March 3, 2020 Volume 66 Issue 25

Erika H. James has been named the next dean of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, effective July 1. The announcement was made by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett.

“Erika is an award-winning scholar and teacher and a strong, proven leader who serves as dean of the Goizueta Business School at Emory University,” said President Gutmann. “A passionate and visible champion of the power of business and business education to positively transform communities locally, nationally and globally, she is exceptionally well prepared to lead Wharton into the next exciting chapter of its storied history.”

Dr. James’ career has been notable for her commitment to meaningful cross-disciplinary collaboration, superb scholarship, passionate teaching and excellence through diversity and inclusion. Since becoming dean of the Goizueta Business School in 2014, she has introduced and led an effort to build an innovation and entrepreneurship lab open to all students on campus. She grew the Goizueta faculty by 25 percent by the end of her first term, building a critical mass of junior faculty and seasoned scholars in key academic areas such as behavioral and decision-based research, business analytics and health-care innovation. With strong faculty input and support, she also expanded corporate engagement with the creation of a research-based corporate think tank.  

“Erika has consistently and constructively drawn upon her own scholarship in the areas of leadership development, organizational behavior, gender and racial diversity, and crisis leadership,” Provost Pritchett said, “applying her own insights into human behavior to foster a work culture that allows people to thrive personally and professionally. She has led faculty and student workshops on such topics as unconscious bias and building trust across divides and has been engaged as a consultant by some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious firms.”  

“This is an exciting time to be in business education,” Dr. James said. “The scope and platform of the Wharton School provides an opportunity to create far-reaching impact for students, scholars and the business community.”

At Emory, Dr. James undertook a significant redesign of the undergraduate business curriculum, integrating immersive learning, technology and partnerships with Emory College’s liberal arts curriculum. 

Prior to her deanship, she served as the senior associate dean for executive education at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, working closely with faculty to re-imagine executive education and lifelong learning opportunities.  

Dr. James is an active member of the SurveyMonkey Board and the Graduate Management Admission Council, and she previously served on the board of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the foremost accrediting body in business education. She was awarded the Earl Hill Jr. Faculty Achievement and Diversity Leadership Award from The Consortium, an organization committed to increasing diversity in business, starting with graduate school admissions. She has also been named one of the Top 10 Women of Power in Education by Black Enterprise and as one of the Power 100 by Ebony magazine.

Dr. James holds a PhD and master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pomona College in California. In addition to her roles at Emory and UVA, she has served as an assistant professor at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business and a visiting professor at Harvard Business School.  

Dr. James will succeed Geoff Garrett as dean of Wharton. Dr. Garrett is to become dean of the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business (Almanac July 16, 2019). 

“Wharton has risen to even greater heights throughout Geoff’s enormously successful six-year tenure, reinforcing all of its traditional strengths while also building its global force in data analytics, entrepreneurship, fintech, behavioral economics and other fields that are defining the future of business,” President Gutmann said. 

Penn President Amy Gutmann announced that Stacey Lopez has been promoted to vice president for institutional research and analysis at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. Lopez has led the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis since 2007 (Almanac October 16, 2007), initially as assistant vice president until 2015 and then as associate vice president.

In announcing the promotion, President Gutmann said, “Stacey’s work as a leader—both at Penn and nationwide in higher education—has been truly exemplary. She and her team provide strategic decision support and insightful data collection and analysis that is vital to our successful management of the University of Pennsylvania. It is therefore most fitting that we elevate Stacey to vice president. She is universally recognized and respected as a national leader in this field, and we are extraordinarily fortunate to have her at Penn.”

Dr. Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) and two master’s degrees, one in mathematics and statistics and another in industrial and manufacturing engineering, all from Wichita State University in Kansas. She also holds a doctorate in higher education management from Penn.

President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett recently announced the appointment of Michael Horowitz as director of Perry World House and Richard Perry Professor. Dr. Horowitz is currently interim director of Perry World House and professor of political science in the School of Arts and Sciences.

“Penn’s Perry World House is a leading convener of preeminent thinkers and doers, all committed to great global policy,” said President Gutmann. “To lead Perry World House, we searched for an accomplished scholar in the study of global and international issues. We also sought someone with a distinct vision for global policy and a robust network of global academics and policy makers to help see that vision through to implementation. In Mike, we get both: an outstanding scholar and a seasoned visionary with a network of relationships among global policy makers.”

Dr. Horowitz is a world-renowned scholar of global politics and international relations. He has taught at Penn since 2007 and served as associate director of Perry World House from 2015 until his appointment as interim director in 2019. He is the recipient of the 2017 Karl Deutsch Award from the International Studies Association, presented annually to a scholar under age 40 who has made the most significant contribution to the study of international relations and peace research. He authored The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics (Princeton University Press, 2010), a landmark study that received awards from, among others, the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association and the Society of Policy Scientists.

“Mike Horowitz is the ideal leader to chart the future of Perry World House,” said Provost Pritchett. “He has been central to its mission from the beginning, galvanizing dialogue and research to address the most critical global challenges. Now he will help us build on the outstanding work begun by professor William Burke-White, the founding director of PWH, in sustaining the essential place of global issues at the heart of our campus. I am confident that we will greatly benefit from his energetic and visionary leadership in the years ahead.”

Dr. Horowitz has been published in a wide array of peer-reviewed journals as well as in popular media like The New York Times and Politico Magazine, and he co-authored Why Leaders Fight (Cambridge University Press, 2015). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a consultant to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and affiliated with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Center for a New American Security. He earned a PhD in government from Harvard University and a BA summa cum laude in political science from Emory University. 

