January 14, 2020 Volume 66 Issue 18

Welcome back from winter break and welcome to the new year and new decade! Around the world, people ushered in 2020 with celebrations that revived the “Roaring ’20s.” While turning up the jazz and dancing the Charleston until the ball dropped was great fun, Penn has its own Roaring ’20s to celebrate, and we’re not looking to the past. 

Together, our unparalleled Penn community looks to the future. It is a future increasingly shaped and made better by our unsurpassed faculty, students, staff, alumni and friends and all the good you do here and in the world. Building on a superb fall semester and the momentum of our Power of Penn campaign, here are just some of the ways Penn is roaring into the 2020s.  

Penn’s reputation and reach for good in the world has never been greater and only continues to grow. US News and World Report named Penn #6 among the nation’s top universities, up two spots from previous years. At the same time, the Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal named Penn #4 among all the nation’s colleges and universities, and #1 among all large universities.

Late last semester, Penn proudly announced not one but two Rhodes Scholars—the third year in a row that we claim this honor. We can now count nine Rhodes Scholars from Penn in the last five years alone. Our 2020 Rhodes Scholars are Ezzaty Binti Hasbullah (C’20) and Stephen Damianos (C’19). Ezzaty is passionate about social impact and has devoted significant time and energy to reducing education inequality in Malaysia, while also participating in and organizing numerous international volunteering initiatives. Stephen has dedicated himself to the cause of empowering refugees and is now studying the integration of refugees into formal labor markets and rights-based approaches to international development, with plans to attend law school.

Our 2020 Rhodes Scholars are joined by Penn’s latest Schwarzman and Marshall scholars. Erin Hartman (Nu’18), and Christina Steel (C’20), were named 2020 Marshall Scholars, and our latest Schwarzman Scholars are Andrew Howard (W’20), Malik Majeed (W’17), and GSE graduate student Zinan Chen. We could not be prouder of our 2020 Rhodes, Marshall and Schwarzman Scholars, with this year’s Fulbrights and President’s Engagement and Innovation Prize winners yet to come. They exemplify Penn’s unique power for good now and in the future. 

Penn also boasts six new faculty inductees to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine (formerly called the Institute of Medicine). These exceptional faculty have made seminal contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health. I invite everyone to join me in congratulating Charles Abrams, Beverly Davidson, George Demiris, James Eberwine, Stephan Grupp and Guo-li Ming.

We are enormously proud as well of Penn’s three new faculty fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. These extraordinary faculty have been honored for their scientifically and socially distinguished efforts. We congratulate Carolyn Gibson, Sampath Kannan and Ellen Puré.

These and countless other prestigious faculty honors join our latest MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, Emily Wilson, and Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences winner, Virginia Lee, in rounding out a truly exceptional semester for Penn faculty achievement.

 As we celebrate these and the many other accomplishments of the Penn community, I want to remind our seniors and their mentors that the deadline for both the President’s Engagement Prize and the President’s Innovation Prize is January 24. These Prizes not only publicly recognize and reward creative projects that promote the greater good. They also proclaim our most cherished values as a university: to educate and support our students for meaningful leadership and lifelong citizenship.  

Each Prize bestows a generous living allowance for one year after graduation and up to $100,000 in project expenses. All full-time undergraduates who will graduate in May, August or December of this award year are eligible to apply. I encourage seniors with a great idea to apply, and I very much look forward to receiving them.

From our newest Rhodes Scholars to Penn’s latest interdisciplinary breakthroughs to student projects that change the world for the better, the brighter future we build here can be attributed directly to Penn’s people. I have only the highest praise for our outstanding faculty, students, staff, volunteer leadership and alumni. Especially as we gain incredible new ground with The Power of Penn Campaign, I am deeply grateful for everything you do to strengthen this Penn community that’s roaring into the future.

A bright new year at Penn—now that’s a reason to celebrate! Welcome back.

—Amy Gutmann, President

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced a gift from 1992 Wharton undergraduate alumnus Michael Moh and his wife Peggy Moh through the Larry & Celia Moh Foundation (Almanac December 12, 1989) to establish the Moh Foundation Applied Insights Lab. Housed within Wharton People Analytics (WPA) and integral to the newly formed Analytics at Wharton, the lab will drive, develop and distribute practical applications of people analytics in collaboration with leading nonprofit and private organizations.

“I am deeply grateful for Michael and Peggy Moh’s commitment to create rich learning experiences and research opportunities in applied analytics,” said Wharton Dean Geoff Garrett. “Wharton students learn just as much by doing as in the classroom. With the WPA faculty and research team guiding their collaborations with dynamic organizations, the Moh Foundation Applied Insights Lab will enable future leaders to discover and share decision-making practices that truly enhance outcomes—from getting the right people into the right jobs to creating cultures of generosity at work.”

