Jeb Bush: Presidential Professor of Practice for Academic Year 2018-2019
University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett announced that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has been named a non-resident Presidential Professor of Practice for the 2018-2019 academic year.
Penn’s Presidential Professors of Practice program brings to campus eminent practitioners in public affairs whose unique experiences and diverse perspectives enrich Penn’s mission and culture. As a Presidential Professor of Practice, Governor Bush will engage with Penn faculty and students in multiple ways, including participating in classes, lectures and campus events, as well as select major Penn functions. He will be on campus approximately one to two days per month.
“Governor Bush is a man of exceptional character who has committed his life to public service and civic engagement,” said President Amy Gutmann. “As the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 through 2007, Governor Bush championed policies to stimulate economic growth and create jobs, lower government spending, transform education and dramatically expand conservation of the Everglades. He also earned plaudits for his outstanding leadership during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, when eight storms ravaged Florida over a 16-month period. Governor Bush will enrich our campus with the passion and expertise he brings to timely and important conversations.”
“The University of Pennsylvania is one of the finest academic institutions in America, and I thank President Gutmann for the invitation to join the Penn community this year,” said Governor Bush. “At a time when our politics and culture can be polarizing and coarse, there is a tremendous need to foster civil discourse on the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing our country. I look forward to engaging with Penn students and faculty on a range of public policy issues in the months to come.”
Governor Bush’s affiliation at Penn will be with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy in the School of Arts and Sciences. Founded in 2017 through a donation (Almanac August 29, 2017) from alumna and trustee emerita Andrea Mitchell and her husband, Alan Greenspan, the Center provides an unparalleled platform for students and faculty to explore aspects of democracy, while promoting open dialogue and understanding of the key issues of the day. The Andrea Mitchell Center is located in the new Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics.
“Presidential Practice Professorships are a significant component of President Gutmann’s Penn Compact 2022,” said Provost Pritchett. “Bringing national leaders from diverse political viewpoints to Penn advances knowledge-based public policy on challenging societal questions. We welcome Governor Bush’s unique perspective on the important issues of our day. His affiliation with Penn will be a tremendous asset to students and faculty alike.”
Governor Bush is familiar to the Penn community for his contributions as a panelist in the 2018 David and Lyn Silfen University Forum, People and Policy Adrift: A 21st Century Framework for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Immigration Policy, which exemplified Penn’s commitment to engaging diverse perspectives on challenging and timely topics. He is also no stranger to Philadelphia, having served as chair of the Board of Trustees at the National Constitution Center, where he helped spur more robust engagement around our nation’s founding charter and the values and ideals for which the nation stands.
Governor Bush, who earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, has written three books: Profiles in Character; Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution; and Reply All: A Governor’s Story 1999-2007.
He is currently chairman of Dock Square Capital LLC, a merchant bank headquartered in Miami. He maintains his passion for improving the quality of education for students across the country by serving as the chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national non-profit education reform organization he founded to transform education in America. Governor Bush lives in Miami with his wife, Columba. They have three children and four grandchildren.
Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies: Online Bachelor’s Degree
The University of Pennsylvania announced that the School of Arts and Sciences’ College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) has launched a new program that, for the first time, makes an Ivy League bachelor’s degree accessible online. Beginning in the fall of 2019, the Penn LPS Online platform will offer a fully-accredited, online education from Penn for working adults and other non-traditional students.
Nora Lewis, Penn Arts and Sciences’ vice dean of professional and liberal education, said, “The goal of this new platform is to make an Arts and Sciences education more accessible, flexible and affordable for working adults. Penn LPS Online redefines the notion of who can get an Ivy League education by making it accessible to anyone who demonstrates the ambition and potential to earn it, without sacrificing the quality of the education offered.”
The new bachelor of applied arts and sciences (BAAS) degree combines general-education requirements and interdisciplinary concentrations. The program, designed by an advisory board of Penn Arts and Sciences standing faculty, is distinctive for its emphasis on connecting a liberal arts education to professional and career outcomes. An additional advisory board involving management executives from more than 20 regional, national and global employers is working with LPS to advise on workforce trends and the skills necessary for students to be successful in their careers.