“Mike has made tremendous contributions to the work Perry World House has undertaken over the last three years,” said Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Ezekiel Emanuel, “and made Perry World House a catalyst for Penn’s global engagement. As director, Mike will be able to cement Perry World House’s reputation as an international thought-center on issues of global governance, global migration and other key challenges facing our world. With his demonstrated dedication to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, the Penn community can look forward to an exciting era in the study of and engagement with global issues.”

Perry World House was founded in 2015 as a center for scholarly inquiry, teaching, research, international exchange, policy engagement and public outreach on pressing global issues. Its mission is to bring the academic knowledge of the University of Pennsylvania to bear on some of the world’s most pressing global policy challenges and to foster international policy engagement within and beyond the Penn community. Located in the heart of campus at 38th Street and Locust Walk, it draws on the expertise of Penn’s 12 schools and numerous globally oriented research centers to educate the Penn community and prepare students to be well-informed global citizens. At the same time, Perry World House connects Penn with leading policy experts from around the world to develop and advance innovative policy ideas.

“I am enormously honored to lead Perry World House,” said Dr. Horowitz. “Penn has a special commitment to blending theory and practice to address society’s most challenging questions and dilemmas. Perry World House is central to that mission. I look forward to ensuring the continued growth of Perry World House and convening diverse groups of faculty, students and policymakers as we bring the world to Penn and Penn to the world.”

At its meeting last Friday, the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees approved a 3.9% increase in tuition for the coming year, while also approving a record $256 million undergraduate financial aid budget, the largest financial aid budget in Penn’s history.

Since Amy Gutmann became Penn’s president in 2004, increasing the financial aid budget has been a top priority, with the University awarding more than $2 billion in undergraduate aid to more than 22,000 students.

Penn administrators also announced that, as part of a new initiative to expand aid for middle-income families in 2020-2021, students with household incomes of up to $140,000 a year (with typical assets) will receive financial aid packages covering the cost of tuition.

“The University is constantly seeking out new opportunities to increase access and affordability for families at all income levels,” said MaryFrances McCourt, vice president for finance and treasurer. “Our steadfast commitment is to meet 100% of a student’s demonstrated need with grants and work-study funding, and average financial aid packages for low- and middle-income families go well beyond tuition.”

To maintain Penn’s world-class academic programs, campus and student services, undergraduate student charges for 2020-2021 are: $53,166 for tuition, $6,876 for fees, $11,014 for housing and $5,770 for dining.

“A measured increase in tuition makes it possible to invest in the resources and programs that make a Penn education the best in the world, while simultaneously maintaining a robust and growing undergraduate aid budget,” said Trevor Lewis, vice president for budget planning and analysis.

Penn’s financial aid program supports its philosophy that a world-class education should be attainable for talented students from all financial backgrounds. Currently, 45% of Penn’s undergraduate students receive grant-based financial aid packages, with an average of $56,693 in funding—more than the cost of tuition. Students whose families have incomes less than $65,500 (with typical assets) receive financial aid packages that cover tuition, fees, room and board. New programming launched last year for these highly-aided students includes first-year laptop grants and access to summer internship and research opportunity funding.

The University’s student resources extend beyond financial aid. This January, Penn launched Financial Wellness @ Penn (Almanac February 4, 2020), an initiative that aims to enhance students’ financial well-being by providing personal finance education, tools and resources.

“All students, regardless of their level of financial need, can benefit from core financial literacy education,” said Ms. McCourt. “We are empowering students with the information they need to make important financial decisions and plan for their financial futures.”

Since establishing a grant-based financial aid program in 2008, Penn has increased its financial aid budget by more than 150%. Over the past five years, the budget for financial aid has expanded at an average rate of 4.1%, greater than the rate of tuition. Today, Penn is the largest US university with need-blind admission and grant-based financial aid for undergraduates.

Penn’s grant-based financial aid program is aligned with the inclusion goals outlined in the Penn Compact 2020 Presidential Initiatives, which include a comprehensive effort to raise additional funding for the endowment to support undergraduate financial aid as well as graduate and professional student aid.

Additional information on undergraduate financial aid at Penn is available at www.srfs.upenn.edu

March 2 Update

To the Penn Community:

We are writing with an update on important new developments in Penn’s response to the global outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This is a fast-evolving situation that is understandably causing high levels of concern. 

A University-wide task force has been charged with reviewing  – and updating as needed – our existing pandemic planning procedures. It is led by Dr. Benoit Dubé, Chief Wellness Officer, and Michael Fink, Deputy Chief for Tactical and Emergency Readiness of the Penn Police, working with experts across campus and coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other government agencies.

Effective immediately, all University-affiliated travel to China, Italy, Iran, and South Korea is suspended in accordance with CDC guidance. We strongly recommend that all members of the Penn community also avoid any personal travel to these countries. If you do travel to any of these countries, we recommend 14 days of self-isolation before returning to campus. Please also register all Penn-related travel so that we will know where you are and can provide resources in case of an emergency. 

As spring break approaches, we ask all travelers to weigh the necessity of any upcoming travel and understand the risks involved, even beyond the CDC risk assessment. All international travelers are putting themselves at an increased risk of exposure to coronavirus disease. This potential exposure can be compounded by unexpected delays and cumbersome logistics upon returning to the US, including the potential for missed classes due to self-isolation. We urge all members of the Penn community to consider these risks when deciding whether to move forward with their travel plans.

We have been in close contact with Penn students currently on study abroad programs and are advising them on options to return home. Schools and centers that are planning short-term study abroad or non-credit programs for Spring Break should review these programs and consider postponing or providing alternative activities for students who are not comfortable traveling abroad at this time.

