Melissa Lee: Klein Family Presidential Assistant Professor

Melissa M. Lee has joined Penn Arts and Sciences as the Klein Family Presidential Assistant Professor of Political Science. A specialist in conflict studies as well as the international and domestic politics of statebuilding and state development, Dr. Lee comes to Penn from Princeton University, where she was an assistant professor of politics and international affairs. Her book, Crippling Leviathan: How Foreign Subversion Weakens the State, examines how foreign subversion by enemy countries creates geographic spaces beyond the state’s control and limits the government’s ability to provide public services. Dr. Lee has received several honors and recognitions of her work, including a Perry World House Lightning Scholar Fellowship. She earned her PhD in political science from Stanford University in 2015. 

Scott M. Klein established the Klein Family Presidential Professorship in 2021. He is a member of Penn’s Southern California Regional Advisory Board. Mr. Klein is one of the founders of Beach Point Capital Management LP, where he serves as co-chairman and co-CEO. In addition to the professorship, he established the Klein Family Social Justice grant program at Penn Arts and Sciences, and supports undergraduate financial aid at Penn. Mr. Klein graduated from Penn in 1988 with degrees from Wharton and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Joshua Teplitsky: Joseph Meyerhoff Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History

Joshua Teplitsky has joined Penn Arts and Sciences as the Joseph Meyerhoff Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History. Previously an associate professor of history at Stony Brook University, Dr. Teplitsky is a leading expert on the culture and life of Jews in early modern central Europe. He is the author of Prince of the Press: How One Collector Built History’s Most Enduring and Remarkable Jewish Library, which won several awards. Dr. Teplitsky has been a fellow at the University of Oxford, the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, at Harvard University, Tel Aviv University, and the Yad Hanadiv/Beracha Foundation Programme in Jerusalem. In addition, he has twice been a fellow at Penn’s Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. His research has been supported by numerous grants, and he serves as an associate editor of the Encyclopedia of Jewish Book Cultures Online, as co-director of the digital humanities project Footprints: Jewish Books Through Time and Place, and on the editorial board of the German Jewish Cultures monograph series. He is currently at work on a second book, titled Quarantine in the Prague Ghetto: Jews, Christians, and the Plague in Early Modern Europe.

The late Herbert D. Katz, W’51, and Eleanor M. Katz were longtime supporters of Penn Arts and Sciences and Jewish Studies. They endowed this chair in 1989 through the Joseph Meyerhoff Memorial Trust. The chair supports an outstanding scholar of modern Jewish history. Mr. Katz served as a chair of the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies’ Board of Advisors and on the Penn Arts and Sciences Board of Advisors. In 2008, the Katz family endowed the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies in his memory.

Erik Wibbels: Presidential Penn Compact Professor 

Erik Wibbels has joined Penn Arts and Sciences as the Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Political Science. A scholar of political geography, political accountability, and political economy, Dr. Wibbels was previously the Robert O. Keohane Professor of Political Science and co-founder of DevLab@Duke at Duke University. He is the author of several books, and his articles have been published in top journals. His research has received support from numerous grants, including the United States Institute of Peace, USAID, the World Bank, and the National Science Foundation. He joins Penn as the founder of DevLab@Penn and a member of Penn’s Development Research Initiative. In those roles, Dr. Wibbels works with governments, international donors, and civil society organizations to improve the rigor of development programming and engage in policy-relevant research around the world.

The Presidential Penn Compact Professorships were conceived by Penn President Emerita Amy Gutmann as a partnership with Penn Arts and Sciences to promote faculty excellence and diversity. Funding for this initiative is provided through the Penn Compact.