The Moh Foundation Applied Insights Lab is central to Wharton People Analytics’ (WPA) mission to advance the practice of evidence-based decision-making to help individuals and organizations thrive. The lab’s built-in research support will enable students and faculty to create knowledge that advances how organizations and leaders make decisions about people. To disseminate this research and ensure its impact, the lab will generate reports and digital media content to improve outcomes for the business community at large.

The lab will also provide new and expanded extracurricular opportunities for students. The gift will grow the Wharton Analytics Fellows program, which unites Wharton MBA students, undergraduates and faculty members in tackling complex business problems using the power of analytics. A nonprofit internship program focused on applied analytics will provide students with further opportunities to create data-driven solutions to real-world challenges and explore career pathways that best suit their talents, interest and potential.

“I have seen the tremendous value of investing in the way that we hire and nurture talent throughout my career in the finance and household goods sectors and believe deeply that this can apply to other industries, locally and globally,” said Mr. Moh. “Well-tested insights ultimately help people become more fulfilled and effective in their work while supporting the success of the organizations in which they serve. Wharton is well-positioned to bring all of this together.”

Mr. Moh served on Wharton’s Executive Board for Asia and on the Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business Advisory Board for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Moh generously support the Penn Wharton China Center and the Weingarten Learning Resources Center. Their gift to establish the Moh Foundation Applied Insights Lab also adds to their long-standing commitment to The Wharton Fund and is a significant contribution to Wharton’s More Than Ever fundraising and engagement campaign, which is part of the University-wide Power of Penn campaign. Mr. and Mrs. Moh are proud Penn parents of two daughters.

Penn Business Services announces the appointment of Ambika Singh as the new Manager of Penn Home Ownership Services (PHOS) on November 25.  Ms. Singh came to Penn from Santander Bank where she served as a mortgage development officer. She earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology at Princeton University. 

PHOS offers eligible employees at Penn and the University of Pennsylvania Health System who are buying homes located within specific boundaries in the West Philadelphia area the opportunity to apply for financing for home purchases and renovations through its Forgivable Loan Program. The department also provides assistance to eligible employees through its Closing Cost Reduction Program. PHOS conducts a robust series of educational workshops throughout the year about the portfolio of PHOS’ programs along with a variety of other topics about purchasing a home. 

“The extensive process of purchasing any type of residential use property can be daunting for many individuals,” said Marie Witt, vice president of business services. “The greatest challenges, in many instances, that deter potential buyers from purchasing a home are affordability and a lack of familiarity with the various aspects of the home buying process. The mission of PHOS is aimed at alleviating these obstacles through its offerings and we are pleased to have Ms. Singh lead these efforts.” 

More information about PHOS is available at www.upenn.edu/homeownership

The Offices of the Provost and the College Houses and Academic Services (CHAS) invite applications for service as a College House Fellow. This is a residentially-based position that carries a two-year term.

Faculty applicants from all 12 of Penn’s schools are welcome to apply. The most important qualification is an enthusiastic interest in mentoring and engaging undergraduate students within the residential setting. Members of the University’s faculty and full-time administrative staff in academic or student affairs who will be in their positions for at least two years are welcome to apply.

College House Fellows play a key role in connecting the houses to the larger academic community at Penn. Fellows are responsible for working with the faculty director to develop each college house as an educational resource that encourages intellectual inquiry, promotes academic programs in residence, fosters faculty and student interaction and builds strong, supportive House and CHAS communities. Specific responsibilities will differ from house to house, but the general time commitment is approximately 10 hours per week. 

Although there are 25 fellow positions in the College House system, the number of openings seldom exceeds six. For these highly-sought-after positions, the selection process can be quite competitive. Applicants are reviewed by the undergraduate deans, the Office of College Houses and its faculty director, and the individual house community members, including the house faculty director, house dean and student residents.

Information about each college house, the fellow positions and application process may be found at www.collegehouses.upenn.edu Please explore the “join us” section of the website for postion information. If you have any questions please contact Dr. Lisa Lewis, faculty director of CHAS (lisaml@nursing.upenn.edu) or Marty Redman, senior director of College Houses and Academic Services (mredman@upenn.edu). The application deadline is January 29, 2020.

José Miguel Oviedo, Trustee Professor of Latin American literature in the department of romance languages at the University of Pennsylvania, died December 19 at his home in Philadelphia. He was 85.

A native of Lima, Perú, Dr. Oviedo was a member of the famous Peruvian Generation of 1950. A world-known specialist on Latin American literature and culture, he did his primary education at the Colegio La Salle in Lima, where he shared a desk with Nobel Prize–winning novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. Later in his career, Dr. Oviedo would become one of the world’s best-known scholars on Vargas Llosa’s literary production and was his most persuasive interpreter. (Vargas Llosa dedicated his 1987 book, translated as Who Killed Palomino Molero? to Dr. Oviedo.) In 1958, after he finished his doctorate, Dr. Oviedo was appointed professor at his alma mater, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de San Marcos in Lima. 