We appreciate the help of every member of the Penn community, and we will continue to update our central University webpage with answers to Frequently Asked Questions, as well as other essential resources and information.

February 26 Update

To the Penn Community:

We are writing with an update on Penn’s response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). There is an understandably high level of concern as this virus spreads, and we are closely monitoring the evolving situation. Dr. Benoit Dubé, our Chief Wellness Officer, is leading these efforts, partnering with Penn Medicine, Penn Global and public health leaders across the campus, city and state.

We have created—and will continually update—one Penn webpage with answers to Frequently Asked Questions, as well as other resources and information about the coronavirus.

Penn travelers with questions about travel abroad should consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for guidance on travel restrictions. The CDC has recently issued travel warnings and alerts for China, South Korea, Iran, Italy and Japan, which include avoiding all non-essential travel to mainland China and South Korea. All other travel can continue at the discretion of the sponsoring School, center or program. Please register all Penn-related travel so that we will know where you are and can provide resources in case of an emergency. 

Penn travel recommendations will continue to align with CDC travel guidelines. For example, if the CDC raises a warning level on a country to level 3 (avoid all non-essential travel), Penn will similarly restrict University-affiliated travel to that country or region. If you are a faculty or staff member who has essential University travel to a level 3 country (currently China or South Korea), you must notify your dean of your travel plans, clearly outlining the essential reasons for travel. Your dean will then work with Risk Management and the Wellness Office to consider your travel request. 

Any travelers returning from China will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days in accordance with guidelines from the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As this is a rapidly evolving situation, Penn will adopt additional guidelines for self-isolation for travelers from other countries as recommended. Please keep this in mind as you plan spring break travel.

Influenza-like illnesses are still common at this time of year, and we advise everyone to take steps to stay healthy, including getting a flu vaccine, frequent handwashing, avoiding shared utensils, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your sleeve, and staying home if you are not feeling well.

We appreciate the help of every member of the Penn community, and we will continue to update you as this global situation moves forward.

—Wendell E. Pritchett, Provost

—Craig R. Carnaroli, Executive Vice President

—Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Vice Provost for Global Initiatives

—Benoit Dubé, Associate Provost and Chief Wellness Officer

Open and effective communication is essential when it comes to enhancing performance and achieving goals. The Performance and Staff Development Program (the annual performance appraisal program) provides staff and supervisors with a formal process to enhance communication and promote a productive work environment.

The performance appraisal process provides benefits for both the staff member and the supervisor, such as:

• Providing documented feedback on job expectations, performance and accomplishments from the past year
• Offering positive reinforcement as well as developmental feedback
• Allowing staff members to participate in goal setting
• Setting performance expectations and goals for the upcoming year
• Encouraging open communication between staff and supervisors
• Promoting discussion of professional development opportunities and the competencies required to be successful in their job
• Ensuring that job performance and accomplishment information is recorded in each staff member’s official personnel file

Beginning March 16, 2020, staff and supervisors should use the Online Performance Appraisal System to complete self-appraisals and annual performance appraisals. Performance appraisals for all eligible regular staff should be completed and entered into the Online Performance Appraisal System by June 1. The Online Performance Appraisal System can be accessed at https://portal.hr.upenn.edu/

Valuable information on the performance appraisal process can be found on the Human Resources website at https://www.hr.upenn.edu/performance-management Here you’ll find a variety of materials to guide you in completing quality appraisals and providing effective performance and professional development feedback.

For more information on the Performance and Staff Development Program, contact your School’s or Center’s Human Resources professional or the Division of Human Resources at (215) 898-6093.

—Division of Human Resources

Robert Harris Dyson, Jr., world-renowned Near Eastern archaeologist, scholar, educator, Williams Director Emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and emeritus professor of anthropology, died peacefully after a long illness on February 14 in Williamsburg, Virginia. He was 92. 

Dr. Dyson was born in York, Pennsylvania, and educated in the public schools of Forrest Hills, New York and the Collegiate Institute in Ontario, Canada. At 17 he enlisted in the US Navy and served in China. 

After being honorably discharged from the Navy, he enrolled at Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with a BA degree in 1950. He received his PhD, also from Harvard, in anthropology in 1966, specializing in Near Eastern archaeology but with a broad interest in Asia.  

Dr. Dyson first came to the University of Pennsylvania in 1954 as an assistant professor in the anthropology department in the School of Arts & Sciences and assistant curator in the Near East Section of the University Museum, where he was responsible for the installation of the Mesopotamia Gallery. He was tenured in 1962 and promoted to professor of anthropology in 1967, when he also became head curator of the Museum’s Near East Section.

In 1979, Dr. Dyson was appointed dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences. He served in this capacity until 1982, when he was named the Williams Director of the Penn Museum. He held this position until his retirement in 1994. He continued to hold the titles Williams Director Emeritus and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology. 

During his years as Penn Museum director, Dr. Dyson supported expeditions around the world. He also took on structural and internal improvements to the sprawling Museum building, which had been neglected over the years. He established new ties with the Penn administration, re-organized the Registrar’s and Business Offices to make the Museum inventory more accessible to scholars, and developed a solid foundation for the Museum’s finances. 

In 1987, Dr. Dyson founded, with Peter Paanakker and Jerome Byrne, the Louis J. Kolb Foundation and the Louis J. Kolb Society, which provide fellowships and financial aid to graduate students at Penn in disciplines related to the mission of the Penn Museum (primarily in the departments of anthropology, classical studies, history of art, Near Eastern languages and civilizations and East Asian languages and
civilizations). Dr. Dyson served as president of the Kolb Society until his retirement from Penn. 

