Double honor a first

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Larry Hunter, an assistant professor of management at Wharton, has snagged two awards from the Industrial Relations Research Association, and is the first to be honored with both. He received the Young Scholar Award for the best contribution to research that addresses an industrial relations/employment problem of national significance. And he was the unanimous selection for the Excellence in Education Award for outstanding teaching in the academic area of human resources.

Hunters research on service sector companies demonstrates how management decisions affect employees and company performance. His paper Not Just ATMs shows how technology and managerial choices interact. The awards will be presented in January at the IRRA Annual Meeting.

$15.5 million for diabetes

Research grants exceeding $15.5 million from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the launching of a center for research on transplanting insulin-producing cells in diabetics were announced at a press conference at the School of Medicine in November.

The newly launched center, the JDRF-W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Center for Islet Transplantion, under Director Ali Naji, will receive a five-year, $8.1 million grant for its work in transplanting

A $7.57 million grant is going toward five projects focusing on gene transfer and gene therapy for complications of diabetes at the JRDF Center for Gene Therapy, with Professor of Medicine James Wilson at the head.

Richard Slator Dunn, Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professor of American History, and his wife have been named executive officers of the American Philosophical Society. The Dunns will assume their posts at APS, the nations oldest learned society, in March 20002.

Heroes

Penn heroesPolice Officers Leo Spaeder, Andre Hicks, Darryl Blair, Hector Huddleston, Craig Everage, Domenic DiLorenzo, Michael Sylvester, Philip Lydon Sr., Gary Williams, Tony Ramos, William Farley, Philip Lydon Jr., Lt. Gerald Leddy, and Cpl. Tolomeoreceived merit commendations, which recognized a specific arrest, from the schools Division of Public Safety on Nov. 29. The school also paid kudos to Officer Frederick Nichols, who earned a bravery commendation for his off-duty work involving an aggravated assault.

Diane Spatz, assistant professor of health care of women and children, was selected Faculty Advisor of the Year for her work with Student Nurses at Penn by the Student Nurses Association of Pennsylvania at their annual convention in November.