In 1968, Dr. Oviedo moved to England, and then he moved to the United States in 1975. He was a member of the faculty at the State University of New York, Indiana University and UCLA. 

In 1988, he came to Penn, where he was appointed as one of the first Trustee Professors (Almanac August 30, 1988). While at Penn, he completed what is arguably his most important critical work, the four-volume History of Latin American Literature (Historia de la Literatura Latinoamericana), which he published with Alianza, in Madrid (Spain), in four installments between 1995 and 2000. He earned Phi Beta Delta Membership in 1990 and emeritus status at his retirement in 2000. The José Miguel Oviedo Undergraduate Student Paper Award is given annually to the best paper in Latin American and Latino Studies written by a Penn undergraduate student.

He wrote books and articles on a multitude of topics and authors, including critical works on José Martí, Ricardo Palma, and Sandinista literature in revolutionary Nicaragua. Dr. Oviedo was a frequent collaborator in the daily press with contributions to journals such as El País, Revista de Occidente and El Mundo in Madrid; Caretas and Debate in Lima; Vuelta in Mexico; and World Literature Today in Oklahoma. He received several fellowships, including Guggenheim (1991) and Rockefeller Foundation fellowships. In his native Perú, he served as director de la Casa de Cultura 1970-1973.  

Gregory D. Palmer, former director, Information Systems and Computing, client services, campus initiatives for the University of Pennsylvania, died from cancer on November 12 at his home in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. He was 69.

Mr. Palmer was born in Wichita, Kansas. He moved to Pennsylvania and graduated from Penncrest High School in Media in 1968 before going on to receive his bachelor’s degree in business administration from LaSalle University in 1988.

Mr. Palmer was a specialist of communications and networks technology. From 1996 to 1999, he was director of campus computing at Drexel University. 

In 1999, he moved to the University of Pennsylvania’s ISC department, starting out as a temp before moving up quickly to IT technical director of MAGPI (Metropolitan Area Gigapop in Philadelphia for Internet2). While at Penn, he created a high-performance network for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware that was dedicated to the research and education communities. He was also the EUNIS (European University Information Systems) representative for Penn. In this role he helped coordinate what was known as the EUMAX project using the new high-performance networks.

Mr. Palmer is survived by his wife, Judith McLean, senior lecturer and research coordinator in the Biological Basis of Behavior Program; children, Matthew (Erin), Conor and Rory; siblings, Larry, Mark and Brenda; and granddaughter, Anabel.

Mary Ann South, former associate professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania who went on to be a member of the team of doctors who cared for David Vetter, known as “the boy in the bubble,” died November 7 in her New Mexico home. She was 86.

After graduating from Portales High School in 1951, she attended Eastern New Mexico University, graduating in 1955. She then went to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where she received her MD in pediatrics in 1959. Dr. South completed her internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chicago, a residency in infectious disease at Baylor, and a fellowship in pediatric immunology from the University of Minnesota.

In 1973, she joined the faculty at CHOP as an associate professor of pediatrics. She left CHOP in 1977 and went on to work in the department of pediatrics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center; then as a visiting professor with the National Institutes of Health; and finally as the Kellogg Endowed Professor of Medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the few historically black medical schools in the county.

Dr. South’s expertise was in pediatrics, infectious diseases and pediatric and adult immunology. During her career, she was involved in major breakthroughs involving how the rubella virus in babies causes immune defects, the differentiation of immune cells, and the treatment of babies born with significant immunological systems. It was during her time as an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine that South came to know and help care for David Vetter. As a result of her work and that of her colleagues, the overwhelming majority of infants diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) are now successfully treated with bone marrow transplants.

Dr. South is survived by step-children, step-grandchildren and step–great grandchildren.

R. Roberta Throne, former supervisor of the oral hygiene department at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine, died December 15 in York, Pennsylvania. She was 99. 

Ms. York was born  in Bridgeton, Pennsylvania, on March 15, 1920. She graduated from Fawn Township, Pennsylvania High School in 1937. She graduated from the Course in Oral Hygiene in 1939 and then interned at Harrisburg State Hospital. Engaged in private practice until 1943, she served two years as a Pharmacist’s Mate 3/c in the United States Navy Women’s Reserve. She also worked in Lititz and Johnstown. Although her private practice took her to Illinois, where she served as a dental hygienist in Chicago, she returned to Pennsylvania in 1954. 

In 1955, she was appointed to the faculty at Penn’s School of Dental Medicine as an assistant Instructor in oral hygiene. After her appointment, she continued her education and earned a BS in education from West Chester State College and an MS in education from Penn. By 1959 she was promoted to assistant professor and, in the early 1960s, appointed supervisor of the department, a position she held for 10 years. During her tenure, the course was developed and strengthened in many areas, including the introduction of a course in public health dentistry and the promotion of a continuing education course. 