Dr. Dyson’s training and research extended over a broad geographical area. While a graduate student at Harvard, he participated in the Point of Pines archaeological field school in Arizona, and in 1951 he represented the Peabody Museum as an anthropologist on the first Marshall Expedition to study the Kalahari Bushmen of southern Africa. Dr. Dyson conducted his dissertation research at the important Iranian site of Susa, where he constructed the first stratigraphic assessment of the prehistoric periods under the direction of the inimitable French archaeologist Roman Ghirshman. As a talented excavator, Dr. Dyson participated in excavations in Iraq, Jordan, the Persian Gulf, Pakistan and Turkey, and in 1962 he served as director of the Penn Museum’s Tikal Project in Guatemala. 

His most important contribution as a field archaeologist was as director of the Penn Museum’s Hasanlu (Iran) Expedition from 1956 to 1977 (jointly sponsored by the Iranian Archaeological Service and for many years by the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Dr. Dyson and his team excavated a series of large buildings that had been burnt, including a palace and what was probably a temple. Most of the buildings had not been emptied of their contents, preserving a range of artifacts in the places that they were used or stored. More than 7,000 items were formally recorded by the excavation staff and more than 200 bodies were discovered.

With his discovery of “The Golden Bowl of Hasanlu” in 1958, Dr. Dyson became famous through a multi-page spread in LIFE magazine (1959). The “bowl” (now in the National Museum of Iran) is a large, unique gold vessel, beautifully decorated with mythological scenes and an important document for our understanding of belief systems in Iron Age Iran. It also gave scholars a rare glimpse into a moment in the past: crushed in the collapse of a mudbrick building, the bowl was found in the skeletal hands of a warrior who appears to have been fleeing the second story of a building as it fell. 

Dr. Dyson was a skilled excavator and mentor to multiple generations of archaeologists and art historians. The Hasanlu Expedition served for two decades as the premier training ground for American and foreign archaeologists interested in pre- and proto-historic Iran. The field rosters of the Hasanlu Project read like a “Who’s Who” of the archaeology of Africa, Europe and Asia. 

Many of Dr. Dyson’s former students went on to illustrious careers and founded their own excavations at important sites throughout the Middle East and Asia, creating robust academic dynasties of their own.

Dr. Dyson was an active member of numerous scholarly organizations. He was president of the Archaeological Institute of America 1979-1981 and president of the American Institute of Iranian Studies in 1968 and 1987-1989. He was a member of the Society of Fellows at Harvard, the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received honors from the Athenaeum of Philadelphia and the Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, and was a Decorated chevalier de l’Ordre des Artes et des Lettres (France). He was awarded the Order Homayoun (4th Rank) by the Shah of Iran in 1977. He was a Guggenheim Fellow of Social Sciences in 1971. The Robert H. Dyson chair appointments in the department of anthropology and Near East Section of the Penn Museum were established in his honor. 

Dr. Dyson leaves no immediate family. A memorial program is being planned for fall 2020 at the Penn Museum.

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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, March 18, 2020

3-5 p.m.

Meyerson Conference Room (2nd floor), Van Pelt Library

1. Approval of the Minutes of February 12, 2020
2. Chair’s Report
3. Past-Chair’s Report
4. Get Out the Vote
   • Discussion with Cory Bowman, associate director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and Emily Falk, professor of communication, psychology and marketing
5. Review of Plans for April 15, 2020, Meeting
6. Moderated Discussion New Business

At the Trustees Winter Stated Meeting on February 28, Trustees Chair David L. Cohen presented a Memorial Resolution for John B. Neff (H’84) the legendary emeritus trustee who grew Penn’s endowment, substantially outperforming the market, from $200 million to $3 billion (Almanac July 16, 2019). 

The Trustees approved the resolution to amend the Statutes to reflect the new name change from Penn Law to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (Almanac November 12, 2019).

President Amy Gutmann presented a resolution of  appreciation for John Horn, who has been Penn’s comptroller since 2005 and who advocated and implemented shared governance. Mr. Horn is now retiring from Penn.

Then, the President presented the resolution to appoint Stacey Lopez as vice president for institutional research and analysis (see Stacey Lopez: Vice President for Institutional Research and Analysis article), noting that Dr. Lopez’s office has been doing critically important and expanding research.

Provost Wendell Pritchett noted that former Annenberg Dean Michael Delli Carpini has been named to a new role as the faculty director of the Paideia Program (Almanac November 5, 2019).

Penn’s Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli presented the Financial Report for the six months ending December 31, 2019. For the Consolidated University, the total net assets were $20.1 billion, $2.0 billion above prior year. The $227 million increase in net assets from operations was $38 million above prior year due to strong performance from the Health System. Expenses of $5.5 billion were $423 million above prior year with compensation being the significant portion.

Dean Larry Jameson gave the Penn Medicine Report; he noted that PJ Brennan, chief medical officer and senior vice president of UPHS , is in frequent contact with the CDC and other federal agencies about the new coronavirus and that Penn is continuing to coordinate and disseminate information accordingly.

A resolution was passed to increase the number of board members of PennPraxis and amend its Bylaws.

Another resolution approved the establishment of a master of healthcare quality and safety in the Perelman School of Medicine, growing out of an existing concentration and certificate program. 

PricewaterhouseCoopers has once been appointed as the independent accountants to audit the financial statements for the fiscal year.

The annual resolution on tuition, fees and other student charges and financial aid for academic year 2020-2021 was passed (see 2020-2021 Tuition, Financial Aid Budget: Expanding Support for Middle-Income Families article). 

