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Jennifer Pinto-Martin: University Ombuds

caption: Jennifer Pinto-MartinJennifer A. Pinto-Martin, Viola MacInnes/Independence Professor of Nursing and Executive Director of the Center for Public Health Initiatives in the School of Nursing and Professor of Epidemiology in the Perelman School of Medicine, has agreed to serve as University Ombuds, beginning on July 1, 2020 for a two-year term, President Amy Gutmann announced. Dr. Pinto-Martin succeeds Lynn Hollen Lees. “We are grateful to Lynn who served Penn exceedingly well as Ombuds following her distinguished service as Vice Provost for Faculty,” said President Gutmann.

“Jennifer, who served as chair of the Faculty Senate from 2018 to 2019, currently serves as the Chair of its ad hoc Committee Planning for Post-Pandemic Penn. Recently named one of two inaugural Penn Nurse Innovation Fellows, Jennifer has a record of University-wide service and experience, a breadth and depth of knowledge about Penn and higher education more broadly, and excellent judgement that will be invaluable during her term as University Ombuds. I am delighted that she has agreed to serve in this important role.”

An expert on autism and developmental disabilities, Dr. Pinto-Martin served as the Director, of Penn’s Master of Public Health Program for 12 years. From 2001-2018 she also served as the Director of the Pennsylvania Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology, which is one of six CDC-funded regional centers that together are conducting the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). She holds appointments as a Senior Scholar at the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics (LDI), and the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB). 

Dr. Pinto-Martin is a member of the Scientific Review Committee, National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, American Public Health Association, Society for Epidemiological Research and the International Society for Autism Research. 

Dr. Pinto-Martin earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, and a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in epidemiology, both from the University of California. 

Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt, Geoffrey Garrett, Julia Lynch: Lauder Institute Appointments

caption: Melissa Thomas Huntcaption: Geoffrey Garrettcaption: Julia LynchThe Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania recently announced three new appointments that will strengthen Lauder’s ability to fulfill its mission of developing outstanding business leaders who look globally, engage locally, and act responsibly to have a powerful impact in the world.

Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt and Geoffrey Garrett have been named Senior Global Fellows. As head of global diversity and belonging at Airbnb, Dr. Thomas-Hunt leads the strategy and execution of global internal diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging programs. An expert on building inclusive, global teams, Dr. Thomas-Hunt joined Airbnb from Vanderbilt University, where she served as Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence. In that role, she was responsible for helping advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in Vanderbilt’s academic research and community of students, faculty, and staff. Prior to her work at Vanderbilt, she served as global chief diversity officer at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, where she was focused on ensuring that the student community was seen, heard, valued, and supported.

For 25 years, Dr. Thomas-Hunt has taught MBAs and executives leadership, team dynamics, and negotiations, and she has conducted research on the factors that unleash, leverage, and amplify the contributions made by individuals, particularly women, underrepresented individuals, and numerical minorities. Her publications have appeared in Research in Organizational Behavior, Organization Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Management Science, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin and Research on Managing Groups and Teams. Dr. Thomas-Hunt received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University.

Geoff Garrett is the dean at the USC Marshall School of Business, where he is also the Dean’s Chair in Business Administration and professor of management and organization. Prior to serving as dean of the Wharton School from 2014 to 2020, Dr. Garrett was dean of the business schools at both The University of Sydney and UNSW and founding CEO of the United States Studies Centre in his native Australia. He also served as president of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and as founding dean of the International Institute and Vice Provost of International Studies at UCLA. Earlier in his career, he also held academic appointments not only at Wharton and at USC, but also at Oxford, Stanford and Yale universities. 

Dr. Garrett is a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Social Sciences, a winner of the Foreign Policy Association Medal and the Advance Global Australian Award, and a member of the board of directors of Park Hotels and Resorts. He also sits on the Advisory Boards of the Indian School of Business and the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management. A well-respected commentator on global business, economics and politics in major media outlets, he writes a regular series of articles as a LinkedIn influencer. Dr. Garrett holds a BA from the Australian National University, and an MA and PhD from Duke University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Julia Lynch has been named a co-director of Lauder Institute. The primary responsibility of the Lauder co-director is to serve as the liaison between the Lauder Institute and the School of Arts & Sciences, including on matters related to SAS coursework and faculty. Dr. Lynch is a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA from Harvard. Her research focuses on the politics of inequality, public health, and social policy in the rich democracies, particularly the countries of western Europe. She has special interests in comparative health policy and the politics of health inequalities; comparative political economy of western Europe; southern European politics; and the politics of aging. 

At Penn, she is co-director of the Penn-Temple European Studies Colloquium, on the advisory boards of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, the Italian Studies Program, and the bioethics minor, and faculty director of the European studies minor. She currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, is a member of the University Council Committee on Personnel Benefits and previously chaired the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility. She is an editor of Socio-Economic Review, a multi-disciplinary journal focusing on analytical, political, and moral questions arising at the intersection of economy and society, and she serves on the editorial boards of Perspectives in Politics, Comparative Political Studies, Polity, Journal of European Social Policy, and Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law

In the wider world, Dr. Lynch is an expert advisor to the World Health Organization’s European regional office, past chair of the Health Politics and Policy section of the American Political Science Association, and past treasurer of the Council for European Studies.

Lance Freeman and Jamaal Green: Provostial Appointments in the Department of City and Regional Planning

caption: Lance Freemancaption: Jamaal GreenThe Weitzman School recently announced two new faculty appointments for Academic Year 2020-2021 in the department of city and regional planning: Lance Freeman, a professor at Columbia University, as the Provost’s Distinguished Visiting Faculty Fellow, and planner and geographer Jamaal Green as a Post-Doctoral Fellow.

