Kahn Term Chair: Dr. Richards

Dean Samuel H. Preston has also announced that Dr. Virginia M. Richards, professor of psychology, has been appointed to the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professorship.

Dr. Richards' teaching and research interests include auditory perception and cognitive psychology. She has published extensively, authoring or co-authoring numerous journal articles and book chapters. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California at San Diego in 1979 and her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley in 1986. She was an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Florida before coming to Penn in 1990. She has received several awards, including research grants from the NIH, the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences, and funds for educational innovations in curriculum as part of a grant to the University from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Edmund Kahn, a 1925 Wharton graduate, had a successful career in the oil and natural gas industry. Louise Kahn, a Smith College graduate, worked for Newsweek magazine and owned an interior design firm. The Kahns were dedicated philanthropists whose support of Penn has included Van Pelt Library, the Modern Languages College House, and the School of Arts and Sciences. The Kahns' generosity to SAS includes several named professorships, a departmental prize, and fellowships in the Penn Humanities Forum.