Steven J. Fluharty, dean of Penn Arts and Sciences and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Pharmacology, and Neuroscience, said, “This new degree is unique among our peers and places Penn at the forefront in creatively meeting the expanding need for adult education in the liberal arts. I’m proud that Penn’s innovative faculty are opening doors for more students to learn and to become empowered by education. In the United States today, only 30 percent of adults over the age of 25 have completed a bachelor’s degree, and with this new initiative LPS is moving forward to meet this educational need.” While other institutions have programs that combine online and on-campus course requirements, the Penn BAAS degree requirements are met almost entirely online, with two limited on-campus experiences designed to be accessible to working professionals. The program, Ms. Lewis says, builds upon 20 years of experimentation with online teaching by Penn Arts and Sciences faculty.
Peter Struck, professor of classical studies, has taught online at Penn for more than 15 years and says it has been an amazing experience. “The technology has advanced to a point now where new things are possible,” said Dr. Struck, who is also chair of the Arts and Sciences Online Faculty Committee. “We’re not just trying to replicate what happens in a live classroom but to innovate a different kind of education around the unique possibilities of an online environment.”
“Teaching all-online courses has completely refreshed my pedagogy,” said Al Filreis, Kelly Family Professor of English, who has taught modern poetry online since 1995. “My students are intergenerational, diverse in all ways, typically geographically far-flung and often living in communities underserved by educational resources. They challenge me with intensely intellectual but often nonacademic questions, bringing into being the best sort of ideas-based community.”
In addition to the BAAS, Penn LPS Online is launching for-credit certificate programs. Initial offerings include programs in leadership and communication, creative writing, and professional writing, with additional certificates in applied positive psychology, data analytics, modern Middle Eastern studies and climate change scheduled to launch during the next year. Students will have the option to take single courses or to earn the certificate by completing four to five courses. Each course is designed and developed by Penn faculty to be highly interactive, including ongoing feedback from instructors and peers.
Applications for certificates and the BAAS program are now open. Additional information is available at www.lpsonline.sas.upenn.edu
Penn Medicine and Grand View Health Alliance
The University of Pennsylvania Health System and Grand View Health announced a new alliance focused on the development of joint clinical care programs to improve health care in Bucks and Montgomery counties and the surrounding areas.
“Penn Medicine is thrilled to expand our relationship with Grand View Health. This new alliance serves to fortify our shared dedication to providing patients with high-quality care close to home, while also giving patients new avenues for coordinated access to the expertise of a world-renowned academic health system,” said Ralph W. Muller, CEO of UPHS.
The new alliance will leverage Penn Medicine and Grand View’s existing partnership, which began in March 2018 when Grand View became a member of the Penn Cancer Network. In addition to the advanced clinical care and technological resources of Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center, including an extensive clinical trials program offering some of the nation’s most pioneering approaches to treating cancer, the alliance will provide patients with unprecedented access to Penn Medicine’s cutting-edge programs and expertise across multiple disciplines.
Leaders at both Penn Medicine and Grand View Health will work together to develop state-of-the-art specialty programs in complex areas including surgery, orthopaedics and trauma. Penn Medicine and Grand View will also explore opportunities to develop new ambulatory sites, giving patients even more opportunities to access advanced care in their own community.
“We’ve already seen our patients benefit from our Penn Cancer Network membership,” said Jean M. Keeler, president and CEO of Grand View Health. “With this new alliance, we will further unite in our shared mission to build a healthier community for our growing and diverse patient populations.”
The strategic alliance will also create opportunities for Grand View medical staff members to collaborate with their peers at Penn Medicine on research and innovation initiatives.
While the new alliance will mean more shared programs between Grand View and Penn Medicine, Grand View Health will remain an independent health system, which includes a 200-bed inpatient facility in Sellersville, PA, and five outpatient centers throughout Bucks and Montgomery counties.
