January 30, 2003

• He knows the drill
  Dental School Dean Raymond Fonseca has shepherded the school through a period of growth and transformation, culminating in the completion of the Schattner Center in its 125th anniversary year.

• Bernstein, Sontag, Anderson to visit
• Masch joins cabinet
• BEN Buys, and West Philly benefits

• Research: Teacher shortage? What teacher shortage?
• Faculty Feature: My lunch with Ponzy: Culinary chemistry
• Staff Q&A: Pamela Caudill sweetens up her staff with hand-pressed chocolates, home-baked cookies and personalized gifts

• Ask Benny: Empty shuttles aren't on joyrides
• Work at Penn? Join the club
• Witnesses for peace
• Bring your tech literacy up to speed
• A professional approach to public health
• Out and About: Close encoutners with art
  

• Event Listings
• Editor's Pick: DuBois' body of work
• Celebrate King's legacy
• People's Choice: New year, new you (or not)

• News Briefs
• Bookquick from the University Press
• Quoted recently
• Awards & Honors
• Appointments
• At Work with...Aaron Franklin and Rick Bulley
• Campus Buzz

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NEWS BRIEFS

Home sweet home

A recent $6 million gift from the Barra Foundation and Robert L. McNeil Jr. is making a permanent home possible for the McNeil Center for Early American Studies. The new building will be located on 34th Street near Walnut. The grant will also be used to provide a permanent endowment for the building’s operational costs. Founded in 1978 by Richard S. Dunn, emeritus professor of American history, the McNeil Center specializes in the histories and cultures of North America.

Ka-ching!

The Wharton School has launched the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative with a $10 million gift from Patty and Jay H. Baker. In addition to a new undergraduate and MBA secondary concentration in retailing, the Baker Retailing Initiative has several interdisciplinary components. These include new courses focusing on retailing and marketing; a multi-year, cross-disciplinary retailing research project; and internships to support undergraduate students. The gift will also endow the Baker Leadership Scholars Program, which will offer financial support to Penn undergraduates.

Smithsonian Rx

University of Pennsylvania Museum Director Jeremy Sabloff and his colleagues on the national 18-member, all-volunteer Science Commission have given the Smithsonian Institution a new vision for its struggling science research programs. The commission, chaired by Sabloff, has proposed a four-pronged core mission, calling on the Smithsonian to renew its dedication to science by improving leadership, communications and funding. In their final report, the commission recommended that the Smithsonian concentrate research on the origin and nature of the universe, the formation and evolution of Earth and other planets, the discovery and understanding of life’s diversity and the study of human diversity and culture change.