There were also numerous resolutions to authorize major projects and acquisitions: 

• up to $182.5 million for design, development and construction for the Lancaster General Hospital emergency department expansion and cafeteria and kitchen relocation; 
• up to $44 million to acquire and develop parcels of land at 451 S. University Ave. and on a portion of 501 S. University Ave.;
• the Next Generation Student Systems for an additional $23.1 million;
• $19.125 million for a redundant steam line  installation;
• $17.4 million for Franklin Field concrete restoration phase 3;
• $12.225 million for 3401 Walnut Street façade renovations; 
• $8 million of capital funds for the transaction related to the radiation oncology facility on the campus at Doylestown Hospital;
• $12.731 million, inclusive of $6.7 in capital, for a 9.5 year lease for the Provost’s Center, Undergraduate Admissions Office and Penn Global on the 8th floor of 3535 Market Street; Penn Global’s relocation is contingent upon termination agreement of International House, which is being sold;
• $6.3 million for BRB II HVAC controls upgrade phase 2;
• $6.15 million for schematic design phase of the Quadrangle dormitory renovations; those College Houses have not been substantially renovated since 2002. 

There were also resolutions passed to authorize an application to act as a “qualified educational institution” permitted to exercise trust powers in New Jersey and another to authorize the execution of a secondary guaranty of base rent obligations under a lease for St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. 

Mr. Cohen presented an omnibus motion to approve 10 resolutions of numerous appointments to Penn Medicine, overseer and other boards.

Nominations are open for positions on the Penn Professional Staff Assembly (PPSA) Executive Board and University Council Committees. All monthly-paid, full-time University staff members are eligible to participate. More information is available at http://ppsa.upenn.edu

Service on a committee is a rewarding and enjoyable experience that requires only a couple hours per month. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues from across the University who will help to enrich your work life with Penn.

For Executive Committee and University Committees Nominations

To nominate, please fill out the form online at http://ppsa.upenn.edu

The following positions are open for nomination:

• PPSA Chair-Elect (1 position, three-year term of service)  
• Executive Committee Member At-Large (4 positions, two-year term of service)
• PPSA Representative to University Council Committees (7 positions, one-year term of service)

Descriptions of duties and responsibilities for each position are available on the nomination form on the PPSA website.

All monthly-paid, full-time University staff members are encouraged to self-nominate or nominate colleagues for consideration no later than Wednesday, May 13, 2020. 

The 2020-2021 election for officers will occur following PPSA’s annual meeting, to be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at noon in Widener Auditorium at the Penn Museum. PPSA will be joined by Penn Museum Williams Director Julian Siggers and Deputy Director Steve Tinney. Lunch will be served.  

All full-time, monthly-paid University staff members are encouraged to attend the meeting as guests of PPSA. Visit http://ppsa.upenn.edu/ for more information and to register. 

For more information on the work of the seven University Council Committees, visit https://secretary.upenn.edu/univ-council/committees 

An election period will take place to identify the Chair-Elect and the Members At-Large.  University Council Committee members will be appointed by the PPSA Tri-Chairs from amongst all applicants following the election. 

Questions on the nominating and election process can be directed to ppsa@lists.upenn.edu The elections process is governed by the PPSA Bylaws, available on the PPSA website.

—PPSA Executive Board

Andre DeHon, professor in the departments of electrical and systems engineering and computer and information science, has been named to receive the IEEE Computer Society Mary Kenneth Keller Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award “for outstanding educational leadership in the creation and growth of a modern computer engineering program at the University of Pennsylvania.” A plaque, certificate and $2,000 honorarium are awarded for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education through teaching and service.

Dr. DeHon is broadly interested in how to physically implement computations from substrates, including very large-scale integration and molecular electronics, up through architecture, computer-aided design and programming models. He places special emphasis on spatial programmable architectures and interconnect design and optimization.

Dr. DeHon oversaw the reformulation of the computer engineering undergraduate program from 2006 and has served as chair of the program since then. Since 2012, he has served as undergraduate chair for electrical and systems engineering, which includes programs in electrical engineering and system science and engineering, as well as, computer engineering, including leading major revamps in all programs.

Angela Duckworth, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology and co-founder and CEO of the Character Lab, was included in the top 10 of Education Week’s 2020 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. The list, created by Rick Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, recognizes scholars whose work shapes public discussion around education.

Dr. Duckworth is an internationally recognized scholar of positive psychology and the psychology of achievement. She is widely known for her role in developing and advancing the concept of grit—the ability to maintain effort toward long-term goals—and self-control as factors in the pursuit and attainment of valued goals. 

She is a prolific author whose research is published in leading scientific journals, including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the Journal of Positive Psychology. Her first book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, debuted as a New York Times bestseller.

Joseph S. Francisco, President’s Distinguished Professor and professor of chemistry in Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, was recently elected to the Council of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Sciences is governed by a 17-member council comprising five officers and 12 councilors elected from among the Academy membership. Councilors are elected to three-year terms beginning July 1, 2020. 