Penn Medicine, Penn Nursing, and Vingroup: Advancing Medical Education and Clinical Care in Vietnam
Penn Medicine and Penn Nursing have launched a formal alliance with the Vingroup—an enterprise that encompasses a newly formed private not-for-profit university project, VinUni, as well as the largest and leading private health service provider in Vietnam, Vinmec—in an effort to improve health care and to create new undergraduate and graduate medical training programs in Vietnam.
“Penn is proud to share our 250 years of experience in research and clinical care—steeped in innovation, education and community service—to help train, educate and provide better care to the citizens around the world,” said J. Larry Jameson, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine.
The partnership will focus initially on the establishment of medical and nursing schools within VinUni and on the enhancement of graduate medical education and health-care programs within the Vinmec Health Care System. Together, Penn Medicine and Penn Nursing will also work to develop the undergraduate curriculum and align faculty and institutional support structures to establish high caliber educational and training programs.
“The Penn Center for Global Health currently operates Centers of Engagement in Africa and Latin America; extending our reach into Vietnam with the new Center of Engagement in Southeast Asia was a natural step, and a very exciting one for Penn, global health as a whole and most importantly for the people of Vietnam,” said project director Glen Gaulton, vice dean and director of Penn’s Center for Global Health.
Vietnam, a country of roughly 96 million people, has significant disparities in both the access to and provision of health care. The partnership will provide opportunities to implement effective public health approaches such as preventative medicine, mobile health technologies and population-scale “big-data” analytics. The new initiative is part of the Center for Global Health’s strategy of establishing Regional Centers of Engagement to address disparities in health equity worldwide through efforts that unite Penn Medicine’s missions of education, research, clinical care and community service.
“The Center of Engagement in Southeast Asia and our partnership with the Vingroup represents a unique opportunity for Penn Medicine and Penn Nursing to innovate in interdisciplinary education and to provide faculty and trainees opportunities at VinUni and Penn to engage in studies to improve the health of the Vietnamese people,” said Penn Nursing Dean Antonia M. Villarruel.
Penn will also support the Vinmec Health Care System to enhance the quality of care and clinical training, initially at the International Hospital in Times City, Hanoi. The ultimate goal is to build a new VinUni/Vinmec teaching hospital in Hanoi, along with future plans to create the medical residency training programs and a robust clinical research portfolio focused on translational medicine.
“The University of Pennsylvania, Penn Nursing and Penn Medicine have set a world-class standard in education and have a very well-deserved global reputation,” said Le Thuy Anh, Vinmec CEO. “Penn has exemplified a standard of excellence that we hope to achieve. And of course, with its legacy of excellence in education and clinical practice, Penn gives us confidence that we are collaborating with one of the leaders in the world.”
Penn will form joint working groups with colleagues in Vinmec and VinUni led from Penn by Gail Morrison, the William Maul Measey President’s Distinguished Professor in Medical Education in PSOM; Lee Fleisher, department of anesthesiology and critical care chair, Robert Dunning Dripps Professor of Anesthesia, and professor of medicine in PSOM; Julie Sochalski, associate professor of nursing, associate dean for academic programs and Class of 1965 25th Reunion Term Chair in the School of Nursing; Lisa Bellini, vice dean for academic affairs, professor of medicine, vice chair of education and inpatient services in the department of medicine in PSOM; and Dr. Gaulton to advance the project goals.
Megan Ryerson: PennDesign Associate Dean for Research
PennDesign Dean and Paley Professor Frederick Steiner has named Megan Ryerson associate dean for research as part of a wider initiative to advance and diversify The School of Design’s growing research agenda. Dr. Ryerson is an assistant professor of city and regional planning who has a secondary appointment in the department of electrical and systems engineering at Penn Engineering. She has chaired the research committee at PennDesign since 2017.
Dean Steiner said, “Along with an impressive track record in her own research, Professor Ryerson brings tremendous energy and vision to her new role.”