In addition to her faculty responsibilities, Ms. Throne strongly influenced the promotion of the dental hygienist movement. A charter member of the Iota Chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha, she was the president of the Pennsylvania Dental Hygienists Association in 1970. She was one of the first four hygienists appointed to the Council on Dental Education of the American Dental Association as a consultant with the accreditation program and was one of the initial group of regional consultants appointed by the American Dental Hygienists Association and American Association of Dental Schools to assist new dental hygiene schools with their planning. The Dental School appointed her to the admissions committee in 1957. Ms. Throne left Penn in 1972.

Ms. Throne is survived by her nieces and nephews.

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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. Call (215) 898-5274 or email almanac@upenn.edu

However, notices of alumni deaths should be directed to the Alumni Records Office at Suite 300, 2929 Walnut St., (215) 898-8136 or email record@ben.dev.upenn.edu

The following agenda is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Any member of the standing faculty may attend SEC meetings and observe. Questions may be directed to Patrick Walsh, executive assistant to the Senate Office, either by telephone at (215) 898-6943 or by email at senate@pobox.upenn.edu

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

3-5 p.m.

Meyerson Conference Room, 2nd Floor, Van Pelt Library

1. Approval of the Minutes of November 20, 2019, and December 11, 2019
2. Chair’s Report
3. Past-Chair’s Report 
4. Update from the Office of the President 
   • Discussion with President Amy Gutmann
5. Moderated Internal Discussion
6. New Business

Cyberwar by Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, has won the Roderick P. Hart Outstanding Book Award from the Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association (NCA).

The NCA presented its awards at the annual conference in November. The Political Communication Division announced that the Hart Award was being presented to two volumes for 2019: Dr. Jamieson’s Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President and Votes That Count and Voters Who Don’t by Sharon E. Jarvis and Soo-Hye Han.

Mitchell S. McKinney of the University of Missouri, who chaired the Hart Award jury, described Cyberwar as “a truly significant book” that “examines the ways in which Russian intervention not only affected the behaviors of key players but altered the 2016 campaign’s news media and social media landscape.”

David Leatherbarrow, professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design, has been named as the 2020 recipient of the American Institute of Architects/Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (AIA/ACSA) Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education.

The AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion honors an individual who has been intensely involved in architecture education for more than a decade and whose teaching has influenced a broad range of students.

Dr. Leatherbarrow has trained reflective practitioners through his graduate and undergraduate courses exploring the interdependence of design and theory. One of the world’s leading experts in the history and theory of architecture, he has supervised 30 dissertations and advised an additional 30 that included prominent leaders from around the world. 

At Penn, where he has taught since 1984, Dr. Leatherbarrow created a foundational culture that persists to this day. For 20 years, he led the Weitzman School’s first-year studio, which he coupled with a course focused on his signature integration of design and theory. In addition, he has taught the required first-semester course in the school’s PhD program, and his instruction has established fluency in architecture’s theories and history for countless scholars and teachers. His academic leadership at the Weitzman School includes service as chair of the department of architecture and two decades as chair of the PhD in architecture program.

L. Scott Levin, chair of orthopaedic surgery at PSOM, the Paul B. Magnuson Professor of Bone and Joint Surgery and a professor of Plastic Surgery, was recently inducted into the Academy of Master Surgeon Educators as a member. This prestigious group’s mission is to recognize and assemble a group of innovative master surgeons who will work together with the American College of Surgeons to advance surgical education and training. Dr. Levin was named to the steering committee of the group last year, and he is the only orthopaedic surgeon to be inducted this year.

Two students within Penn Dental Medicine’s postgraduate prosthodontics program—Nupur Patel (GD’21) and David Kim (GD’21)—were recently recognized for their research, taking first place in the poster competition at the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics 66th Annual Meeting.

Their collaborative study was titled “Biomechanical Considerations for Prosthetic Reconstruction of Acquired Mandibular Defects with Free Fibula Flap: Systematic Analysis” and was conducted with faculty mentors Eva Anadioti, director of the Postgraduate Prosthodontics Program, and Brian Chang, associate professor of clinical restorative dentistry and of clinical oral & maxillofacial surgery.

In their project, clinical studies were reviewed to compare the different methods of fibula free flap for reconstruction of acquired mandibular defects, including single barrel and double barrel techniques. The review found that both techniques have limitations and benefits and no technique is significantly better than the other. The implant survival rates were similar in both types of flaps. Their findings concluded that vascularized fibula free flap remains a versatile treatment option for treatment of segmental mandibular defects, noting that more research is required to provide more evidence about biomechanical and prosthetic considerations.

Doron Shiffer-Sebba, a PhD candidate in sociology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences, was awarded the 2019 Graduate Student Paper Award from the Conflict, Social Action and Change Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems for his paper, “From Circumstance to Company: Landlord Context and Behaviors Towards Tenants.”

The paper investigates the relationship between “landlord origins”—the ways in which landlords become property owners—and landlord behavior. “The current literature largely treats landlords as a homogenous group,” said Mr. Shiffer-Sebba, who grew up in Jerusalem. “At best it differentiates ‘large’ landlords from ‘small’ ones. But my research shows that landlords’ motivation for pursuing rental properties is also important.”