César de la Fuente, Presidential Assistant Professor in the departments of psychiatry, microbiology and bioengineering at the Perelman School of Medicine, was awarded the first Langer Prize for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Excellence by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The fellowship is named for biomedical pioneer Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Prize, which aims to support rising stars in the early stages of their careers, provides an unrestricted grant to enable creative researchers and engineering entrepreneurs to tackle high-risk, high-impact challenges with the potential of achieving game-changing innovations. Dr. de la Fuente received the award this past fall at the 2019 AIChE Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Jim Hahn, head of metadata research at the Penn Libraries, has been named to the OCLC Entity Management Advisory Group. OCLC is a global library cooperative that provides shared technology services, original research and community programs. This new group was created to support OCLC’s recently announced grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. OCLC will work with leading national libraries, federal agencies and research libraries to ensure that its infrastructure is sustainable and compatible with their efforts. Specifically, OCLC will engage with the LD4P community—libraries participating in the Linked Data for Production project, led by Stanford University Libraries and also funded by Mellon—to ensure that the system matches the evolution of the library linked data environment. Mr. Hahn will test tools and provide feedback as part of this group. 

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation PIK Professor of Health Policy and Health Equity at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named one of Becker’s Hospital Review’s 25 medical pioneers to celebrate Black History Month. According to the Review, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey made the list for the following reasons: “Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey has more than 30 years of experience as a medical practitioner, policymaker, professor and nonprofit executive. In 2003, she became the first black female president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, one of America’s largest philanthropic organizations devoted to public health and health care. Before joining the foundation, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey served as a professor of medicine and health-care systems at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, directed Penn’s Institute on Aging and was chief of geriatric medicine at University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine.”

Beth Picknally Camden, Patricia and Bernard Goldstein Director of Information Processing at the Penn Libraries, has been named chair of the Share-VDE Advisory Council, an international group setting direction for the Share-VDE project. Share-VDE is a collaborative endeavor, based on the requirements and perceptions of libraries, promoted by: Casalini Libri, provider of bibliographic and authority data as a member of the Program for Cooperative Cataloguing; @CULT, provider of ILS, discovery tools and semantic web solutions for the cultural heritage sector; with input and active participation from an international group of research libraries and influenced by the vision of the LD4P initiative. The cooperative initiative is steered by the library community and enhanced by R&D activities aimed at identifying additional workflows and use cases according to priorities determined by the Share-VDE network. Share-VDE currently connects the catalogues of libraries in the US and Canada, and is now expanding to a broader network, including European libraries. All partners contribute to the initiative through the Advisory Council and the working groups devoted to the various work streams.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Valerie Snow (L’20) will spend two years at Philadelphia’s SeniorLAW Center advocating for the rights of low-income seniors, especially regarding guardianship, thanks to an Independence Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowship.

Ms. Snow’s fellowship project will address the legal needs of seniors facing guardianship abuse, neglect, exploitation and other issues of access to justice. The project will focus on fundamental issues of self-determination and cutting-edge issues of law, health and due process. In addition to directly advocating for the least restrictive alternative to guardianship appropriate for each client in court, Ms. Snow will also conduct outreach to seniors, caregivers, aging networks and medical and legal communities and advocate for systemic reforms such as the right to counsel in guardianship proceedings. 

Ms. Snow is a Toll Public Interest Fellow and the production editor for the Journal of Law and Social Change, and she has participated in both the Civil Practice Clinic and the Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic. During law school summers, Ms. Snow focused on SSI work at Community Legal Services (CLS) and employment discrimination matters at the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Each year, Penn Engineering, Wharton’s Mack Institute for Innovation Management, Penn Wharton Entrepreneurship and the Penn Center for Innovation team up to host the Y-Prize at Penn, an invention competition in which entrants are challenged to pitch an innovative business plan for a technology developed at Penn Engineering. The winning team earns a $10,000 cash prize.

This year’s grand prize winner was Metal Light: Penn Engineering master’s students Ryan Goethals and Darsham Bhosale, Wharton’s Minhal Dhanjy and Kateryna Kharenko, and Leo Li and Yumin Gao of Johns Hopkins University. They plan to build sustainable, affordable lights that draw power from scrap metal, an ideal lighting solution for off-grid homes around the world.

M-Squared, who proposed using the same energy-scavenging technology to build sensors for shipping containers, earned a $4,000 Y-Prize second place award, which was matched with a grant from FabNet.

“CrossTalk,” the official blog of Cell Press, a leading publisher of biomedical and physical science research, posted its list of Top 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America. 

The list included 75 established investigators, from tenure track assistant professors to associate professors to full professors, and 25 rising stars. “Our hope is that this resource will have a significant and long-lasting effect on all members of the scientific community and continue to emphasize the need for diversity in the academy,” according to the blog post. “This list provides an example for what universities, societies and nonacademic institutions should take the initiative to do.” 

Those associated with Penn were: 

• Donita Brady, Presidential Professor of Cancer Biology, PSOM
• Rotonya Carr, assistant professor of medicine,  PSOM
• Erle Robertson, professor of microbiology, director of the Tumor Virology Training Program, Harry P. Schenck Professor in Otorhinolaryngology and vice chair of research for the department of otorhinolaryngology, PSOM
• Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, Mitchell J. and Margo K. Blutt Presidential Assistant Professor of Biology, SAS
• Joseph S. Francisco, President’s Distinguished Professor and professor of chemistry, SAS
• Chantell Evans, postdoctoral researcher and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Hanna Gray Fellow, PSOM
• Brittany Taylor, postdoctoral researcher and Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Program Fellow, PSOM

At Penn, we recognize excellence in all areas of the University. In that spirit, the Models of Excellence program spotlights remarkable staff contributions to the University’s mission as a global leader in education, research and public service.

From a field of candidates nominated by coworkers and colleagues, 16 outstanding teams and individuals from Schools and Centers across the University were chosen to receive 2020 Models of Excellence honors. These 110 staff members embody the best in Penn community accomplishment. 