Each year, Penn appoints a senior scholar of national or international prominence as the Provost’s Distinguished Visiting Faculty Fellow based on a record of promoting civic engagement, scholarly innovation and inclusive communities. Dr. Freeman’s is the first such appointment at Weitzman.

“We are at a watershed moment in American history for how we think about cities—who they serve well, who they do not, and how we can do better,” said Penn Provost Wendell Pritchett. “Lance Freeman and Jamaal Green will provide invaluable insights into this urgent work.”

“I very much look forward to Lance and Jamaal’s contributions to our School and the University,” said Fritz Steiner, dean and Paley Professor at the Weitzman School. “I’m confident they’ll forge important connections here.”

“At a time when social justice has moved to the center of our national conversation, we need to better understand the ways in which housing policy supports or hinders our progress,” said Lisa Servon, the Kevin and Erica Penn Presidential Professor and chair of city and regional planning. She also leads the Penn Planning Equity Initiative (PPEI), a wide-ranging effort at Weitzman which aims to redefine planning research and practice, promote action research and its application, and stimulate public dialogue.

Dr. Freeman is a professor in the urban planning program at Columbia. His research focuses on affordable housing, gentrification, ethnic and racial stratification in housing markets, and the relationship between the built environment and well-being. Dr. Freeman teaches courses on community development, housing policy, and research methods. He has also taught in the Joseph Biden School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Delaware. Previously, he worked as a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, a leading social policy research firm in Washington DC. Dr. Freeman has published several articles in refereed journals on issues related to neighborhood change, urban poverty, housing policy, urban sprawl, the relationship between the built environment and public health, and residential segregation. Dr. Freeman is the author of the book There Goes the ’Hood: Views of Gentrification from the Ground Up (Temple University Press, 2006) and A Haven and a Hell: The Ghetto in Black America (Columbia University Press, 2019). Dr. Freeman obtained extensive experience working with community development groups as a community development coordinator for the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development and as a research associate at the Center for Urban and Regional Studies in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He also has professional experience working as a city planner for the New York City Housing Authority, and as a budget analyst for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Dr. Freeman holds a master of city and regional planning and PhD in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Green is a planner and geographer interested in the ways that the organization of our built environments exacerbate or inhibit social inequality. His research interests include exploring the connections between land use and economic development planning, specifically concerning the role of industrial lands in urban labor markets and greater labor market restructuring, and the application of spatial analysis to policy problems. While working for the State of Oregon Department of Human Services, Dr. Green worked on a variety of projects including developing a spatial risk analysis for child abuse and maltreatment, analyzing the location choices of marijuana dispensaries in Washington and Oregon in order to determine whether certain vulnerable populations were disproportionately exposed and assisted multiple research projects that required census data and mapping support. Dr. Green is interested in a broad range of topics, but he has always focused on the spatial distribution of resources and the foundational questions of social science of, “Who benefits? Who loses? Who pays?” He holds a master of city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a PhD in Urban Studies from Portland State University.

Options for Penn Commuters

Dear Parking Permit Holders and Penn Commuters: 

During this period of change, we are finding that many members of the Penn Community are rethinking the way they choose to commute to campus. The following information will assist you in understanding the many options available to you—including retaining your parking permit status, carpooling, and public transportation—that best fit your circumstances.

—Penn Transportation and Parking 
parking@upenn.edu
www.upenn.edu/parking

Free Parking for Penn, UPHS, and Penn Affiliates Extended Through August

Free parking for Penn, UPHS, and Penn Affiliates at University facilities will continue through the month of August. This free parking is available at these locations: Penn Museum; Chestnut 34; Walnut 38; Walnut 40 Garages; and the Penn Park lot.

Beginning September 1, Penn will resume charging fees to park in all campus garages and lots. As previously announced, permit rates will be held at the FY20 rates through December. Details about the FY21 rates can be found here.

New Options for Those Who May Need to Park on an Occasional Basis

For faculty and staff only driving to campus on an occasional basis (e.g., a couple of days per week or for half days), Penn is introducing three new options at Penn Museum, Chestnut 34, Walnut 38, and Walnut 40 Garages effective September 1st: 

  • discounted transient/visitor all-day rate of $15, payable on-site,
  • evening rate after 3:30 p.m. and an all-day weekend rate of $12, payable on-site, and,
  • 5-hour/day parking ticket for $11, payable onsite via the parking garage attendant with a Penn, UPHS, or Penn Affiliate ID. This option also may be purchased in advance at the Transportation and Parking Office.

Action for Permit Holders: Please Respond with your Choice No Later Than July 31, 2020

Recently, and email was sent to all Penn Permit Holders outlining several options available relative to their current permits and requesting that they complete a form to indicate their preferences regarding the status of their parking permit no later than July 31, 2020.

As a permit holder, you may:

  • Continue as an active permit holder. You may continue parking at your currently assigned lot/garage. On September 1st, payroll deductions will resume, and you will see the deduction in your September pay statement(s). Even if you plan to continue parking, we ask that you still complete the form.
  • Suspend your parking credentials. You may suspend your credentials between September 1st and February 1st.  During that time, you will retain your current garage or lot assignment, but your credential we be deactivated for the suspension period. If you determine you need to resume your parking during the suspension period, you may contact the Transportation and Parking Office and renew your permit, effective for the first day of the month following your request. Important Note: patrons who choose this option will be contacted prior to February 1st to confirm whether they wish to reinstate their permit privileges and the associated payroll deductions.
  • Cancel your permit. You may request cancellation of your parking permit. If you choose this option, your parking privileges will end as of September 1st. You are responsible for returning any parking access credentials in your possession (e.g. Hang Tag and AVI) to the Transportation and Parking Office. You may do so whenever you return to campus. You may also choose to do so by mailing them to the address below: 

Penn Parking
Suite 447A
3401 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Information for Commuters Who Wish to Obtain a Parking Permit

Commuters who wish to obtain a parking permit may apply online (https://penn.aimsparking.com/) for assignments that will be effective as early as the month of September. Please be aware that parking availability is limited, and it may not be possible to accommodate your preferred option. Once applications are reviewed, an email will be sent to you, advising of lot/garage availability. Applicants will be notified when parking assignments are confirmed and invited to visit the Transportation and Parking Office to pick up access credentials. You also will be notified if spaces are not available and offered the opportunity to be placed on a waiting list.  Please note that due to the high demand for parking that we are experiencing, our response time is longer than normal and it may take up to 10 business days to process your application.