Colleen Winn, staff assistant for Penn’s African-American Resource Center, is the new president of the Association of the Black Women in Higher Education (ABWHE), a national organization founded in 1978. Ms. Winn has also served as chairperson of Penn’s Women of Color organization and has held varied positions within ABWHE.  

Ms. Winn was also an ABWHE award recipient for Outstanding Member at the Association 2019 National Conference in October. The Outstanding Leadership in Higher Education Award and an Outstanding Chapter Member Award were presented to Valerie Dorsey Allen, president emeritus and director of Penn’s African-American Resource Center and lecturer for Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice.

Penn Nursing has received a $100,000 grant from the Robert I. Jacobs Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation for HIV research. The grant supports an investigation, “Youth-driven Perspectives in HIV Biomedical Prevention and Cure Research,” led by José A. Bauermeister,  Presidential Professor of Nursing.

 Adolescents and young adults (ages 15-24), particularly Black and Latinx gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (YGBMSM), are disproportionally infected with HIV in the United States. Unfortunately, daily oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake and adherence have been poor in these populations, highlighting the need to continue developing and promoting alternative biomedical HIV prevention strategies.

 Dr. Bauermeister’s study seeks to highlight sexual minority youths’ perspectives on the design and delivery of next generation HIV prevention and cure biomedical products. Key to this project is the integration of a team of Philadelphia-area youth co-investigators who will be hired and trained to participate equitably with the Penn research team on this initiative.

Security Magazine’s Security 500 has chosen the University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Public Safety as the #1 Public Safety program in the higher education sector for the 13th year in a row. The partnership between Penn and the Philadelphia Fire Department is highlighted as a special accomplishment. This public-private partnership launched the Alternative Response Unit (ARU-1) on Penn’s campus to assist students with non-traumatic injuries—from sprained ankles to intoxication and other medical conditions. The alternative unit is a marked SUV staffed by a paramedic lieutenant and an emergency medical technician.

The purpose of the Security 500 is to create a reliable database to measure against peer institutions and create a benchmarking program among security organizations.

The Fourth Annual Penn Center for Innovation’s Celebration of Innovation was held last month at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts at Van Pelt Library. More than 150 Penn inventors and partners came together to celebrate Penn’s innovation achievements during fiscal year 2019. The keynote was given by Andrei Iancu, the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the US Patent and Trademark Office. He discussed the history of innovation at Penn, and the importance of inclusion and diversity. “We must make sure that more women and minorities are involved in the innovation ecosystem. Right now, only 12% of our patent awardees are women.” That said, during Fiscal Year 2019, 26% of Penn patent recipients were women. 

Award recipients at the event were:

Emerging Inventor of the Year: Susan Volk, associate professor of small animal surgery and faculty for the bioengineering graduate group at Penn Vet, for her novel method of suppressing the breast cancer metastasis.

Biomedical Device of the Year: Mark Yim, Asa Whitney Professor of Mechanical Engineering at SEAS and director of the GRASP Lab, for his steerable needle technology for non-invasive internal medical procedures.

Inventors of the Year: Penn Vet’s William Beltran, professor of ophthalmology, and Gustavo Aguirre, professor of medical genetics and ophthalmology, for their unparalleled approach to developing novel therapies for the treatment of inherited retinal disorders. 

Startup of the Year: Verix Health, a company that is developing a suite of actively steerable surgical devices enabling minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of lesions in difficult-to-access anatomies. The company was founded by Dr. Yim and PCI Ventures; it is now headquartered in Philadelphia and Santa Clara, California.

Partner of the Year: Kairos Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Beverly Hills, California, that is focused on scientific discoveries. 

Deal of the Year: Linnaeus Therapeutics, a PCI UPstart biotech company engaged in the identification and development of small molecule agents for the treatment of cancer, for its partnership and collaboration with Penn Medicine and PCI. 

This article is related to the Penn Center for Innovation article.

Benjamin Franklin’s birthday has been celebrated on January 17 for centuries (he was actually born on January 6, 1705, under the Julian calendar. When the colonies switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, his birthday moved to January 17, 1706). In addition to being a founding father, publisher and, of course, the recognized founder of the University of Pennsylvania,  he was also a prolific inventor and innovator. Consider the following (not comprehensive) list of his accomplishments as Almanac salutes Ben Franklin’s 314th birthday.

Ben Franklin, Inventor

Ben Franklin, Founder

In addition to founding the University of Pennsylvania (“Pennsylvania Academy and College” at the time of its 1749 founding), Ben Franklin also founded:

• America’s first circulating library, The Library Company of Philadelphia (1731)

The Library Company is America’s first successful lending library and oldest cultural institution. It was founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin as a subscription library supported by its shareholders, as it is to this day.

