September 28, 2021 Volume 68 Issue 7

Penn Medicine and the Wistar Institute have been awarded a prestigious $11.7 million Specialized Programs of Research Excellence, or SPORE, grant from the National Cancer Institute. The five-year award will fund three new melanoma research projects that translate fundamental laboratory discoveries made in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Wistar Institute into new therapeutics to treat skins cancers.

The grant also includes a career enhancement program focused on training and retaining underrepresented minorities in skin cancer research, and a pilot award program that will expand research into non-melanoma skin cancer.

The SPORE team at Penn and Wistar will carry on a long tradition of developing new treatments for skin cancer with the grant, which follows a previous SPORE grant awarded to the institutions in 2014. With extensive support from the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) and the Tara Miller Melanoma Research Center, the team developed new expertise and resources, including a tissue specimen core with more than 11,000 banked specimens, that helped secure the new SPORE grant.

Ravi K. Amaravadi, an associate professor of hematology-oncology in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and the co-leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program in the ACC, and Meenhard Herlyn, director of Wistar’s Melanoma Research Center and professor in the molecular & cellular oncogenesis program in Wistar’s Cancer Center, will serve as the co-directors of the SPORE projects.

“Our long-standing team approach to science and new therapies has been recognized by the NCI once again with this new SPORE grant. We can now expand on this collaboration—which has already led to important developments in melanoma,” Dr. Amaravadi said. “From new fundamental insights about how skin cancer escapes treatments to new treatment options for patients, these projects—and the people leading them—are at the cutting edge of translational medicine, and are entirely focused on improving the health of our patients.” 

“Despite dramatic improvement brought about by immunotherapy, we still have major challenges for the majority of patients and new approaches are urgently needed,” Dr. Herlyn said. “Building on major breakthroughs by our team, we are poised to address crucial unanswered questions to improve immunotherapy response and identify new biomarkers to inform patient management and reduce therapy toxicity.”

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and the fifth deadliest form of cancer overall. According to NCI statistics, more than 100,000 new cases of melanoma will occur in 2021 in the U.S. alone. The incidence of melanoma and other skin cancers, such as Merkel cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, are rising both nationally and regionally. If caught early, skin cancer is considered treatable; however, when these cancers metastasize, they are especially deadly.

Other Penn faculty involved with the project include Wei Guo, the Class of 1965 Endowed Term Chair in Biology; Xiaowei Xu, a professor of pathology and dermatology; Phyllis Gimotty, a professor of biostatistics and epidemiology; Giorgos Karakousis, an associate professor of surgery; Gregory Beatty, an associate professor of medicine, Tara Mitchell, an associate professor of medicine; Lynn Schuchter, chief of hematology-oncology and director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center; and E. John Wherry, chair of the department of systems pharmacology and translational therapeutics.

Other Wistar faculty on the team include professor David W. Speicher, associate professor Jessie Villanueva, and assistant professor Andrew Kossenkov, all from the Wistar Institute Cancer Center.

Penn Dental Medicine has named Bruce Brandolin Assistant Dean of Intramural Practice and External Partnerships. His appointment to this new post is effective October 15.

In this role, Dr. Brandolin will direct operations for the Penn Dental Family Practice, the two multispecialty, community dental practices of Penn Dental Medicine, and will facilitate and manage other strategic partnerships. 

“Dr. Brandolin brings a depth of experience in both academics and clinical practice,” said Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean, Mark S. Wolff. “His unique perspective will help ensure a supportive environment for our care providers and the highest standard of care for our patients.”

Dr. Brandolin comes to Penn Dental Medicine from New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry, where he has served on the faculty since 2005, most recently as a clinical associate professor in the department of cariology and comprehensive care. For the past 11 years, he has overseen predoctoral clinical activities as a group practice director. There, he not only managed the education of dental and hygiene students, but also maintained clinic productivity and efficiency by mentoring and supervising faculty, managers, and staff. As clinic director, he developed workflow and protocols to enhance scheduling, patient interactions, and student experiences.

