Beacon Award: President Rodin

President Judith Rodin will be recognized for "her outstanding accomplishments in the area of women's progress" when she receives The Beacon Award during the 125th-anniversary celebration of the admission of women students to Penn. The celebration will be November 1-2.

The Beacon Award, presented by the Trustees' Council of Penn Women, is given to an outstanding woman or man who, or institution that, has displayed exemplary leadership in furthering the advancement of women through dedicated pursuit of and commitment to issues affecting women.

Dr. Rodin, who has been the University's president since 1994, is the first alumna to serve as president of Penn and the first woman to serve as president of an Ivy League institution.

"Dr. Rodin represents a true role model for all those involved in furthering the cause of women's rights and opportunities," said Chris Hikawa, chair of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women. "We look forward to many more years of her leadership in the continuing effort to enhance the status of women in our society."

Dr. Rodin holds appointments on the faculty as professor of psychology in SAS and as professor of medicine and psychiatry in the School of Medicine.

For her contributions to the field of psychology, she was recognized by American Health for Women as a "trailblazer" who has made the United States a "healthier place for women." Her research interest has focused on the relationship between psychology and biological processes in human health and behavior. She has published more than 200 journal articles and book chapters, and is the author or co-author of 10 books, including Body Traps, which examines the role of physical appearance in the psychological health of women.

Previous recipients of The Beacon Award include U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; Virginia Knauer, special assistant to the president for consumer affairs, 1969-1977 and 1981-88 and the first Republican woman to be elected to the Philadelphia City Council; Claire Fagin, professor emerita and dean emerita of the Penn School of Nursing and interim president at Penn in 1993-94; and Al Shoemaker, who chaired the University's Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1994 and was the inspiration for the founding of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women.

Almanac, Vol. 48, No. 8, October 16, 2001

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:

Tuesday,
October 16, 2001
Volume 48 Number8
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