Dr. Ryerson and her team design algorithms and methods to address cross-disciplinary transportation planning challenges, such as the introduction of autonomous vehicles and new infrastructure design strategies for pedestrian and bicycle safety to improve accessibility and mobility. She is the research director of the Mobility21 Transportation Research Center, a national University Transportation Center, a senior fellow at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a member of the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics. Dr. Ryerson serves on the Board of Advisors of The Eno Center for Transportation, the Program Committee for the International Conference on Research in Air Transportation, two Transportation Research Board committees, and the Board of Advisors of the Los Angeles Metro Office of Extraordinary Innovation. In 2015, Dr. Ryerson was named “Woman of the Year” by the Women’s Transportation Seminar Philadelphia Chapter. She received a PhD in civil and environmental engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2010 and a BS in systems engineering from Penn in 2003.
Twenty-Five Year Club: New Members for 2018
Since 1956, Penn has celebrated a rite of passage each year for faculty and staff who meet one common requisite: they have been members of the University community for 25 years. Another 158 new members crossed the 25-year mark in 2018 and will be welcomed at the University of Pennsylvania annual 25-Year Club celebration on Thursday, October 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Houston Hall. Registration is required to attend, and guests are asked to register at www.hr.upenn.edu/25yearclub For more information call (215) 898-3463 or email 25yearclub@hr.upenn.edu
This event is presented by Penn’s Division of Human Resources.
The New Bolton Center will have a separate celebration on Wednesday October 17. David Holt will speak at 4 p.m. about his cancer research at the Ryan Hospital. Cocktails will be at the Allam House from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and dinner will follow at the Alumni Hall. Guests are asked to contact Anne Drumeheller at ald@vet.upenn.edu to register.
Michael A. Acker, Perelman School of Medicine
Paul H. Axelsen, Perelman School of Medicine
Jeffrey A. Babin, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Marisa S. Bartolomei, Perelman School of Medicine
Paul Batastini, Jr., School of Dental Medicine
Marta M. Bates, School of Veterinary Medicine
Nancy A. Bentley, School of Arts and Sciences
Richard Wayne Berman, School of Arts and Sciences
Maureen J. Bernfield, Perelman School of Medicine
Michael T. Blakley, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Steven Blum, Wharton School
Gordon Bodnar, Wharton School
Kathryn H. Bowles, School of Nursing
David J. Bozentka, Perelman School of Medicine
Garrett M. Brodeur, Perelman School of Medicine
Linda Denise Burton, Perelman School of Medicine
Barbara Cavanaugh, University Library
Ara A. Chalian, Perelman School of Medicine
Mary Y. Chin, Perelman School of Medicine
Melpo Christofidou, Perelman School of Medicine
Denise E. Clifton, School of Veterinary Medicine
Meryl Cohen, Perelman School of Medicine
Christopher R. Cook, Information Systems and Computing
Cynthia Cronin-Kardon, University Library
Edward T. Crotty, School of Arts and Sciences
Joseph G.P. Cruz, Wharton School
Andrew J. Cucchiara, Perelman School of Medicine
Patricia O’Brien D’Antonio, School of Nursing
Pauline V. Darden, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Frederick R. Dickinson, School of Arts and Sciences
Dennis A. Disbrow, Development and Alumni Relations
Marcia Dotson, School of Arts and Sciences
Amy M. Eader, School of Arts and Sciences
Pamela J. Erney, Executive Vice President
Anthony P. Esposito, School of Arts and Sciences
Ann C. Farnsworth-Alvear, School of Arts and Sciences
Jeffrey Michael Field, Perelman School of Medicine
Annette Fierro, School of Design
Loretta Flanagan-Cato, School of Arts and Sciences
Howard Paul Fraiman, School of Dental Medicine
Brenda Fraser, President’s Center
Steven Fredricks, Information Systems and Computing
Lisa Jane Futch, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Gale Garrison, School of Arts and Sciences
Gregory G. Ginsberg, Perelman School of Medicine