In addition to being a co-investigator in various research endeavors at NYU Bluestone Center for Clinical Research, he has presented both nationally and internationally on topics specific to general dental care and authored papers on related topics as well. At the NYU College of Dentistry, Dr. Brandolin has served on a variety of committees, including the Executive Management Council and the Revenue Cycle Audit Committee, in addition to serving on the executive boards of OKU and the Alumni Association. He has been recognized by both faculty and student councils for teaching awards and is a multi-year recipient of the Dean’s Honor Award.

Concurrent to his engagement at NYU, he has maintained a private practice in general dentistry in Eastchester, NY, for the past 37 years.  Dr. Brandolin holds a DDS degree from NYU College of Dentistry and also completed a general practice residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Bronx Municipal Hospital Center.

Eileen Lake has been named the Edith Clemmer Steinbright Professor in Gerontology, effective September 1, 2021.   

Dr. Lake is a professor of nursing and sociology and associate director of Penn Nursing’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR). She is an international leader in the theory and methods of nursing systems research. She developed the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, a foundational measure of nursing care performance to demonstrate nursing’s impact on patient outcomes.  She led national and international investigations that study how nurse satisfaction and working conditions can impact patient care quality, specifically patient safety, and satisfaction. Her work nationally with the staffing in magnet hospitals contributed to U.S. News & World Report adding magnet status as a criterion in its “America’s Best Hospitals” designation. With so many hospital patients being older adults, this work has proven to be invaluable. Most recently, Dr. Lake has developed a line of inquiry on hospital response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts on staff nurses and racial and ethnic minority patients. Older adults, many affected by the pandemic, will benefit from this research as well.  

Dr. Lake teaches an undergraduate course that integrates research methods with evidence-based practice and another that compares the health systems of the U.S. and Chile. As associate director of CHOPR, she co-directs an interdisciplinary research and training program, mentors pre- and post-doctoral students, and supervises undergraduate students as research assistants.  

The Edith Clemmer Steinbright Chair of Gerontology was established by Marilyn Steinbright in 1996 in memory of her mother, Edith Clemmer Steinbright, co-founder of the Arcadia Foundation.  

Following a national search, Penn Dental Medicine has named new leadership within its Office of Admissions, recruiting Mark Mitchell as assistant dean of admissions and Brian Hahn as director of admissions, effective November 1 and October 1, respectively. Both bring extensive experience in dental school admissions to their new posts. 

“We are eager to welcome both Mark and Brian to our Penn Dental Medicine community,” said Mark S. Wolff, Penn Dental Medicine’s Morton Amsterdam Dean. “I believe they will be a strong team and great resources for both our prospective and current students.”

With 29 years of experience in the field, Mr. Mitchell comes to Penn Dental Medicine from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Dentistry, where, since 2003, he has served as an associate professor and the associate dean for admissions and student affairs. As associate dean, he has been responsible for the areas of recruitment, retention, admissions, student life, registration and enrollment, and diversity and inclusion efforts. Before his time at OHSU, Mr. Mitchell served as director of recruitment and evaluation in the University of Southern California (USC) School of Dentistry’s Office of Admissions and Student Affairs. Mr. Mitchell started his career in that office as an admissions representative. At OHSU, he has been active on numerous committees in both the School of Dentistry and the University. 

Brian Hahn is coming to Penn Dental Medicine from Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University, where he has served as director of admissions since 2003. During his time at Temple, Mr. Hahn has managed admissions to Kornberg’s four-year DMD program, its advanced standing DMD program for students with international dental degrees, and its post-baccalaureate program. He also served as faculty advisor for Temple’s undergraduate Pre-Dental Health Society and Undergraduate Student National Dental Association (SNDA).  Before his post at Temple, Mr. Hahn worked as a certified expanded functions dental assistant from 1997 to 2003. 

Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Hahn succeed Olivia Sheridan and Corky Cacas, respectively. Dr. Sheridan, professor of clinical restorative dentistry, who served as assistant and then associate dean of admissions at Penn Dental Medicine since 2007, will continue teaching at Penn Dental Medicine. Ms. Cacas, who retired earlier this year after 26 years as director of admissions, is continuing to support Penn Dental’s Office of Admissions in a part-time role.  

The Models of Excellence Award Program celebrates the outstanding achievements of full- and part-time staff members and teams throughout the University’s schools and centers.

This fall, Penn’s long-standing recognition program will continue to highlight the best in staff commitment and achievement with the 2022 call for nominations. Nomination submissions will be accepted through October 29.