Other Helpful Information and Options for Faculty and Staff Returning to Campus

  • Penn is experiencing a higher percentage of commuters choosing to drive—and park—their own vehicles. If a garage or lot is closed, signage will direct patrons to other nearby open facilities. To view a map of Penn lots and garages, visit www.upenn.edu/parking Please note that the Penn Park lot tends to fill up by 7:30 a.m. Penn Museum garage fills by 8:30 a.m. and the Chestnut 34 fills around 9 a.m. The best locations for parking availability are Walnut 38 and Walnut 40 Garages.
  • Staff interested in signing up for public transportation can do so with Health Equity/WageWorks, https://idp.pennkey.upenn.edu/idp/profile/SAML2/Unsolicited/SSO?providerId=WageWorks (please note, when you click this link, you will be directed to add your PennKey and password before accessing this site.) Commuters must place their September order no later than August 10. Please remember to take appropriate precautions when using public transport. Always wear a mask or face covering and do not touch your face. Physically distance to the greatest extent possible. Travel outside of peak commuting times whenever possible. Use antibacterial gel when leaving the vehicle and wash your hands thoroughly when you arrive at your destination.
  • For those interested in exploring carpool options, Penn offers a 25% discount on parking permits for 2-passenger carpools, a 50% discount for 3-passenger carpools, and 75% for 4-passenger carpools. Click here to learn more about car pool or van pool programs along with other options available in Penn’s discounted sustainable transit commuting program.
  • Penn Transit Services operates fixed-route and on-demand transportation within specific boundaries. This free service is available to PennCard holders. Download the free PennRides on Request mobile application from the App Store or Google Play or visit www.upenn.edu/PennTransit for information. Bus and shuttle services resume their normal schedules on Monday, August 24, 2020.
  • If you have not traveled to campus recently, sign up for the Division of Public Safety’s Traffic Advisories. Additionally, we remind everyone of Public Safety’s 24/7 Walking Escort Program.

The Transportation and Parking Office will resume operations on campus on Monday, August 3, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday–Friday. Beginning Friday, August 21, daily hours will expand to 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the meantime, staff may be reached at parking@upenn.edu

The team at Penn Parking appreciates your support for our services and encourage you to consider the many options that Penn makes available to assist in your commute to, from, and around campus. Thank you!

Speaking Out

Recognizing Juneteenth

I was so grateful to Dr. Gutmann for encouraging the observance of Juneteenth this year. I am disappointed to see that Juneteenth has not yet made it to the list of Recognized Holidays for Fiscal Year 2021. Hopefully this encouragement will become a recognition sooner rather than later.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my comment.

—Catherine E Smith, Clinical Research Coordinator

Supporting the Penn for PILOTS Petition

Over the past several decades, Penn has made increasingly significant financial and educational investments in its West Philadelphia community. Those efforts should be acknowledged with respect and indeed with pride by all of us who are associated with the University.

Now, however, Penn must do more. One of the nation’s 10 wealthiest universities is located in the poorest of the 10 largest American cities. The consequences of that poverty for education are profound. Philadelphia’s public schools have for decades been grossly underfunded, their students the victims of inexcusable Commonwealth indifference and systemic political incompetence. The pandemic will cause further reductions in budget allocations to public education and further harm to the city’s public school students.

Penn cannot by itself solve all the many problems the School District’s students and teachers confront: from the elimination of vital student support services, to the remediation of toxic asbestos, to the educational deficits incurred by too-large classes.

However, while Penn cannot solve all those problems, it can assist in addressing some of them. The proposed Educational Equity Fund, administered independently of Penn’s administration, offers the most democratic and effective mechanism for the allocation of the funds that Penn would contribute.

Recall that 86% of the students in Philadelphia’s public schools are young people of color, 52% African-American. These students and their families and their teachers deserve better, and Penn can and must play a substantial part in the effort to make things better.

The time has always been right for Penn to join the other universities that have agreed to enter into PILOT arrangements. But the time has never been more crucially right, in the wake of the pandemic, the resulting economic impact, and the growing nationwide awareness of the racism that has for centuries so profoundly disfigured our civic life, and continues to do so today. 

I join with my colleagues in urging Penn’s administration and trustees to move expeditiously toward the implementation of the necessary PILOT agreements. The University’s participation in this program will confirm our dedication to Philadelphia and its citizens, and especially to the city’s young people. 

—Peter Conn, Vartan Gregorian Professor of English Emeritus; Professor of Education

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Speaking Out welcomes reader contributions. Short, timely letters on University issues can be accepted by Thursday at noon for the following Tuesday’s issue, subject to right-of-reply guidelines. Advance notice of intention to submit is appreciated. —Eds.

Deaths

David Cottrell, II, PSOM

caption: David CottrellDr. David C. Cottrell II, former clinical assistant professor in PSOM, died June 5 at his home in Winfield. He was 86.