Joseph V. Giorla, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Lisa A. Goodrich, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Antonella Grassi, School of Arts and Sciences
Kathryn J. Griffo, Development and Alumni Relations
Adda Grimberg, Perelman School of Medicine
Erika N. Gross, Student
Services
Sung Y. Gwak, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Kevin Ross Hardy, Perelman School of Medicine
Ellena F. Hayes, Perelman School of Medicine
Stephen Heim, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Rebecka S. Hess, School of Veterinary Medicine
Thomas C. Hettinger, Information Systems and Computing
Janet M. Hines, Perelman School of Medicine
Margaret Holloday, Perelman School of Medicine
Lynn Hunter, School of Veterinary Medicine
Michael Imbalzano, Perelman School of Medicine
Cynthia Jacobstein, Perelman School of Medicine
Abbas F. Jawad, Perelman School of Medicine
Michael Kaplan, School of Arts and Sciences
Joann M. Kent, Wharton School
Mary T. Keough, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Sherriann King, Graduate School of Education
Alexandre A. Kirillov, School of Arts and Sciences
Nathan B. Kobrin, School of Dental Medicine
Michael L. Kochman, Perelman School of Medicine
John C. Kucharczuk, Perelman School of Medicine
Seth Kulick, School of Arts and Sciences
Nancy Kusik, School of Veterinary Medicine
Paula T. Lahann, Student Services
Xay Lam, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Ann M. Lee, Facilities and Real Estate Services
John M. Leferovich, Perelman School of Medicine
Donald Lewis, Residential and Hospitality Services
Grant T. Liu, Perelman School of Medicine
Margaret M. Lizotte, Perelman School of Medicine
Laurie A. Loevner, Perelman School of Medicine
Albert John Louie, School of Social Policy and Practice
Paul J. Marcotte, Perelman School of Medicine
Ellen M. Martin, Perelman School of Medicine
Christina Master, Perelman School of Medicine
Michael F. Mavracick, School of Veterinary Medicine
Rebecca A. Maynard, Graduate School of Education
Kevin McBride, School of Veterinary Medicine
Helen McFie-Simone, School of Arts and Sciences
Annie McKee, Graduate School of Education
David C. Metz, Perelman School of Medicine
Maureen P. Miller, School of Arts and Sciences
Natasha Mirza, Perelman School of Medicine
Olivia S. Mitchell, Wharton School
Anthony W. Montagna, Perelman School of Medicine
Kathleen A. Moosbrugger, Perelman School of Medicine
Vladimir R. Muzykantov, Perelman School of Medicine
Sergei S. Nikonov, Perelman School of Medicine
Harvey L. Nisenbaum, Perelman School of Medicine
Anne Norton, School of Arts and Sciences
Christopher Pastore, School of Arts and Sciences
Steven S. Paul, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Robert Persing, University Library
Ellen Peskin, Perelman School of Medicine
Mary Ann Pickel, School of Veterinary Medicine
Jill C. Posner, Perelman School of Medicine
John T. Prendergast, Development and Alumni Relations
Abdolrahim Rajaei-Rizi, Perelman School of Medicine
Elizabeth B. Rand, Perelman School of Medicine
Cheryl A. Randall, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Steven Eugene Raper, Perelman School of Medicine
Patrick M. Reilly, Perelman School of Medicine
James J. Riley, Perelman School of Medicine
Gwyn Meredith Roberts, School of Arts and Sciences
Josephine S. Rook, Provost’s Center
Lori Rosenkopf, Wharton School
David Roush, Law School
Matthew H. Rusk, Perelman School of Medicine
Pamela L. Sankar, Perelman School of Medicine
Amita Sehgal-Field, Perelman School of Medicine
James A. Serpell, School of Veterinary Medicine
John T. Seykora, Perelman School of Medicine
Doris M. Shank, Perelman School of Medicine
Dennis A. Sharkey III, School of Dental Medicine
Trudi Sippola, Human Resources
Thomas Sollecito, School of Dental Medicine
Karin Sorenmo, School of Veterinary Medicine
Vivian Stacy, School of Veterinary Medicine
Joseph A. Styers, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Kathleen E. Sullivan, Perelman School of Medicine
Jing Sun, Perelman School of Medicine
Oriol Sunyer, School of Veterinary Medicine
Meenakshi Swaminathan, Perelman School of Medicine
Robert Terrell, President’s Center
Margaret Mary Thomas, School of Arts and Sciences
Isobel Ann Thompson, Information Systems and Computing