You can nominate individual Penn staff members and teams for an award in four categories:  

Models of Excellence Award—recognizes staff member accomplishments that reflect initiative, leadership, increased efficiency, and a deep commitment to service.

Model Supervisor Award—honors supervisors who are effective and productive leaders for the University.

Pillars of Excellence Award—recognizes the important support Penn’s weekly-paid staff members provide to promote the University’s mission.

Sustaining Penn Through COVID-19—This category was created in recognition of extraordinary staff efforts to continue education and research in the face of the pandemic.

Click here to read the digital Call for Nominations brochure.

The online nomination form and guide are available at www.hr.upenn.edu/models. You can also refer to the Quick Start Guide to Submitting a Models Nomination to make the process easier.

In all categories, award recipients each receive $500 and a symbolic award. Nominees selected for honorable mention receive $250 and a symbolic award. Awards will be announced and the honorees celebrated in the spring of 2022. The Models of Excellence Selection Committee bases their choices on the content of your nominations, so your nomination submissions are crucial. Learn how to submit a nomination that conveys the exceptional work of your colleagues by attending a virtual How to Write a Models of Excellence Nomination information session. Two sessions will be held on:

• Tuesday, September 28, 11 a.m.-noon
• Tuesday, October 12, 2-3 p.m.

Register at www.hr.upenn.edu/models-infosession.

Visit the Models of Excellence Program webpage or email models@hr.upenn.edu for more information.

—Division of Human Resources

Last year the University Research Foundation (URF) was temporarily suspended so that all funds could be directed to the Research Resumption Program, which helped faculty mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their research program. This year, Penn is resuming the URF, which provides seed funding for research activities that are expected to lead to external sponsorship and/or peer-reviewed research publications. 

Some changes to the program have been made for this year, including streamlining the application to make it easier for both applicants and reviewers. Only one URF cycle will be offered with a fall deadline of October 22. Note that although there will be only one cycle, there will not be a reduction to the amount of funding for the program. Due to the pandemic, Impact Seminars, which are designed to be large-scale multi-disciplinary events on campus, will not be offered this year. Three categories of grants are being offered: Research and Conference Support Grants; Research Opportunity Development Grants, Phase 1; and Research Opportunity Development Grants, Phase 2. 

Each program has its own guidelines and budget requirements. Details are below, and more information is available online at: https://research.upenn.edu/urf.

Research and Conference Support Grants

This program provides up to $50,000 for research support and up to $3,000 for conference support. (Please note that for the biomed panel full professors can only apply for conference support.) The objectives are to: (a) Help junior faculty undertake pilot projects that will enable them to successfully apply for extramural sources of funding and aid in establishing their careers as independent investigators; (b) Help established faculty perform novel, pioneering research to determine project feasibility and develop preliminary data to support extramural grant applications; (c) Provide support in disciplines where extramural support is difficult to obtain and where significant research can be facilitated with internal funding; and (d) Provide limited institutional matching funds that are required as part of a successful external peer-reviewed application. 

The Conference Support Program is designed to provide funding for meetings to enhance existing research and scholarly programs, particularly in disciplines where external funding is difficult to obtain. Conferences that promote interdisciplinary and multi-school participation are given priority. 

Research Opportunity Development Grants (RODG)

The Research Opportunity Development Grant program (Phase 1 and Phase 2) was designed to facilitate the intersection of the forward trajectory of Penn’s research frontiers with the trajectory of the national and global research priorities. RODG applications must include faculty from 2 or more disciplines and schools and should explicitly consider emerging research areas with new opportunities for support. Awards from these programs should be used to develop preliminary information and data for new and competitive applications to continue the research in these emerging research areas. The two programs are described below. 

Research Opportunity Development Grants: Phase 1

With an identified new research area in mind, Phase 1 grants provide up to $10,000 to enable a team to articulate a research focus, map Penn’s intellectual assets in the new area, coalesce the appropriate group of scholars, identify Penn’s potential contributions in the area in the context of national and international research initiatives and identify a funding target. 