He earned a BA from the University of Tennessee in 1955 and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He then served in the United States Army. He was stationed at Okinawa, Japan, and was honorably discharged in 1962 with the rank of captain.

Dr. Cottrell did his internship at HUP and joined the faculty at Penn as an assistant instructor and research fellow in orthopedic surgery in 1962. The next year he became an assistant instructor and resident in the same department. He went on to become an associate instructor and then an associate clinical educator. He became a clinical assistant professor in 1980.

Dr. Cottrell left Penn in 1985 to start a private practice in Bryn Mawr, which he later moved to Selinsgrove. He performed surgery at both the Sunbury Community Hospital and Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg until his retirement in 2000.

Dr. Cottrell was a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

His professional memberships included the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Society, the Eastern Orthopedic Association, and the Pennsylvania Medical Association.

He is survived by his wife, Sandra L. Beaver; son, David “Chad” Cottrell, III; daughter, Catherine Cottrell (Jack Reilly); granddaughter, Eleanor June Reilly; and two nephews and a niece.

Charles Heaton, PSOM

Charles L. Heaton, former associate professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, died in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 29. He was 85.

After acquiring a BS from Texas A&M University in 1957, Dr. Heaton earned a doctor of medicine degree from Baylor University College of Medicine in 1961. He completed an internship at Jefferson Davis Hospital in Houston and his residency at Baylor University College of Medicine in dermatology. From 1965 to 1967, Dr. Heaton was in the US Public Health Service, where he attained the rank of a lieutenant commander.

He joined the faculty at Penn in 1966 as an associate in dermatology. He moved up to assistant professor and then associate professor in the same department. Dr. Heaton was also a senior attending physician and the chief of dermatology at Philadelphia General Hospital in the mid-1970s. He received an honorary MA degree from Penn in 1973. He left Penn in 1978 to join the faculty at the University of Cincinnati, where he became an emeritus professor of dermatology.

Dr. Heaton was a diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology; an elected fellow of the American College of Physicians; an honorary life member of the American Academy of Dermatology; and a member of: The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the American Medical Association, the Society of Investigative Dermatology, the American Venereal Disease Association, now the American STDs Association, the American Dermatological Association, and the Cincinnati Dermatological Society.

Dr. Heaton authored more than 35 articles in scientific journals and 12 chapters of various books. He also authored Audiovisual Course in Venereal Disease in 1972 and co-authored Manual of Dermatology in 1980 with DM Pillsbury. Dr. Heaton was selected as Leading Dermatologist in the National Publications of Leading Professionals 2020 for his lifetime of dedication to his profession.

He is survived by his sister, Kathleen Heaton.

John Lewis, Honorary Degree Recipient

caption: John LewisJohn Lewis, US Representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, died on July 17 at the age of 80. After his death, President Amy Gutmann posted, “John Lewis was the truest of American heroes. He lived a life of the utmost courage, standing up to Jim Crow and countless assaults on the inalienable rights of Black Americans. He fought tirelessly for civil rights and social justice for all, and became the conscience of the United States Congress. It was a personal honor to know him, and present him with an honorary degree from Penn [eds. note: see Almanac March 20, 2012]. When you were with him, you knew you were in the presence of greatness. What a glorious life he lived, and how blessed we are as a country by the sacrifices he made and the positive change he brought about. We honor his memory as we work together to live up to his inspiring words: ‘… if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.’ ”

Socks, UPPD K-9 Officer

caption: Socks

“It is with heavy hearts that we share with you the passing of our beloved Socks.” Socks passed away peacefully on July 20 at the age of 8, at Penn Vet Ryan Hospital surrounded by the love of Police Officer Julie Wesley and her daughters Taylor and Madison and her Foster Dad EVP Craig Carnaroli,” Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush announced.

“Socks was the star of the first class of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center in 2013. She was fostered by EVP Craig Carnaroli and his wife Amie Thornton. Dr. Cindy Otto, executive director and founder of the WDC, personally matched Socks with the UPPD.”

Penn Police Officer Wesley was chosen as the UPPD’s first K-9 officer (Almanac October 8, 2013). She and Socks enrolled in The John “Sonny” Burke Canine Training Center, Woodbine, NJ; graduating on December 20, 2013. In addition to being trained as an ordnance detection canine, Socks received certification in scent tracking as well. She served with the UPPD for seven years as an ordnance detection dog.

Socks and Officer Wesley worked many large events, including: the annual Penn Relays; numerous dignitary visits to Penn, including US Presidents and Vice Presidents, Supreme Court Justices, US Cabinet Secretaries, and numerous others; and they were honored to work the Papal Visit. They ensured that all of these events were safe from ballistic/bomb threats by performing tedious “sweeps” of the sites. Socks loved working all of these special details (Almanac November 4, 2014). Socks was Penn’s number one Community Policing Officer. “She brought smiles to the incoming Freshman class at NSO and welcomed Penn Parents at the New Parent Panels annually at Irvine. At both events students and parents felt safer and happier watching ‘The Socks Show’ on the Irvine stage. Julie was always gracious when parents and students were heard sending oohs and aahs to Socks, who ate up the attention,” added Ms. Rush.

“We are all grateful to K-9 Officer Socks for her seven years of service to the Penn Community. Socks, you will be missed.

“Our hearts are heavy for Officer Wesley and her family. Socks lived with Officer Wesley and her daughters and was a prominent member of the Wesley family. There is no way to describe the bond that is formed between a work partner and a family member. Socks was both for Julie and her family. We also send our condolences to Socks’ Foster Parents Craig and Amie who loved her dearly and selflessly allowed Socks to start her career as a Working Dog.”

Well done, Penn Police K-9 officer Socks!

