2/12/2002, Honors & Other Things - Almanac, Vol. 48, No. 22

Honors & Other Things

MLK Awards | Gottschalk Prize | Stephen's Prize | IEEE Service Award | PTN Award

MLK Awards

As part of the seventh annual Interfaith Commemoration of the Life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., three Community Service Awards and two Campus Awards were announced at a ceremony on January 24.

Glenn Bryan, assistant to the Vice President and Director of City and Community Relations, received the Campus Award. Mr. Bryan represents the President on behalf of the University in its relationship with the local and citywide communities. Mr. Bryan has worked to ensure that University efforts to increase community economic participation are successful, and he has provided leadership and coordination for a host of community initiatives ranging from education to housing. He facilitates collaboration with the West Philadelphia Partnership, the University City District and other local organizations to provide avenues to maximize the use of resources to benefit the community.

Mr. Bryan is a Penn alumnus with a B.A. in social psychology and a masters in social work.

Heather Lochridge, a senior in SAS majoring in psychology and geology also won the Campus Award. Ms. Lochridge is the co-founder of ALLIES, a campus group that self-educates and raises awareness of LGBT issues, homophobia and heterosexism at Penn. Under Ms. Lochridge's leadership ALLIES has gained university recognition and become part to the LGBT Center's Speakers Bureau.

Zemoria Brandon, an administrator/social worker for the Bodhise Holistic Healing Group and co-founder of Ambassadors of Peace, received one of the Community Awards. Ms. Brandon has played major roles in bringing groups of people together, encouraging discourse and working with people to move beyond their fears and hurts to embrace people for who they are. She utilizes her experience from life's hardships and tragedies to raise awareness about the social and psychosocial issues individuals with chronic illnesses are confronted with on a daily basis.

Reginald Mosley, founder and director of The Philadelphia Science & Space Club Inc,. also won a Community Award. After attending the Million Man March in 1995, Mr. Mosley saw a need for children from grades four to twelve to have exposure to the country's space program in addition to math, science, computers, astronomy and technology. With the help of Parent Power, parents volunteer time, energy and money to help the club grow from five to 125 members today. Mr. Mosley works as an instructor teaching computer hardware and software.

Salome Thomas-EL, the principal of the John F. Reynolds Elementary School in North Philadelphia, also won the Community Award. As a teacher and chess coach at Vaux Middle School, Mr. Thomas-EL mentored his students to win seven consecutive chess championships. As principal he has instituted reading and breakfast programs as well as a Saturday morning tutoring program. Additionally, as part of his commitment to his students he takes them to visit colleges to expose them to new possibilities for their future.

MLK Awards | Gottschalk Prize | Stephen's Prize | IEEE Service Award | PTN Award

Gottschalk Prize: Dr. Richter

Dr. Daniel K. Richter, professor of history and the Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, has won the 2001-2002 Louis Gottschalk Prize of the American Society of Eighteenth-Century Studies for his book, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America (Harvard University Press, 2001). Dr. Richter received the Gottschalk Prize for "outstanding historical or critical study on the eighteenth century."

MLK Awards | Gottschalk Prize | Stephen's Prize | IEEE Service Award | PTN Award

Stephen's Prize: Dr. Paley

Dr. Julia Paley, assistant professor of anthropology, has been awarded the Sharon Stephen's Prize by the American Ethnological Society, a section of the American Anthropological Association. The prize is awarded once every two years for the best ethnography or critical work in contemporary theory by a junior scholar in Anthropology. The prize is in recognition of Dr. Paley's book, Marketing Democracy: Power and Social Movements in Post-Dictatorship Chile, published by the University of California Press.

MLK Awards | Gottschalk Prize | Stephen's Prize | IEEE Service Award | PTN Award

IEEE Service Award: Dr. Laker

Dr. Kenneth R. Laker, the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Electrical Engineering, has received the 2001 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) Educational Activities Board Meritorious Service Citation. Educational Activities Vice President Lyle Feisel cited Dr. Laker "for outstanding and sustained service to the aims and objectives of the Educational Activities Board". Dr. Laker was the IEEE president in 1999 and served as the Educational Activities Vice President, 1994-1995. He serves as Chair of the Trustees for the IEEE History Center and Chair of the IEEE Virtual Museum Oversight Committee.

MLK Awards | Gottschalk Prize | Stephen's Prize | IEEE Service Award | PTN Award

PTN Award: Dr. Percec

Dr. Virgil Percec, the Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor of Chemistry, will receive the 2002 Dutch Polymers PTN Award given by the Dutch Graduate School Polymers later this month. The award is given annually to an internationally renowned scientist to honor his/her achievements in the research field of polymer science and engineering. He has been the editor of the Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry since 1995.