During the early years of the United States, books were not widely available. Standard English reference works were expensive and difficult to find: they had to be shipped to the colonies from Europe, and the average person could not afford to purchase the books that well-rounded intellectuals thought worth reading.

In 1731, Benjamin Franklin convinced members of the Junto, his “society of mutual improvement,” to pool their resources and purchase a collection of books none could have afforded individually. Articles of Agreement were drafted on July 1, 1731, and the Library Company of Philadelphia was established when 50 founding shareholders signed on. Each contributed 40 shillings and agreed to pay ten shillings per year thereafter. As the Library Company’s collection grew, the book capital of each shareholder expanded as well.

The collections grew with the nation and reflect the country’s many faces and varied interests. From the Revolutionary War to 1800, when the national government was in Philadelphia, the Library Company also served as the Library of Congress. Until the 1850s it was the largest public library in America. All of the books the Library Company acquired year by year over more than two and a half centuries are still on its shelves, along with many others added since it was transformed into a research library in the 1950s. In the 21st century, the Library Company serves as a resource for a variety of readers, from high school students to senior scholars, from novelists to film producers, and anyone else with an interest in the collections.

• America’s first volunteer fire department, Union Fire Co. (1736)
• America’s first learned society (with John Bartram), American Philosophical Society (1743)
• America’s first public hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital (1751)
• America’s first mutual insurance company, The Philadelphia Contributorship (1752)

Ben Franklin, Forward Thinker

Our University’s founder was also the first to:

• Label electric charges (1752)
• Create a political cartoon in America (1754)
• Map the Gulf Stream (1769)

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution to try something new? Try subscribing to one of the many podcasts produced at Penn. Listen while you take a walk at lunchtime or on your commute. Here are a few to check out: 

• “Tradeoffs” Hosted by Dan Gorenstein, LDI adjunct senior fellow, mediamaker-in-residence at the Annenberg School, and a former senior reporter on the “Marketplace” radio show, this podcast analyzes topical health-care issues. Episodes air every other Wednesday. The project’s tagline is “Exploring our confusing, costly, and often counterintuitive health-care system.” The podcast is also being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the California Health Care Foundation. https://tradeoffs.org/ 

• “Energy Policy Now” Produced by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and hosted by energy journalist Andy Stone, who speaks with leaders from industry, government and academia as they shed light on today’s pressing energy policy debates. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/energy-policy-now
• Wharton Business Radio: A number of shows and podcasts are produced at Wharton. Visit https://businessradio.wharton.upenn.edu/shows/ for a full list. Here’s a sampling: 

1. “Wharton Business Daily” features the latest business topics and insights from the Wharton School, bringing together top leaders, innovators and renowned Wharton faculty to discuss topics that matter to consumers and the business world.
2. “Wharton Moneyball” covers how decision makers in sports can avoid the common mistakes and embrace the data.
3. “Women@Work” leads listeners to discover innovative practices for personal and system change to help more women join, stay, succeed and lead in the workplace.
4. “Purpose Built” is a special series hosted by Wharton alumnus and Allbirds Co-Founder and Co-CEO Joey Zwillinger. In each one-hour episode, he talks with a high-profile entrepreneur, exploring the story behind his/her journey from startup to success, showing how a socially conscious approach benefited their bottom line.
5. “Leadership in Action” covers what it takes to influence others and achieve high results as an effective leader.
6. “Behind the Markets” discusses hows and whys behind market performance and what’s ahead.
7. “Dot Complicated” is a fun, entertaining, educational and approachable way to discuss all of the latest trends and topics in technology, and how they’re affecting our modern lives.

• “OMNIA” Produced by the School of Arts and Sciences, this series provides insights and perspectives from the home of the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences at Penn. https://soundcloud.com/omniapenn

• “The Global Cable” Produced by Perry World House, this podcast discusses “the world’s biggest issues with the people who work on them.” https://tinyurl.com/globalcablepodcast

• “Work-Life with Adam Grant” Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist and The Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management at Wharton and professor of psychology at Penn. This TED original podcast takes you inside some truly unusual places, where they’ve figured out how to make work not suck. One of the most downloaded shows of 2018. https://www.adamgrant.net/worklife

• “The Media at Risk Podcast” Produced by the Center for Media at Risk at the Annenberg School, this podcast gives voice to media practitioners and the dilemmas they face when political threat undermines their activity. https://www.ascmediarisk.org/ideas/podcasts/
• “Office Hours” Produced by the Office of University Communications, this podcast series explores the minds of the Penn’s academic talents in a more unbuttoned and freewheeling setting outside of the lecture hall. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/subtopic/office-hours?page=0
• The Daily Pennsylvanian: The DP produces several podcasts; visit https://www.thedp.com/section/podcasts