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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

Honors

FactCheck.org: Society of Professional Journalists Award

FactCheck.org has won a 2019 Sigma Delta Chi Award for fact-checking from the Society of Professional Journalists.

“This award recognizes excellence in fact-checking, in a single work distributed on any platform,” including print, online, TV, radio “or shared by other means, such as in a podcast,” according to SPJ.

The winning entry was FactCheck.org’s August 2019 story “Trump’s Steel Industry Claims,” (https://www.factcheck.org/2019/08/trumps-steel-industry-claims/), written by Lori Robertson and Eugene Kiely. The story took an in-depth look at President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the steel industry went from “dead” or “going out of business” to “thriving” because of the 25% tariffs he imposed on imported steel.

This is FactCheck.org’s second Sigma Delta Chi Award. The staff of FactCheck.org won the non-deadline reporting award for independent news sites in 2010 for healthcare reporting. That entry included five stories.

Fulbright Awardees

Penn’s 2020-2021 Fulbright Award recipients include a total of 16 Penn recent graduates and current students.

The Fulbright Program is the US government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Penn’s applicants are supported by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF).

Fulbright Study/Research Grants:

  • Christine Olagun-Samuel (SAS’20) will investigate approaches to mitigate the impact of former apartheid policies on current health inequities in South Africa.
  • Stephanie Petrella (SAS’17) will examine the role of the business elite in Ukraine’s economic policymaking.
  • Adam Sax (GAS PhD candidate) will work with Professor Vivian Liska at the Institute of Jewish Studies in Antwerp, Belgium, on his research into “the elegiac and the abyssal” in the work of the post-Holocaust poet, Paul Celan.
  • Raka Sen (GAS PhD candidate) will study how climate change adaptation in the Indian and Bangladeshi Sundarbans is fundamentally reshaping gender roles in the region.
  • Adithya Sriram (SEAS/COL’20) will conduct biophysics research in Germany.
  • Samuel Tullman (SAS’17) will spend this time in Northeastern Brazil, studying changes in the nervous systems of people taking the psychedelically-active brew of Amazonian traditions known widely as Ayahuasca.

Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Grant (ETA):

  • Abby Cacho (SAS’17, GSE’20), Malaysia
  • Faith Cho (SAS’20), South Korea
  • Serena Hajjar (SAS’20), Russia
  • Henry Hoffman (SAS’20), Spain
  • Natalia Lindsey (SAS’20), Spain
  • James Nassur (SAS’19), Jordan
  • Ton Nguyen (SAS’20), Indonesia
  • Mark Perfect (SAS’18), Germany
  • Aiden Reiter (W/SAS’20), Laos
  • Arryonna Santos (SAS’20), Brazil

PennChart Genomics Project: AAMC GIR Excellence Award

Penn Medicine’s PennChart Team was recently recognized by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) with this year’s Group on Information Resources (GIR) Excellence Award. The implementation team, which is made up of representatives from Information Services, clinical workgroups and Penn’s genetic research efforts, was recognized formally at the AAMC’s Virtual Membership Webinar earlier this month.

The Excellence Award is given to individuals and teams that have “contributed to a work of excellence in academic medical information technology domain” that supports the mission of their institution in innovative ways. Created last year, it’s one of just two awards that the GIR dispenses.

The Penn Medicine team’s efforts are important because they make PennChart, the health system’s electronic medical record, able to easily receive and store a patient’s genomic test results in a standardized way. That makes it easier to use both for clinicians treating single patients and for researchers doing larger projects pulling in large amounts of data.

In addition to standardizing and storing the data itself, the PennChart Genomics Project team also worked to create easy options to order genetic testing directly through the medical record. So not only does existing data become easier to access, but more of it can be acquired if a doctor feels it’s necessary.

The PennChart Genomics Project has taken on multiple efforts, including the development of specific areas in the electronic medical record for not just patents’ genetic testing, but genetic testing records from family members. It has also organized the data into a discrete form that can be released to patients as well as drive their clinicians’ decisions.

A pipeline established with a specific lab went live in January, adding 62 different types of genetic testing that can be ordered directly through PennChart, including some that require just one click. In total, Penn Medicine clinicians have ordered almost 200 tests directly through the electronic medical records, with roughly half returning results already.

Catherine Lee: AAPD Resident Recognition Award

Penn Dental Medicine pediatrics resident Catherine Lee (D’18, GD’20) has been honored by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) with its Resident Recognition Award. The award recognizes pediatric dental residents doing innovative and interesting activities in their training programs. 

Presented quarterly, winners are chosen based on activities during their residencies that contribute to patient care, education, research, and/or community service. Innovation, time commitment, and significance of service to others are the primary factors considered in the selection process. Selection is made by members of the AAPD Residents Committee, New Dentist Committee, and Board Liaisons.

Dr. Lee has helped the School’s predoctoral students learn about pediatric dentistry as a rewarding career path, organizing annual lectures by Penn alumni who are pediatric dentists. She has planned activities to honor retiring pediatric faculty and welcome alumni back to campus, and she helped raise the profile of the Division of Pediatric Dentistry by conceiving and producing the Division’s first alumni newsletter. In addition, Dr. Lee worked with Penn Dental’s Office of Institutional Advancement to organize the first Penn Dental Medicine alumni reception at the annual American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry meeting in Chicago last May attended by over 40 graduates, many of whom had not connected with the School and each other in many years.

Introducing DMD students and residents to the power of advocacy, Dr. Lee participated in visits to congressional delegations in Washington to acquaint legislators with the crisis of oral health access disparities. She has advocated for patients and organized a book drive to make books available to send home with children coming to the School for care. In addition, Dr. Lee has actively supported many community outreach activities at the School—from the annual oral cancer walk to the Give Kids A Smile Day.