Deborah Tiller, School of Nursing
Raymond R. Townsend, Perelman School of Medicine
John C. Trueswell, School of Arts and Sciences
Adrian Tschoegl, Wharton School
Karl Thatcher Ulrich, Wharton School
Kathleen Valentine, Perelman School of Medicine
Elena N. Vasserman, Perelman School of Medicine
Lada Vassilieva, School of Arts and Sciences
Mariusz Wasik, Perelman School of Medicine
Richard Paul Waterman, Wharton School
Laura E. Weber, School of Arts and Sciences
Joann M. Weeks, School of Arts and Sciences
Rosemary A. Welsh, Perelman School of Medicine
Beth S. Wenger, School of Arts and Sciences
Joshua R. Wetherbee, School of Arts and Sciences
William Whitaker, School of Design
James M. Wilson, Perelman School of Medicine
Jerel Wohl, Law School
Grace Mei-Hui Wu, School of Arts and Sciences
Shuwen Xu, Perelman School of Medicine
Deborah Zampitella, Facilities and Real Estate Services
Babette S. Zemel, Perelman School of Medicine
Richard Gelles: Managing Faculty Director of Field Center
SP2 Dean John L. Jackson, Jr., named Richard J. Gelles, the Joanne and Raymond Welsh Chair of Child Welfare and Family Violence and former dean of SP2, as the managing faculty director of the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research, effective summer 2018.
Dr. Gelles was the Field Center’s founding co-faculty director when it launched in 1999 and is a stalwart, driving figure in the mission to enhance and ensure the well-being of at-risk children. As managing faculty director, he will integrate and unify the work of researchers, students, practitioners, community partners and the Center’s team of faculty directors and staff.
Dr. Gelles’ most recent book, Out of Harm’s Way: Creating an Effective Child Welfare System, identifies four fundamental flaws in the current child-welfare system and offers clear solutions to each, without requiring a systemic overhaul. Dr. Gelles recently launched a six-module online course, Creating an Effective Child Welfare System. One of edX’s Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), it provides a comprehensive overview of child protective services and prompts learners to develop strategies for improving both policy and practice.
Shlomo Benartzi: Distinguished Senior Fellow BCFG Initiative
Shlomo Benartzi has been named a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Behavior Change for Good (BCFG) Initiative (Almanac September 18, 2018).
BCFG unites a world-class, interdisciplinary team of scientists with leading practitioners in education, health care and financial services to test interventions intended to make behavior change stick. Dr. Benartzi will focus on applied behavioral economics and financial decision-making for lasting behavior change.
Dr. Benartzi is a professor and co-founder of the Behavioral Decision-Making Group at the Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles. He received his PhD from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management in 1994. A behavioral economist, Dr. Benartzi works on creating digital nudges that leverage technology to test and scale up interventions capable of helping millions make better financial decisions.
Dr. Benartzi, with Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler, pioneered the Save More Tomorrow™ (SMarT) program, a behavioral program that nudges employees to increase their savings rates gradually over time. In their original research, Dr. Benartzi and Dr. Thaler found that SMarT increased employee savings rates from 3.5 percent to 13.6 percent. The SMarT program is now offered by more than half of the large retirement plans in the US and a growing number of plans in Australia and the UK. The program has also been incorporated into the Pension Protection Act of 2006, enabling approximately 15 million Americans to boost their retirement savings.
As a BCFG Distinguished Senior Fellow, Dr. Benartzi will work with Penn Professors and BCFG Co-Directors Angela Duckworth, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and Wharton’s Katherine Milkman to develop partnerships and programs designed to improve people’s long-term financial security. Dr. Benartzi’s extensive experience using science and technology to help people make better financial decisions will be instrumental to BCFG’s endeavors in this domain.