• Amplify Nursing is created and hosted by Penn Nursing’s Marion Leary, director of innovation, and Angelarosa DiDonato, associate program administrator. It features nurses who are leading the way in nursing science, policy and innovation. Guests defy stereotypes, define practice and disrupt convention. The podcast highlights the breadth and depth of nursing influence on society by amplifying nurses who are pushing boundaries and breaking down barriers to build a new paradigm. Available every other Wednesday. See https://www.nursing.upenn.edu/research/innovation/amplify-nursing-podcast/

• There is also a podcast associated with Momentum 2020: The Power of Penn Women, which will be a three-day conference in October celebrating the power of Penn women. The podcast by the same name features discussions with various Penn women; a new one has been added weekly since last fall and there are now nearly two dozen episodes, with more to be included. See https://pennmomentum.libsyn.com/

• Case in Point is produced by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, this podcast provides smart, informative conversations about the law, society, and culture. By bringing together top scholars with experts on politics, business, health, education, and science, Case in Point gives an in-depth look at how the law touches every part of our lives; https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/case-in-point/id969189587

• No Stupid Questions. Stephen Dubner (co-author of the Freakonomics book series) and Angela Duckworth (Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology and Senior Scientific Advisor of Penn’s Positive Psychology Center) really like to ask people questions, and came to believe there’s no such thing as a stupid one. So they made a podcast where they can ask each other as many “stupid questions” as they want. See https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-stupid-questions/id1510056899

• The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) and the Volcker Alliance launched a new podcast–Special Briefing–that examines fiscal actions states and municipalities are taking in response to COVID-19, unprecedented federal stimulus aid, inflation, and rising interest rates. Hosted by William Glasgall, senior director, public finance at the Volcker Alliance and veteran financial journalist, and Susan Wachter, Penn IUR co-director, the podcast brings together governors, mayors, members of Congress, academics, Wall Street’s most successful investors, and nationally recognized public finance experts to share their experiences and strategies for today and the future. See https://penniur.upenn.edu/press-room/announcements/special-briefing-podcast-launched

Updated October 10, 2022

The Penn Center for Innovation (PCI), which opened in 2014 (Almanac, July 15, 2014) and is located at 3600 Civic Center Boulevard next to CHOP, helps to translate Penn discoveries and ideas into new products and businesses by facilitating connections with the private sector. 

Whether the end result is a technology license, a research and development alliance, the formation of a new venture, or an integrated combination of many different business development activities, PCI serves as a dedicated one-stop shop for commercial partnering with Penn. See www.pci.upenn.edu for more information.

The Penn I-Corps Site is an National Science Foundation (NSF)–sponsored program at Penn designed to facilitate commercialization of University research for as many as 30 faculty-student teams per year.

The Innovator’s Help Desk provides a convenient and user friendly interface where faculty and researchers can easily and quickly access a variety of resources to help support their intellectual property and business development interests.

The PCI Fellows program provides support for the commercial assessment of new technologies disclosed to PCI. Penn graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are welcome to apply.

UPadvisors, managed by PCI Ventures, empowers students, faculty and staff in their entrepreneurial endeavors by assisting and advising them on the path to commercialization.

PCIV is dedicated to supporting technology commercialization within the Penn community. Since 2010, PCIV has worked with over 200 faculty and staff members to form and launch new companies based on selected inventions and innovative technologies. By connecting local entrepreneurs, investors and partners with Penn inventors, PCIV adds a powerful platform for a larger entrepreneurial ecosystem in greater Philadelphia and beyond.

UPstart, managed by the PCI Ventures, a division of PCI, provides the Penn community with the means and support to launch businesses, in direct partnership with Penn, based on their promising ideas and research.

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PCI By the Numbers 

FY 2019

708 patent applications filed

97 US patents issued

$104 million received for industry-sponsored research agreements

14 PCI-facilitated Penn spinouts

$260 million funds raised or received by Penn-affiliated startups

722 executed commercial agreements

$114 million in annual licensing revenue

40+ Pennovation Center resident companies

50+ partnering meetings with major corporations

45 educational events hosted

97 PCI press highlights

This article is related to the PCI Innovation Awards article.

Join the members of the Penn community in celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., through acts of service and other events starting January 15 and lasting through the end of the month.

For the full list of events, visit https://upenn.edu/almanac/at-penn-calendar/january-at-penn-2020 or visit www.upenn.edu/aarc/mlk/calendar_mlk.htm

Don’t miss the chance to see various musical and dance performances at Annenberg Center in January, including We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

For tickets go to: annenbergcenter.org/events/ticket-info.php or the Box Office: (215) 898-3900. For the full list of upcoming events, visit annenbergcenter.org/events/

Inspired by the words and actions of Dr. King, We Shall Overcome features repertoire from across the African American music traditions that electrified generations of civil rights activists and defenders. Led by the talented Damien Sneed (at left), this performance weaves spoken word from Dr. King’s speeches with a musical lineage of gospel, jazz, classical and Broadway to reinvigorate and inspire future generations. See the performance January 17 at 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Theatre.

Celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Paul Taylor, “the most inventive and versatile choreographer” of our time (New York Post). In honor of Taylor’s wide-ranging and impactful repertoire, “one of the most exciting, innovative, and delightful dance companies in the entire world” (The New York Times) will perform a program of beloved masterpieces, including Syzygy, Sunset and Piazzolla Caldera. Don’t miss the return of the Paul Taylor Dance Company (at right) to Philadelphia in tribute to a true dance icon.

See the performance January 24 at 8 p.m. and January 25 at 2 and 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Theatre.

Arthur Ross Gallery will display Frankenthaler On Paper January 16-March 29. Renowned for her “soak-stain”abstract paintings, Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) played a seminal role in both Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting. The exhibit presents 10 paintings on paper and 17 prints that date from 1970 to 1993. These rarely seen works on paper reflect her painterly process and were considered by the artist equal to her large-scale paintings.

The opening reception on Thursday, January 16, 5-7:30 p.m. will include a 6 p.m. lecture by Ruth E. Fine, former curator at the National Gallery of Art. For more information, visit www.arthurrossgallery.org/exhibitions/

Upcoming

20     We Are the Storm: Activist Poster Art by Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative; focuses on climate justice and migration; Fisher Fine Arts Library. Through March 8.

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AT PENN Deadlines 

The deadline for the January 21 issue and the February AT PENN calendar is today, January 14. The deadline for the weekly Update is the Monday prior to the week of the issue’s publication.

The University community is invited to register and attend a town hall meeting on Friday, January 31, 1:30-3 p.m., at Fitts Auditorium, Penn Law, to learn about the latest on Workday@Penn. Launched on July 1, 2019, Workday@Penn is transforming how we deliver human capital management-related services, such as staff recruitment, payroll, time management, and faculty and staff benefits administration. During the town hall, representatives from the governance and management team will review the first six months of operation, describe the continuous improvement work streams and present the 2020 road map, which includes an introduction to new functionalities. 

Please register early as space is limited: https://www.workday.upenn.edu/home/News/town-hall

A recording of the town hall will be placed on the Workday website for those unable to attend in person.

The University of Pennsylvania Police Department Community Crime Report

Below are the Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Society and Crimes Against Property from the campus report for December 30, 2019-January 5, 2020. View prior weeks' reports. —Ed.

This summary is prepared by the Division of Public Safety and includes all criminal incidents reported and made known to the University Police Department for the dates of December 30, 2019-January 5, 2020. The University Police actively patrol from Market St to Baltimore and from the Schuylkill River to 43rd St in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police. In this effort to provide you with a thorough and accurate report on public safety concerns, we hope that your increased awareness will lessen the opportunity for crime. For any concerns or suggestions regarding this report, please call the Division of Public Safety at (215) 898-4482.

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 4 incidents (2 assaults, 1 aggravated assault and 1 robbery) were reported for December 30, 2019-January 5, 2020 by the 18th District covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

Another tip in a series provided by the Offices of Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy

Making a Graceful (and Safe) Exit

Are you welcoming the new year with a new mobile device? While it’s tempting to relegate your old smartphone or tablet to a drawer, or simply toss it out, there are important reasons why you shouldn’t do so. 

Many mobile devices contain materials (such as lead) that can be hazardous to humans and the environment when added to landfills. Also, the circuit boards for mobile devices often utilize rare or precious metals that are costly to mine and manufacture, but easier to recycle. From an environmental standpoint, even a non-functioning mobile device still has value.

However, data left on old mobile devices (such as contacts, emails, passwords, banking information) can be accessed and exploited to compromise your personal information.

By taking a few minutes of your time, you can ensure your personal data is safely and completely wiped from your old device so that the device might continue to have a useful second life.

First, back up your data from the old device, transferring any necessary data to your new device. Next, reset the old device back to its factory settings, which ensures that all traces of your personal data are entirely eliminated from the device. Resetting a device varies by manufacturer, so search online for device-specific instructions on how to reset your device to factory settings.

After your old device has been wiped, you have several options for safe disposal, without risk of your personal data being vulnerable.

• You can recycle the device—check online for places that accept devices for recycling, and there are also recycling options available on campus. 
• You can often trade in the device as well—check with your cell phone carrier, purchase location, or the Computer Connection on campus. 
• Donating to various charities is also possible.

Resolve to ring in the new decade by retiring your old electronic devices safely and wisely.

For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/security/news-alerts#One-Step-Ahead

Mounting an exhibit? Orchestrating a concert? Planning a play? Showing a film? Let Almanac know so it can be included in the monthly AT PENN calendar!

Almanac’s monthly AT PENN calendar is the only all-inclusive calendar of Penn events on campus. With a readership in print and online, a free listing in the AT PENN increases visibility and attendance.

Email us at almanac@upenn.edu with your event details, including the event date, time, topic, speaker information and sponsors. For more information, visit https://almanac.upenn.edu/deadlines-for-submitting-at-penn-information