Paul Mather: AHA 2020 Physician of the Year

caption: Paul MatherPaul J. Mather, cardiologist and professor of clinical medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the American Heart Association’s (AHA) 2020 Physician of the Year.

The annual award is presented to a practicing physician who has rendered outstanding contributions to advancing the AHA’s mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Dr. Mather, who was twice president of AHA’s regional boards of directors, will receive the award at the Gold Heart Awards Luncheon on October 28 in Plano, Texas.

A cardiologist who specializes in heart failure and cardiac transplantation, Dr. Mather first volunteered with the AHA in 1993. Over the years, he has spearheaded regional and local initiatives to help raise awareness of heart healthy behaviors and increase access to preventative health care resources, particularly for vulnerable and underserved populations. In collaboration with the AHA, Dr. Mather launched a health and wellness event series at a church in West Philadelphia in which a team of Penn cardiologists, nurses, and trainees offered blood pressure screenings and provided guidance on how participants could improve their cardiovascular health through exercise and diet.

“As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.’ Your zip code should not be more predictive of your health outcomes than your genetic code,” Dr. Mather said. “We must all work together and now is always the right time to address these inequalities.”

Dr. Mather also served as a strong advocate of the city of Philadelphia’s sugary beverage tax, arguing that chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, are exacerbated by overweight and obesity. Since the tax was implemented, research shows a significant decrease in monthly soda consumption among adults and daily sugar intake among children.

His research covers a variety of cardiology-related topics, include heart failure, heart transplantation, and cardiac imaging. Dr. Mather has served as a member of a number of organizations, including the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, where he was on the Heart Failure Council and the steering committee of the Mechanical Circulatory Support Database Committee. He is also a member of the American Society of Transplantation.

2020-2021 CTL Graduate Fellowship for Teaching Excellence

Center for Teaching and Learning’s Graduate Fellowship for Teaching Excellence program honors graduate students who are dedicated to excellent teaching and is designed to foster conversations about teaching to help graduate students develop as teachers. Graduate Fellows organize and facilitate teaching workshops in their departments and across the university, observe graduate students teaching and offer feedback, and meet regularly as a fellows group to discuss teaching practices. Candidates for this fellowship must be nominated by their department; the call for nominations goes out to graduate chairs in the spring semester.

  • Matt DeCross, Physics and Astronomy, SAS
  • Mohammad Fereydounian, Electrical and Systems Engineering, SEAS
  • Shivajee Govind, Chemistry, SAS
  • Lauren Harris, Sociology, SAS
  • Antoine Haywood, Communications, Annenberg
  • Davy Knittle, English, SAS
  • Kristina Lewis, Education, GSE
  • Zachary Loeb, History and Sociology of Science, SAS
  • Theodora Naqvi, Classical Studies, SAS
  • Bruno Saconi, Nursing; Statistics, Wharton
  • Adam Sax, Comparative Literature & Literary Theory, SAS
  • Zachary Smith, Political Science, SAS
  • Daniel Wilde, Management, Wharton
  • Tamir Williams, History of Art, SAS

Penn Vet Researchers: COVID-19 Pilot Awards

Eight researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have been selected to receive distinctive COVID-19 Pilot Awards from the Penn Vet COVID Research Innovation Fund. The Fund, provided with critical start-up support through a generous gift from Vernon and Shirley Hill, will bolster Penn Vet’s rapidly expanding research and response program to fight the novel coronavirus. 

Studies funded demonstrate Penn Vet’s unique and collective expertise in pathogen-related research, infectious disease, and translational medicine to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The 2020 Penn Vet COVID-19 Pilot Award recipients are:

Montserrat C Anguera, Associate Professor, and Andrew E. Vaughan, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences (both), “Investigation of the Genetic and Hormonal Contributions for Male-biased COVID-19 Disease”

Ronald N. Harty, Professor of Pathobiology and Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, “SARS-COV-2 Virus-Host Interactions and Therapeutic Intervention”

De’Broski R. Herbert, Associate Professor, Department of Pathobiology, “Cross-species SARS-COV-2 Transmission”

Christopher A. Hunter, Mindy Halikman Heyer Distinguished Professor of Pathobiology, Department of Pathobiology, “The Role of IL-27 in Limiting the Development of Cytokine Storms”

Elizabeth M. Lennon, Pamela Cole Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, “SARS-COV-2: Role of Housecats as a Reservoir for Human Infection”

Michael J. May, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, “Targeting Lymphatic Endothelial IKKa: A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Treatment of COVID-19”

Ellen Puré, Grace Lansing Lambert Professor of Biomedical Science; Chair, Department of Biomedical Sciences, “Defining the Cellular and Molecular Basis of the Fibro-inflammatory Response to SARS-COV2 Infection”

In addition to the Pilot Awards, Penn Vet’s COVID-19 Research Innovation Fund is also supporting the Working Dog Center’s COVID-19 canine scent detection study (Almanac May 12, 2020). The pilot training program is using scent detection dogs in a laboratory setting to discriminate between saliva and urine samples from COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 negative patients.

Rakesh Vohra: SIGecom Test of Time Award

caption: Rakesh VohraRakesh Vohra, George A. Weiss and Lydia Bravo Weiss University Professor, has won the 2020 SIGecom Test of Time Award for his paper, “Calibrated Learning and Correlated Equilibrium.”

The SIGecom Test of Time Award recognizes research published between 10 and 25 years ago that has, as the name suggests, stood the test of time in its field. SIGecom is the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Economics and Computation, so it celebrates work that has “significantly impacted research or applications exemplifying the interplay” of those two topics.