“Angela and I are delighted that Shlomo Benartzi, who was already a valued member of the Behavior Change for Good Scientific Team, has taken on this new and important role,“ says Dr. Milkman. “Our Initiative will benefit immensely from his expertise, and I expect that he will make key contributions to BCFG’s strategy moving forward.”
Penn Law’s Quattrone Center’s Grants to Penn Faculty Researching Ways to Improve Fairness of US Justice System
The Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Law School is now accepting proposals to fund original research projects that will generate new knowledge that can improve the US criminal justice system. The program is open to all Penn faculty.
“The Quattrone Center takes an interdisciplinary, data-driven and systemic approach to understanding the errors in the criminal justice system and proposing solutions to enhance fairness,” said Paul Heaton, senior fellow and academic director of the Center. “We’re excited about the possibilities this program presents to encourage new research that will prevent errors and further criminal justice reform efforts.”
The Quattrone Center anticipates funding multiple projects each academic year, with an average award size of roughly $50,000 per project.
The Center has previously funded proposals from Penn faculty in numerous schools and departments, including Penn Law, the School of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the School of Nursing and the Perelman School of Medicine.
Proposal submissions on any topic related to the Center’s mission will be considered, with particular consideration given to proposals that address the following issues:
• The plea-bargaining process;
• Measuring and improving prosecutorial quality;
• Pretrial reform;
• Over-criminalization and sentencing policy;
• Forensic science; and
• White collar crime.
Proposals will be selected through a peer review process. Reviewers will evaluate submissions using several criteria, including:
• Relevance to the mission of the Quattrone Center;
• Project originality and innovation;
• Feasibility of the research plan and appropriateness of methods;
• The ability of the proposed research team to conduct the work as described;
• Potential for the research to generate real-world impact; and
• The likelihood that the project could catalyze future, follow-up on research.
Funding proposals will be considered on a rolling basis.
Penn faculty may submit a proposal online at https://tinyurl.com/ydhws34a
Proposals should include a narrative of no more than three pages that describes the proposed research question and its significance, data and research methods and proposed deliverable (e.g. journal article, law review article, dataset, etc.). The narrative should also include a list of project personnel, projected completion date and requested funding amount. Submissions also require CVs of key personnel and a short itemized budget.
For questions regarding the grant program, contact Paul Heaton at pheaton@law.upenn.edu
Penn Dental Medicine: Training in Use of NARCAN to Opioids Education
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that on average 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose. Yet, when an overdose emergency does occur, prompt action can save lives. That was the message to Penn Dental Medicine students at the first of a series of lectures on the only FDA-approved nasal form of naloxone to counteract the life-threatening effects in an opioid overdose, part of the School’s ongoing efforts to keep students and faculty informed and engaged in addressing the opioid crisis.
Approximately 150 Penn Dental Medicine students attended the August 24 presentation on the science and application of intranasal naloxone by ADAPT Pharma®, the manufacturers of NARCAN® (naloxone HCl) Nasal Spray, the leading FDA-approved emergency treatment for opioid overdose, to health agencies, first responders and retail pharmacies. Additional lectures are planned to ensure all DMD students as well as postdoctoral students and faculty members will be trained in the use of this delivery system.
“Unfortunately, this is the epidemic of our time, and it does not discriminate,” said Dr. Mark Wolff, Morton Amsterdam Dean of Penn Dental Medicine. “We have been teaching our students how to reduce opioid prescriptions as practitioners, but with this training, we are taking it a step further. As health-care providers, we need to be trained on how to manage an emergency whether our patient or not. Our students are out in the community, and we want them equipped to respond—one of them may save a life.”
Designed for easy delivery with a spray in the nostril, the intranasal naloxone is given right away should an individual overdose with an opioid or show signs of a possible opioid overdose with breathing problems and severe sleepiness or not being able to respond. ADAPT Pharma® stresses that the spray does not take the place of emergency medical care, which should be called immediately after administration, but it temporarily reverses the effects of opioids.
