For SAS Faculty, New Chairs and New Chairholders

Interim Dean Walter Wales has announced the appointment of eleven faculty members to distinguished chairs in the School of Arts and Sciences-six of the members to endowed chairs, two to endowed term chairs, and three to term chairs*.

Two of those designated for endowed chairs are longtime members of the SAS faculty, Dr. Paul Rozin of Psychology and Dr. Gary Tomlinson of Music, while the other four are newcomers recruited to the presigious professorships-Dr. Millicent Marcus in Italian Studies, Dr. Larry Silver in History of Art, Dr. Susan Stewart in English and Dr. Arthur Waldron in International Relations. All take up their positions this term except Dr. Marcus, whose appointment starts in July 1998.

Former SAS Dean Rosemary Stevens of the History and Sociology of Science and Dr. Eugene Wolf of Music are the new holders of endowed term chairs. The three named to term chairs are Dr. Alexander Kirillov, who joined Mathematics three years ago; a new arrival in Jewish Studies, Dr. Beth Wenger; and Dr. Arjun Yodh of Physics, who has been here since 1988.

For photographs and thumbnail sketches, please click here.

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* Named professorships come in several forms. For endowed chairs-the oldest form-institutions draw only on the interest of endowment to support the salary and activities of the chair, leaving the principal intact; traditionally, those appointed to endowed chairs have held them for the remainder of their active careers. An endowed term chair follows the same rule financially, preserving the principal and drawing only upon interest, but the incumbent is appointed for a set term of years. A term chair differs in that not only is the interest paid out, but a predetermined portion of the principal is applied each year to the chair's support, so that after a term of years-normally five-the chair itself is retired.

 

Philadelphia Summit on Youth and Volunteerism: September 26-27

The University of Pennsylvania is host to the "Philadelphia Summit" this weekend in which the City prepares to follow through on the Presidents' Summit for America's Future-the April 1997 event that focused national attention on a goal of improving the lives of two million young people in the nation by the year 2000.

Philadelphia's Promise: The Alliance for Youth's Summit on Youth and Volunteerism, is the launching event of this region's drive to improve life for children: their health and safety, their learning and opportunity, and the communities they live in. Former Congressional leaders William H. Gray and Harris Wofford, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, Mayor Ed Rendell and Penn President Judith Rodin are among the speakers in the program, co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Please click here for program and registration information.

 

Are You Free Sundays? The University Museum is.

Thanks to an anonymous gift, the University of Pennsylvnia Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is now admission-free on Sundays, Director Jeremy Sabloff has announced. The opening display as this change takes place is Roman Glass: Reflections on Cultural Change, which is also one of the highlights of Penn's Family Day for faculty and staff (please see page 14). More than 200 examples of Roman glass and associated materials from the first century B.C. through the sixth century A.D. are featured in the exhibition. Breaking with the tradition of exhibiting ancient glass purely as an art form, the Museum has placed the bottles, bowls, cups and jugs in settings as they would have been used, illuminating daily life in the ancient Roman empire-from a woman's use of galena eyeliner to a community's funerary customs. The opening with a Curator's Lecture by Dr. Stuart Fleming is Saturday, September 27, at 2:30 p.m.; Sunday at 2:30 p.m. there is a film on Pompeii.