Associate Provost: Janice Bellace

Dr. Janice R. Bellace, former undergraduate dean and deputy dean at Wharton, was named Associate Provost, effective March 1, Provost Robert Barchi announced last week.

Dr. Bellace is the Samuel Blank Professor of Legal Studies, and Professor of Legal Studies and Management, at the Wharton School. She is also the Director of the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business.

As Associate Provost, Dr. Bellace will be responsible for the academic personnel process including faculty recruitment, appointments and promotions, and for issues related to faculty governance. She will also assist the Provost in strategic planning and gender and minority equity. The Associate Provost also helps resolve individual faculty issues, including faculty grievances.

ÒIn addition to being an outstanding academician, Dr. Bellace will bring tremendous experience and expertise to the Associate Provost's office," said Dr. Barchi. ÒHer personal style is exceptionally well suited to this sensitive position. I'm very pleased that she's joining the Provost's Office in this crucial role."

ÒHaving been a member of the faculty for 25 years, I am incredibly honored to have this opportunity to help ensure the integrity of the faculty appointments and promotions process," said Dr. Bellace. ÒAs Associate Provost, I will work closely with the Provost and my colleagues across the schools to help strengthen Penn's faculty, make an impact on quality of life issues such as dual career couples and retirement planning and focus our efforts more keenly on gender equity and minority recruitment and retention."

Dr. Bellace, CW  '71 and L '74,  was Wharton's undergraduate dean, 1990-1994. During this time she oversaw the implementation of the new Wharton undergraduate curriculum, with a focus on making it easier for students to take courses in other schools and pursue a dual degree. In order to create an international dimension to the undergraduate education, she led the effort to mandate a foreign language competency requirement for Wharton students. She initiated study abroad programs for business students in Lyon, Madrid, Milan, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

She pioneered the introduction of a mandatory first-year experiential course in leadership and teamwork (Management 100). In 1992, she conceived of a unique undergraduate joint degree program, and shepherded what became the Huntsman Program through the SAS and Wharton faculty approval process. She stepped down as undergraduate dean in June 1994, just before the first Huntsman Program freshmen matriculated.

In July 1994, Dr. Bellace became deputy dean, Wharton's chief academic officer. In that role, she oversaw the allocation of all faculty slots and all faculty appointments. During the period 1994-1999 over 20  endowed chairs were awarded. As Wharton increased the range of its international activities, she crafted the role that Wharton would play in collaborating with two new institutions, the Indian School of Business and Singapore Management University.

Upon stepping down as deputy dean, she took a leave of absence from Penn. On July 1, 1999, she became the founding president of Singapore Management University, a new, private university. When she stepped down in September 2001, that university had grown from 11 to 57 faculty, enrolled 800 students in two schools, and had moved to a newly renovated historic campus.

She had served on a number of Wharton and University committees. During the 1980s, she was on the Faculty Senate, and chaired the Economic Status of the Faculty committee. She now serves as chair-elect of the Faculty Grievance Commission and as moderator of University Council. She also chairs the executive committee of the Thouron Award for British-American Exchange. Dr. Bellace was a recipient of a Thouron Award; she attended the London School of Economics and received her master's degree in industrial relations with a concentration in labor law in 1975.  She then worked in London as a legal journalist for Incomes Data Services.  

Dr. Bellace joined the faculty as an assistant professor of legal studies in 1979. She has held a secondary appointment in the management department. She was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 1984, and to professor in 1993.  

Dr. Bellace's research is in employment law and human rights, both domestic and international. An author of numerous articles and books, her most recent article was ÒThe Future of Employee Representation in American Labor Law." She is working on a proposal to utilize private labor arbitration as a means of resolving disputes over companies' observance of internationally recognized human rights.

Since 1995, she has been a member of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labor Organization, an international group of 20 scholars who report on compliance with fundamental labor and human rights standards. Active in several professional organizations, such as the International Society for Labor Law and Social Security, she is on the executive board of the International Industrial Relations Association. She is a former secretary of the Section on Labor and Employment Law of the American Bar Association. She also serves as a member of the Public Review Board of the UAW.