In Pennsylvania and many other states, intranasal naloxone is available without a prescription, directly from a pharmacist. The cost will vary depending upon an individual’s insurance. One Penn Dental Medicine student reports that with the health insurance she receives through the School, the co-pay for NARCAN® Nasal Spray at a local pharmacy was $40 for two doses with shelf life of approximately two years.
“Our students and faculty may have friends and family with opioids in the home and have concerns within the community at large. It’s important to make them aware of the protocols for use and the ease of access should they choose to acquire the spray,” noted Dean Wolff. Penn Dental Medicine is exploring adding intranasal naloxone to the School’s emergency crash carts.
“The ease of administration and safety of this drug also make it particularly beneficial in alleviating any apprehension someone may have in an emergency situation,” added Dr. Elliot Hersh, professor of pharmacology at Penn Dental Medicine. “If by chance a patient is unconscious with poor ventilation for some other reason like an alcohol overdose or insulin shock, the naloxone won’t make it worse.”
Dr. Hersh has been a leader in the study of non-addicting pain relievers like ibuprofen and naproxen sodium for postsurgical dental pain and lectures extensively on the topic. “Over the past five years, we’ve seen a dramatic reduction in the opioids prescribed by dentists,” said Dr. Hersh, “but that is not going to help the many people that are currently misusing and are addicted to these drugs and are at significant risk for overdose and death. Our students must be prepared to deal with opioid overdose situations outside the School, and in the future, their practices, and intranasal naloxone is a potential life saver.”
Planning Programming for the 2019 MLK Symposium: November 30
Each year, during the month of January, the University of Pennsylvania and our surrounding communities come together to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This commemoration includes a day of service on our campus and in the Philadelphia community on Monday, January 21, 2019, and continues with programming and events through Friday, February 1, 2019.
We invite your organization to plan a program in conjunction with this year’s symposium. Programs can include reflection, action and response on/to contemporary issues and should raise issues of social change, social justice and community engagement while incorporating Dr. King’s challenging vision to end racism and poverty, to strengthen and embrace diversity and to support free expression. All programs sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania will be publicized on the MLK 2019 website and on the January AT PENN calendar.
Before submitting a program please review the current MLK 2019 event calendar for similar programs or timing conflicts. To submit a program or event request, please visit the Penn MLK Symposium website: http://www.upenn.edu/aarc/mlk/calendar_mlk.htm
You will find the link to the submission form on our calendar of events page.
The deadline for program submissions is Thursday, November 30, 2018.
If you have any further questions, email mlk.symposium@gmail.com
Thank you for your consideration.
—2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Symposium Executive Planning Committee
Women of Color Day 2019 Awards—Call for Nominations: November 1
To Members of the University and Surrounding Community:
The National Institute for Women of Color (NIWC) has proclaimed March 1 National Women of Color Day. Penn, UPHS, Presbyterian and Pennsylvania Hospital seek to increase awareness of the talents and achievements of women of color by recognizing them with the Women of Color Day Award.
The Women of Color Awards are given in recognition of individuals who have conscientiously endeavored to increase respect for women of color at Penn, University of Pennsylvania Health Systems, Presbyterian, Pennsylvania Hospitals and the Delaware Valley community. Annually, awards are given in up to five categories:
- Helen O. Dickens Award
- Joann Mitchell Outstanding Legacy Award
- Faculty/Staff, Graduate or Professional Student Award
- Undergraduate Student Award
- Community Member Award
- Nominees must be affiliated with UPHS, Presbyterian or Pennsylvania Hospital and/or the local Philadelphia area and have demonstrated:
- Outstanding leadership
- Distinguished service
- Positive impact on the community
- Commitment to enhancing quality of life for and/or serving as a role model for women of color
- Joann Mitchell Outstanding Legacy Award nominee must have worked with the Women of Color Executive Planning Committee or have proven support through donations, event involvement and action advocacy of the WOCAP mission.
Nominations must be submitted on or before November 1, to: Isabel Sampson-Mapp at sammapp@pobox.upenn.edu
Learn more about the 2019 WOCAP Day Awards Luncheon at: http://www.upenn.edu/aarc/wocap/annual.html
—Women of Color Executive Planning Committee