, a College Research Grant, and a Penn Humanities Forum Fellowship. His Religious Studies thesis continued that work. Andrew hopes to be able to continue working with community arts and cultural redevelopment after graduation.
Andrew Avarbock, COL'01, has been heavily involved in independent study during his years at Penn. Last year he worked with Dr. Herman Beavers on a study entitled Unmaking American Identity. It was focused on the ways in which race, class, and gender relations have been interpreted since the Enlightenment. Andrew is, despite his varied research in other fields, a Biology major with plans to pursue a joint MD/Ph.D. degree. In this capacity, Andrew is now involved in a study of how Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains dormant in the human body. This study was funded by a BFS Summer Research Grant. Outside of academia, he is involved in developing an Internet-based company called resumepark.com, which specializes in maintaining a student resume database.
Alejandro Marin-Spiotta, COL'01, is majoring in Biology and has done extensive research in his time at Penn. One was a clinical study at the Veterinary Hospital investigating biochemical parameters associated with hypovolemic shock resulting from blunt vehicular trauma in the canine. Another study was in the field of diabetic research, investigating brain glucoprivation and the neural responses to hypoglycemia. A part of this study involved performing brain surgery on anesthetized rats to implant and secure a guide cannula allowing access to the glucose-sensing areas of the brain. Alejandro's other interests include psychology and philosophy.
Daniel Shu, COL/EAS'02, spent last summer teaching 10-year-olds in Philadelphia HTML so that they could create their own Web pages. He became involved in this through his interest in volunteer work, and it was through the Penn Program for Public Service and Summer Internships he came across this particular opportunity. Dan's project originally came out of an Academically-Based Community Service (ABCS) Class, where students worked to create collaborative service projects within Penn and the surrounding community. Dan and his group focused on the role of technology in reforming public education in West Philadelphia. To further enhance the collaborative aspects of the project, Dan was able to take his 4th and 5th graders to Penn's Multi-Media and Educational Technology Services, and ultimately the kids were able to make their own Web pages. (Taken from Amy Calhoun's article, which appeared in the March 2000 College Newsletter.
BFS are racking up the honors! Congratulations go out to Andrew March, COL'00, winner of the prestigious Marshall Fellowship for study in the UK. Andrew was also named to USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team. Kristina Herbert, COL'00, received an honorable mention. Duare Valenzuela, COL'01, is one of five students receiving the Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Award, recognizing students for community and public service. D.S. Neil van Leeuwen, COL'00, was the only 2000 recipient of the Lionel Pearson Fellowship, which allows a Canadian or American classicist to study at an English or Scottish university. Neil also gave this year's College graduation speech. This year's BFS Thouron recipients are, in addition to Emily Robin, Sujata Gosalia, WH/COL'00, Tony Regenstreif, COL'00, and Michael Grubb, EAS/WH'00. Kristina Herbert, Adam Kaufman, WH/EAS'00, and Miriam Joffe-Block, COL'00, received the Fulbright Award, Clifford Haugen, WH/EAS'01, and Daniel J. Sherman, COL'01, received a Goldwater Scholarship. Kristina Herbert was also awarded the Howard Hughes Award, as well as the NSF Grant. BFS alumna Maeve McBride, EAS'97, was also recognized by the NSF. Damian Werts, COL'01, got the Rotary, and Cliff Haugen and Wendy Tao, WH'01, received the Udall. Daniel Shu and Beandrea Davis, COL'02, received the Gates Millennium Scholarships. Finally, alumna Lauren Ross, COL'98, got the Javits this year.
The General Honors Program has long been committed to providing amibitious Penn students with exciting and challenging educational forums. The program's primary mode for advancing this educational agenda is through GH course offerings. During the Fall 1999 semester, two intrepid courses, GENH205 and GENH210, met the General Honors demand for providing students with innovative course options. General Honors 205-301, The Search for the Post-Modernist Self, was taught by Chaim Potok. The course probed the elusive entity of "self" or "individual" as compared to and in relation with the notion of "community." Students in the class explored how one can be both a "self" and a member of a "community." Students lauded both the instructor, the format, and the broad and interesting content of the class.
"The course definitely introduced to me a new way of looking at the world," said Elizabeth Jacobson, one of Dr. Potok's students. Aryeh Weinstein praised Dr. Potok, commenting that GENH205 "is the best-taught course I have ever taken." Overall, students thoroughly enjoyed learning about the development of ideas as the intellectual world shifted from late Modernism to Post Modernism.
Another unique and interesting GH course offering in the fall of 1999 was General Honors 210-301, called Improvement of Undergraduate Education - What Is To be Done? The class addressed some present and fundamental criticisms of undergraduate education at large universities. It challenged students to then evaluate Penn in terms of those criticisms. Student Damian Werts reflected that the class was both innovative and successful "in its ability to show undergraduates how the educational process unfolds."
These two courses are just a small fraction of the interesting and
challenging options this program has offered in the past and hopes to
offer in the future.
Most BFS go on to bigger and better things after Penn and we are always proud to be able to recognize them and their achievements in life. Theresa Simmonds double-majored in Environmental Studies and Urban Studies during her time at Penn, and she received two major awards as an undergraduate. In 1989, she received the Truman Fellowship, and in 1991, she became a Rhodes Scholar. But the most prominent characteristic of Theresa's illustrious undergraduate career was her commitment to public service. Early on, she became involved in Dr. Ira Harkavy's service-based coursework, and it is safe to say that she has carried the spirit of that work with her to this day as she is now a History teacher at University City High School.
Penn prides itself on its involvement in community service, especially pertaining to programs in West Philadelphia. There are now close to 100 such service-based courses and around 40 offered every semester. They are designated as Academically-Based Community Service (ABCS) Courses. Dr. Harkavy is still very much involved in this work and co-taught, with Dr. Lee Benson, two such courses in the GH program this past spring semester. For more information on this program, visit the program's web site.
Theresa and Dr. Harkavy were the featured speakers at this year's Benjamin Franklin Scholars Breakfast Talk, which took place on May 20, 2000. We will be posting notes and thoughts about that talk on this page in the near future.
Professor Paul Rozin, the popular instructor of the highly sought-after GH Psychology 001 course, is teaching, researching, and engaging in his psychology endeavours at Penn as well as across the world. Among BFS students, Rozin is best known as the ever gregarious professor. This past semester, he once again taught his honors class, which he cites as "my favourite class. I like to teach it." But his studies in psychology extend far beyond this course.
Rozin is co-director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict. It is a cutting-edge global program at Penn which combines expertise in sociology, psychology, and political science to deal with and assuage political and ethnic turmoil around the world.
Rozin is also actively involved in his own research regarding the psychology of food. He explores different perceptions of food among different cultures, and exposes biases and misconceptions. With regard to his food studies, he states that he hopes to illustrate to Americans that "there are better ways of eating that will increase their enjoyment." As far as his Honors course is concerned, his first aim is "to educate the class." Look for Prof. Rozin to appear on NBC's Dateline soon, in a segment related to his food research.
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