This year’s honorees are listed below in three categories: Models of Excellence, Pillars of Excellence and Model Supervisors. Each Models of Excellence, Pillars of Excellence and Model Supervisor Award winner and winning team member will receive $500 and a symbolic award. Staff members who have earned Honorable Mentions will receive $250 and a symbolic award.

On Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 4 p.m., President Amy Gutmann, Provost Wendell Pritchett, Executive Vice President Craig R. Carnaroli and Vice President Jack Heuer will present the awards at Penn’s 21st annual Models of Excellence ceremony in Irvine Auditorium. The whole Penn community is welcome to attend the celebration. Visit www.hr.upenn.edu/models to learn more about this year’s honorees, for ceremony details and to learn how you can nominate a coworker for this prestigious award.

—Division of Human Resources

2020 Models of Excellence Honorees

Models of Excellence

The Models of Excellence Award recognizes staff member accomplishments that reflect initiative, leadership, increased efficiency and a deep commitment to service. This year’s Models of Excellence awardees are: 

Kyle Cassidy, Annenberg School

Penn Museum Sphinx Move Team 

• Anne Brancati, Penn Museum
• Kevin M. Cahail, Penn Museum
• Edgardo Esteves, Penn Museum
• Molly Gleeson, Penn Museum
• Lynn Grant, Penn Museum
• Brian J. Houghton, Penn Museum
• Anna O’Neill Alexander, Penn Museum
• Robert Thurlow, Penn Museum
• Jennifer Houser Wegner, Penn Museum

Transform Penn’s Data Center Team

• Daniel Bachovin, Sr., ISC
• Dave Cohen, ISC
• Joseph Demarest, ISC
• Jeffrey Edwards, ISC
• Steven Fredricks, ISC
• Tiffany Hanulec, ISC
• Gregory Hartley, ISC
• Donna M. Jacobs, ISC
• Dante Keyes, ISC
• Shijoy Mathew, ISC
• Dave Mongeluzi, ISC
• James Renfro, ISC
• James Patrick Riley, ISC
• Maria Perlita Roberts Reyes, ISC
• Charles Rumford, ISC
• Kent Whiting, ISC
• Thomas Yoo, FRES

Models of Excellence Honorable Mentions

Victor Adams, Division of Finance

Campus Express New Student Experience Team 

• Mark Aseltine, Business Services 
• Christopher Bradie, Business Services
• Barbara Lea-Kruger, Business Services
• Ann Weinstein, Business Services

LPS Bachelor of Applied Arts & Sciences Team

• Christopher Angelucci, SAS
• Ursula Bechert, SAS
• Dave Bieber, SAS
• Aaron Boczkowksi, SAS
• Yvette Bordeaux, SAS
• Leona Brandwene, SAS
• Mary Bustamante, SAS
• Jacqueline Candido, SAS
• Clayton Colmon, SAS
• Angelina Conti, SAS
• Sara Davis, SAS
• Benjamin Filreis, SAS
• Ilene Ford, SAS
• Michael Griego, SAS
• Joseph Hallman, SAS
• Susan Hassett, SAS
• Caitlin Hier, SAS
• Zachary Humenik, SAS
• Betsy Jane Kells, SAS
• Jaime Kelly, SAS
• Tomea Knight, SAS
• Jen Kollar, SAS
• Meryl Krieger, SAS
• Sarah Libros, SAS
• Jeffrey Lyons, SAS
• John MacDermott, SAS
• Marsha Mallet, SAS
• Sarah Masino, SAS
• Jason Matjasic, SAS
• Elizabeth Matthew, SAS
• Rita McGlone, SAS
• Jacqueline McLaughlin, SAS
• Melissa Moore, SAS
• Amy Mulhern, SAS
• Debra Murphy, SAS
• Kristine Rabberman, SAS
• Brittany Robertson, SAS
• Anna Safford, SAS
• Samantha Sangenito, SAS
• Leigh Anne Scarborough, SAS
• Joe Schaffner, SAS
• Daniel Shields, SAS
• Kristin Sowden, SAS
• Raymond Taylor, SAS
• Donna Tomlinson, SAS
• Kathy Urban, SAS
• Christopher Veitz, SAS
• Levester Williams, SAS
• Miriam Wright, SAS

Forerunner Team

• Rodolfo Altamirano, Penn Global
• Batsirai Bvunzawbaya, Student Services
• Chinedu (Ocek) Eke, SEAS
• S. Sonya Gwak, SEAS
• Imani Harvin, GSE
• Yuhong He, Student Services
• Sarah Peyton Kaufman, GSE
• Soumya Madabhushi, Student Services
• Amy Nichols, Wharton School
• Elisabeth O’Connell, Provost’s Center
• Zoe (Zhe) Qiao, Wharton School
• Patricia Rea, SAS
• Julianne Reynolds, Student Services
• Sharon Smith, Student Services
• Ann E. Tiao, GSE
• Peter Van Do, Student Services
• Ryan Villanueva, Penn Global
• Rebecca Yao, Student Services
• Li (Lily) Zhang, Penn Global
• Laura Tepper, Penn Law DAR

Matthew Valenti, Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics

Pillars of Excellence

The Pillars of Excellence Award recognizes the important support Penn’s weekly-paid staff members provide to promote the University’s mission. This year’s Pillars of Excellence awardees are: 

Jamie Apgar, HR 

Christopher Ferraiolo & Michah Mack, Wharton School

Seth J. Fitzgerald, FRES 

Ada Lawry, Residential and Hospitality Services

Model Supervisors

The Model Supervisor Award honors supervisors who are effective and productive leaders for the University. This year’s awardee is:

Leigh Gantz, PSOM 

Model Supervisor Honorable Mentions

Rebecca Lerario, PSOM 

Ryan Miller, Student Services 

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the spirited sounds of Danú on March 14 at 8 p.m. in Zellerbach Theatre at Annenberg Center. With “a vibrant mix of virtuosity, empathy and energy” (The Washington Post), Danú marks its 25th anniversary season with timeless, Celtic tunes along with stunning, new melodies, offering a spirited journey to the heart of the Emerald Isle. Bring the whole family to enjoy this lively celebration of Irish music.