Dr. Vohra’s paper, originally published in the journal Games and Economic Behavior in 1997, has served as an essential contribution to the literature on game theory.

Dr. Vohra is a Penn Integrates Knowledge professor with appointments in Penn Arts and Sciences’ Department of Economics and Penn Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering. He works at the intersection of economics, systems engineering, computer science and business, and is the co-director of the Warren Center for Network & Data Sciences. He is best known for his work on forecasting in low information environments and his many contributions to the economic field of mechanism design.

Shu Yang: Manufacturing PA Innovation Grant

caption: Shu YangShu Yang, professor in the SEAS departments of materials science engineering and chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been awarded a Manufacturing PA Innovation grant to develop a new kind of medical adhesive. Inspired by the biology of snails, the gel-based adhesive could be applied to open wounds, then harden into a protective film.

The Manufacturing PA Innovation Program aims to capitalize on the cutting-edge science and engineering research of Pennsylvania’s educational institutes by forging partnerships between them and the manufacturing sector.

Dr. Yang was awarded approximately $70,000 to fund an application of her “snail glue” research. This research centers on creating durable adhesives that mimic a snail’s epiphragm—a slimy structure that conforms to a given surface and hardens to protect and anchor snails in dry environments.

Dr. Yang will collaborate with Anand Jagota, professor and founding chair of the department of bioengineering at Lehigh University, and Adhezion Biomedical to fabricate an innovative hydrogel adhesive for wound closure. Leaning on their prior research, the team aims to develop a durable adhesive that is also biocompatible.

Dr. Yang envisions that when a snail-slime-inspired hydrogel is placed on a wound, the adhesive will suck up water from the wound’s blood and instantly cure to form a solid film. This curing process would allow the patient to move more freely, as the film would be able to stick to the wound without fracturing under stress.

Features

Marian Anderson Collection, Newly Digitized by the Penn Libraries: Now Accessible Online

caption: Marian Anderson performing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. Photo Courtesy Kislak Center for Special Collections

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has completed the digitization of more than 2,500 items from the collection of Marian Anderson, one of the most celebrated singers of the 20th century. The body of primary sources in the collection—including letters, diaries, journals, interviews, recital programs, and private recordings—spans the Philadelphia-born contralto’s six-decade career as a concert singer and advocate for social justice.

The digitization project was funded in 2018 by a $110,000 grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources. The newly digitized materials complement a significant collection of 4,000 hotographs, which are also publicly accessible (Almanac March 20, 2018).

“Marian Anderson achieved worldwide renown as a singer while breaking racial barriers in the United States, and the Penn Libraries is honored to serve as custodian of her archival legacy,” said Constantia Constantinou, H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. “Through Anderson’s digitized collection, scholars and students worldwide can discover and reflect on her life and career and further illuminate her social, cultural, and historical impact.”

Marian Anderson (1897–1993) was born and raised in Philadelphia, with close ties to the community. Best known as an interpreter of art songs and spirituals, Ms. Anderson performed in diverse venues throughout her career, from schools and community centers to formal concert stages.

A world-renowned recitalist, Ms. Anderson was also a high-profile figure in the fight for Civil Rights. After having been denied permission by the Daughters of the American Revolution to perform for an integrated audience in Constitution Hall, Ms. Anderson famously performed an open-air concert for 75,000 people on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Additionally, in 1955, she was the first Black singer to perform in a lead role on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera.

caption: A photo from the Penn Libraries' collection of Marian Anderson, circa 1920. Photo Courtesy Kislak Center for Special Collections

Ms. Anderson officially retired from the stage in 1965. Ms. Anderson’s life and career continues to be celebrated and studied by a diverse group of learners from schoolchildren to musicologists and social historians. To facilitate the work of teachers, students, and researchers, the Penn Libraries created a research portal, Discovering Marian Anderson, that offers resources for study at all levels.

“The release of this portal will allow researchers to not only freely access digital materials online, but will also ensure Marian Anderson’s story can be explored within the greater context of 400 years of African American history,” noted David McKnight, director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. For example, the newly digitized content will be disseminated through University of Minnesota’s Umbra Search African American History, which links almost 800,000 digital items from over 1,000 archival resources.

April James, reader services librarian at the Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center, has introduced students to Marian Anderson’s work both at the college and elementary levels. “This study portal will make it easier to access her legacy than ever before,” said Ms. James. “I hope students gain a newfound respect for the challenging realities of Marian Anderson’s career. Like countless other Black artists and writers of her time, she negotiated segregation at home and freedom abroad. Music allowed her to transcend these barriers and help her audiences see the possibility of a more inclusive future.”

The website simplifies the discovery of the digital content through finding aids and browseable listings of scrapbooks, notebooks, diaries, photographs, interviews, and recordings.

The completed digitization work has already enabled further exploration of Ms. Anderson’s daily life and reflections as a concert singer: Penn Libraries staff have transcribed more than 1,500 pages of her handwritten diaries, notebooks, and letters, so that users will be able to search them by keyword.

“I rightly anticipated that I would find a lot about her domestic and international travels, since she performed around the world,” said Andrea Nuñez, a Penn Libraries archival photographer who has been working to transcribe Ms. Anderson’s journals, “but I was surprised to also learn that she worked as a State Department Goodwill Ambassador and delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. I imagine that the transcribed journals highlighting her governmental work will open up further opportunities to understand the significance of her role during a tumultuous time in history.”

