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January 25, 2011, Volume 57, No. 19

Dr. Adams, Economics

Adams

Dr. F. Gerard “Jerry” Adams, professor emeritus of economics, passed away January 15 from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was  81 years old.

After emigrating from Germany, Dr. Adams attended the University of Michigan, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1949. He went on to obtain a PhD in 1956 under the supervision of Dr. Lawrence Klein, Benjamin Franklin Professor Emeritus of Economics at Penn, who subsequently went on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Dr. Adams served as a business economist in the petroleum industry before coming to Penn in 1961, at which time he worked again with Dr. Klein, who had joined the faculty previously. He helped Dr. Klein create the Wharton Model, one of the first econometric forecasting models using computers to simulate the world economy. It subsequently grew into the Link Model, which forecasts the economy using a variety of input data from smaller models around the world, and which contributed to Dr. Klein’s Nobel Prize in 1980.

A recipient of several teaching awards, Dr. Adams also served as chair of the Faculty Senate (1987-88). He was a visiting professor at many institutions abroad.

Dr. Adams was the author of over 250 research articles and over a dozen books, including The Business Forecasting Revolution, East Asian Development: Will the East Asian Growth Miracle Survive?, Macroeconomics for Business and Society, The E-Business and the New Economy and East Asia and the New Economy. He submitted the manuscript for his newest book, Globalization and the New Economy, in December.

He served on the Council of Economic Advisors in Washington, DC during the transition in administrations from President Johnson to President Nixon. In recent years, he was also an active member of the Newton Economic Development Commission, which advises city officials and staff on issues related to new business, industry and commerce. He also served on the Newton Centre Task Force and the Comprehensive Planning Advisory Board.

Dr. Adams is survived by his wife, Heidi Vernon; brothers, Peter Adams and Robert Adams; children, Leslie Martin, Colin Adams, Loren Burton and Mark Adams; stepchildren, Joshua Wortzel and Jennifer Stiller; and ten grandchildren.

Donations may be made to the Adams Prize of the economics department at Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081-1397.

 

Mr. Linney, English

Romulus Linney, playwright and former lecturer in the department of English, passed away from lung cancer on January 14; he was 80.

At Penn, Mr. Linney lectured in playwrighting and fiction from 1982 to 1995. He also taught at many other universities, including Columbia, Princeton and the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University.

He wrote dozens of plays, novels and short stories. His plays include adaptations of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol and Ernest J. Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying.

His honors include two Obie awards, grants from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations and induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He won an American Theatre Critics Association Prize for his play, Heathen Valley, which was produced in the eighties at the Annenberg Center.

Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Linney graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio and later earned a master of fine arts degree in directing at Yale University.

Mr. Linney is survived by his wife, Laura Callanan; and daughters, Laura and Susan.

 

Dr. Brown, Physiology

Dr. John Lott Brown, former associate professor of physiology, passed away January 16 at age 86.

Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a master’s degree in psychology from Temple University and a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University.

Dr. Brown joined Penn Medicine’s department of physiology as an assistant professor in 1955. He was an associate professor from 1961 to 1965.

Dr. Brown left Penn in 1965 and went on to hold administrative positions at Kansas State University and the University of Rochester.

From 1978 to 1988, Dr. Brown was president of the University of South Florida. He was credited for guiding the school towards becoming a major research university, with the establishment of a medical school and engineering college during his tenure.

After stepping down as president, Dr. Brown served as interim director of USF’s Center of Microelectronics Research. He then served as interim president for Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where he had been a trustee.

Dr. Brown is survived by his wife, Catharine; daughters, Patricia Hale, Judith Brown and Barbara French; son, Anderson Brown; and six grandchildren.

 

To Report A Death

Almanac appreciates being informed of the deaths of current and former faculty and staff members, students, and other members of the University community.

However, notices of alumni deaths should be directed to the Alumni Records Office at Room 545, Franklin Building, (215) 898-8136 or e-mail record@ben.dev.upenn.edu.

 

Almanac - January 25, 2011, Volume 57, No. 19