The department of city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design presents “The Moelis Lecture: Marcus Samuelsson in Conversation with Penn Provost Wendell Pritchett.” The evening brings together acclaimed New York City chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, philanthropist and activist Mr. Samuelsson with the award-winning scholar, author, lawyer, professor and civic and academic leader from Philadelphia Provost Pritchett for a dialogue about the many ways in which food culture strengthens communities—from facilitating new alliances to revitalizing neighborhoods. Featuring an audience Q&A and reception, the event will take place 6-7:30 p.m. on March 16 at Meyerson Hall. Admission is free and open to the public; advance online registration is required: https://tinyurl.com/moelislecture

Economic inequality is more widespread and more severe than it has been in decades. Low-income communities suffer from a dearth of good jobs and a lack of healthy food. Contemporary food culture in the US offers essential examples for how the business community, educational institutions and policy makers can creatively combat these problems while also celebrating local cultures.

The Moelis Lecture is part of a wide-ranging effort led by the Weitzman School’s department of city and regional planning to increase diversity in community economic development and real estate development. The Moelis Scholars Program provides generous fellowships, mentoring and professional development to encourage students with a commitment to diversity to pursue careers in housing and community and economic development. The department is also home to the Penn Planning Equity Initiative (PPEI), which aims to redefine planning research and practice, promote action research and its application and stimulate public dialogue.

Marcus Samuelsson is the acclaimed chef behind many restaurants worldwide, including Red Rooster Harlem, MARCUS Montreal and Marcus B&P in Newark, New Jersey. He was the youngest person to ever receive a three-star review from The New York Times and has won multiple James Beard Foundation Awards, including Best Chef: New York City and Outstanding Personality for his TV series No Passport Required with VOX/Eater. He was tasked with planning and executing the Obama Administration’s first State Dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He was also crowned champion of television shows Top Chef Masters and Chopped All Stars, and he was the winning mentor on ABC’s The Taste. Mr. Samuelsson is also an executive producer of Viceland’s show HUSTLE. 

At this year’s Levin Family Dean’s Forum, David Epstein, The New York Times best-selling author and expert on the science of high performance, will present on “The Power of Range: The Secret to Success in Any Domain.” The event will be held at Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Thursday March 19, 4:30-6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Register at https://tinyurl.com/levinforum2020

What’s the secret to success in any field? David Epstein has studied the world’s top performers, from athletes to artists, scientists, entrepreneurs and Nobel laureates. His conclusion: In most fields, generalists—not specialists—are primed to excel. Mr. Epstein unpacks the science of success and ways to improve how you live, work, and prepare for the future.

Mr. Epstein is the author of The New York Times bestsellers Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World and The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance. Range was one of Forbes’ “Seven Business Books Entrepreneurs Need to Read” and received rave reviews from Malcolm Gladwell and Daniel Pink. His TED Talk has been viewed over 12 million times. He previously was an investigative reporter for ProPublica and a Sports Illustrated senior writer.

The Stephen A. Levin Family Dean’s Forum is a celebration of the arts and sciences. Initiated in 1984, the Forum presents leading intellectual figures who exemplify the richness of the liberal arts. The Levin Family Dean’s Forum is made possible by a generous gift from Stephen A. Levin (C’67) in honor of his sons Eric T. Levin (C’92) and Andrew Levin (C’14).

The Penn Bookstore’s annual Grad Fair is being held March 18, 19, & 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The fair is a great opportunity for degree candidates to acquire their caps and gowns, as well as purchase other items to celebrate the occasion. While there, you will be able to speak directly with staff members, try on your gown and browse the bookstore’s selection of graduation announcements, class rings and diploma frames, as well as have photos taken in your regalia. Bachelor’s and master’s candidates will be able to purchase and pick up their Commencement regalia on the second level of the Penn Bookstore near the textbook department. For more information, visit the Bookstore’s Website at https://upenn.bncollege.com/shop/upenn/home

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 February 17-23, 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 February 17-23, 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.

18^th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 10 incidents with 2 arrests (4 robberies, 2 assaults, 2 domestic assaults, 1 purse snatch and 1 rape) were reported for February 17-23, 2020 by the 18th District covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

The Penn Libraries provide services and collections to further the University of Pennsylvania’s research, teaching and learning mission and to address the essential challenges and opportunities presented by a rapidly changing world. The Libraries’ 2020-2025 strategic plan aligns its work with the Penn Compact 2022 pillars of inclusion, innovation and impact and the University’s goal of advancing knowledge for good.

Four strategic priorities, described at https://www.library.upenn.edu/priorities, will serve as the Libraries’ compass for navigating its future. As the Libraries works toward finalizing the strategic plan, members of the Penn community are welcome to send feedback on the priorities to librarystratcomm@pobox.upenn.edu by March 20.

There is no issue on March 10, during Spring Break, but staff will still be available to accept content submissions for future issues. Almanac will resume weekly publication on March 17. The deadline is March 9. 

The April AT PENN calendar will be published March 31. The deadline is March 16.

On Sunday, March 8, clocks will “spring forward” one hour at 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later on March 8 than the day before. There will be more light in the evening.