The Marian Anderson collection is housed in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, and it is jointly curated by the Libraries’ Curator of Manuscripts and Music Librarian. The collection includes Ms. Anderson’s personal archives, which she donated to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries (Almanac April 12, 1977) before her death in 1993, and additional donations from her nephew and Penn alumnus, James DePriest, and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

caption: Marian Anderson in performance. Photo Courtesy Kislak Center for Special Collections

Events

The Role of Federal Dollars to Address Unprecedented State and Local Needs

Penn IUR and the Volcker Alliance are hosting a webinar July 29, 10 a.m. on the federal role in helping US states and municipalities cope with the massive economic and societal disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Congress has already agreed to provide $2 trillion to help states, cities, and counties battle unemployment and the direct public health costs of COVID-19, the amount is likely to prove insufficient. Over the next two years, state and municipal budgets may be burdened with as much as $1 trillion in revenue shortfalls. With states and municipalities employing 22 million Americans and accounting for almost a fifth of the nation’s GDP, these budgetary shortfalls pose a dire threat to the American economy.

Moderated by Susan Wachter, Penn IUR Co-Director, and William Glasgall, Penn IUR Fellow and Senior Vice President and Director of State and Local Initiatives at the Volcker Alliance, the discussion will feature presentations by:

  • Thomas DiNapoli, Comptroller, New York State;
  • Michael Nutter, former Philadelphia Mayor;  
  • Fitzroy Lee, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Economist, Washington, DC;
  • Nicholas Johnson, Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy, Center for Budget and Policy Priorities;
  • Stephen Kreisberg, Director of Research and Collective Bargaining, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees;
  • Donald Boyd, Co-Director, Project on State and Local Government Finance, SUNY Albany;
  • Marcia Howard, Executive Director, Federal Funds Information for States; and
  • Marcia Van Wagner, Vice President—Senior Credit Officer, State Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service.

Register at https://penniur.upenn.edu/events/the-role-of-federal-dollars-to-address-unprecedented-state-and-local-needs

Update: Summer AT PENN

Children’s Activities

Penn Museum
7/31    Summer Exploration Kit: Ancient Engineering and Modern Cities; summer camp activities from home; register: www.penn.museum/calendar/469/summer-exploration-kit
8/4     Global Voyagers: Destination Egypt!; digital journey to Egypt; 11 a.m.; www.penn.museum/calendar/466/global-voyagers

Conferences

7/30    Rain: Adaptation: An Evolving Innovation Ecosystem; 1:30-3:30 p.m.; register: https://sciencecenter.org/engage/rain-2020 (Science Center).

Fitness & Learning

7/29    Admissions Webinar—Accelerated Nursing Programs; virtual information session; noon; RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/y6byz3y8 (Nursing).
8/3     Between the Lines: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi; book club meetings; 5:30 p.m.; $5/three meetings; info: www.penn.museum/calendar/435/between-the-lines (Penn Museum). Also August 17, 24.

Liberal and Professional Studies
8/3    Penn Summer Coding Camp for High School Students; build websites and games while gaining foundational programming and problem-solving skills; info: www.sas.upenn.edu/summer/programs/high-school/coding-camp Through August 21.
8/4    Master of Environmental Studies Virtual Café; noon; info: www.upenn.edu/lps-events
         Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science Virtual Information Session; 5:30 p.m.; info: https://lpsonline.sas.upenn.edu/events

Talks

7/29    Comparing National Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis; several speakers; 4 p.m.; register: https://tinyurl.com/yxqd5jgy (Law).
7/30    Philadelphia Bar Association Public Interest Brown Bag Series: Policy and Impact Litigation; panel discussion; noon; register: https://tinyurl.com/y39xydxm (Law).
         Loading Protocols and Treatment Decisions for Single Teeth in the Esthetic Zone; Jeffrey Ganeles, South Florida Center for Periodontics and Implant Dentistry; 6 p.m.; register: https://tinyurl.com/y5dtl8oc (Dental).

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AT PENN Deadlines 

The Summer AT PENN calendar is online. The deadline to submit virtual events to be featured in an issue Update is the Monday of the prior week.

 

caption: Join the Penn Museum crew for a digital journey to Egypt on August 4. Examine art of the pharaohs to decipher their ancient codes of communication. Discover what mummies don’t take with them to the Afterlife. Follow along with an ancient story that explains why mummies are wrapped.

Crimes

Weekly Crime Reports

University of Pennsylvania Police Department Crime Report

Below are the Crimes Against Persons, Crimes Against Society and Crimes Against Property from the campus report for July 13-19, 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 July 13-19, 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.

07/14/20

9:16 PM

3900 Walnut St

Complainant threatened by male

07/15/20

6:16 PM

3400 Spruce St

Employee assaulted by patient

07/15/20

10:32 PM

4250 Chestnut St

Checks cancelled after payment

07/17/20

12:25 AM

3400 Spruce St

Patient causing disturbance

07/17/20

5:44 PM

4200 Locust St

Items taken from vehicle

07/17/20

4:00 AM

4000 Market St

Unknown person shot complainant twice in the leg

07/18/20

1:39 PM

4200 Market St

Unknown offender stole vehicle

 

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 4 incidents (1 aggravated assault and 3 assaults) were reported for July 13-19, 2020 by the 18th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th Street & Market Street to Woodland Avenue.

07/15/20

3:46 PM

4500 Baltimore Ave

Assault

07/15/20

10:07 PM

3400 Spruce St

Assault

07/17/20

12:49 AM

3400 Spruce St

Assault

07/17/20

4:03 AM

4000 Market St

Aggravated Assault

Bulletins

Please Share Almanac

Like the last few months’ issues, this edition of Almanac is digital-only. Please distribute to your colleagues and encourage them to subscribe to receive the E-Almanac by visiting https://almanac.upenn.edu/express-almanac The email will include links to the newly posted material. 

No issues were printed to distribute across campus because of COVID-19. Almanac is distributed electronically each Tuesday.

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