Research Opportunity Development Grants: Phase 2

Phase 2 grants offer extensive support ($50,000-$200,000) over 2 years to enable specific outcomes in support of a multi investigator proposal in an emerging research topic in the context of national or international research initiatives or grand challenges from external sponsors in which Penn can stake out a leadership position. Applicants should identify their future funding opportunity targets in their research proposal. Activities include research workshops, preliminary studies with data, networking in the relevant research community, asset mapping, etc. Cost sharing for this grant will be viewed favorably.

Note that Phase II grants are not intended to support the development of proposals that respond to regular solicitations such as those for NIH RO1 grants or NSF Division programs.  Applications should identify future funding opportunity targets.

Disciplinary Areas

Faculty members are invited to submit their research applications to one of four disciplinary areas: Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Social Science and Management.

­—Office of the Vice Provost for Research

Lorraine Anne (McLaughlin) Murray, a former office manager of Penn’s Office of Transportation and Parking, died on September 10. She was 86. 

Born in South Philadelphia, Ms. Murray attended John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School. In 1955, she married Tech Sergeant Charles J. Murray, and for the next several years, they were stationed at several bases in the United States as he served in the Air Force. They traveled around the U.S., growing their family, until 1970, when Mr. Murray retired from the Air Force. 

In the 1980s, Ms. Murray began a career at Girard Bank in Philadelphia. In 1992, she came to Penn as the office manager of Penn Transportation and Parking, a position she held until retiring in 2008. After she retired, Ms. Murray continued working at the Office of Transportation and Parking on a temporary basis until 2010. In retirement, she also remained active with Saint Bernadette of Lourdes Parish in Drexel Hill and Saint Kevin’s Pioneers senior group, where she served as vice president.

Ms. Murray is survived by her children, Barbara DiLossi (Joe), Eileen Burrows (Greg), Robert Murray (Mary), and Dennis Murray (Carol); eight grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. 

A remembrance of Ms. Murray’s life was held on September 16 and 17. 

Ken Steif, the former director of Penn’s Weitzman School of Design’s Master of Urban Spatial Analytics (MUSA) program, an associate professor of practice in the Weitzman School’s department of city and regional planning, and a well-loved neighborhood personality in Spruce Hill, passed away on September 3 after a long battle with cancer. He was 38. 

Born in Queens, New York, Dr. Steif moved to New Haven, Connecticut, with his family at a young age. His mother ran the historic Shubert Theatre in New Haven, and there he discovered a love for music and theater. After graduating from high school, he moved to Philadelphia to attend Temple University, where he studied and developed a passion for geography and urban studies. He graduated cum laude from Temple in 2004; then, five years later, he came to Penn to begin a master’s in urban spatial analytics, a degree he received in 2010. In 2015, he also received a PhD in city and regional planning from Penn. 

While working towards his PhD, Dr. Steif founded Urban Spatial, a consultant firm at the intersection of data science and public policy. There, Dr. Steif worked at the forefront of data-driven public policy, combining his technical knowledge of geographic information systems (GIS) and applied statistics with an interest in housing policy, child welfare, education, the economics of neighborhood change, transportation policy and more.

Between 2007 and 2011, Dr. Steif served as a research assistant and teaching assistant in various schools at Penn, and in 2011 he became a lecturer in the Weitzman School’s department of city planning. After receiving his PhD, Dr. Steif founded the Master of Urban Spatial Analytics program, which taught students how to put coding to use in urban planning and public policy and which has become one of the top data science programs in the country. His vision was for students to use data to develop technology and governance solutions capable of tackling today’s most complex and pressing public policy problems. In his tenure as MUSA director, Dr. Steif shifted the program’s emphasis from GIS to civic technology, enabling students to develop technology and governance solutions to solve complex public policy problems.

“His work centered around this idea that so many people out there can do analytics, but it’s a better challenge to do it for public policy,” said Ben Dodson, a student in the MUSA program. “Public policy doesn’t get as much attention as Silicon Valley. But it’s using all the same tools to figure out the best way to do these things [in a public sector context] with limited resources.”

Dr. Steif published his research in a series of friendly and accessible articles on the Urban Spatial website. In 2021, he published a groundbreaking book, Public Policy Analytics: Code & Context for Data Science in Government. The book, which Dr. Steif made available for free online, enables readers to build public-sector analytics in R, ranging from simple maps and indicators to complex machine learning algorithms. Allison Lassiter, Dr. Steif’s colleague in the department of city and regional planning, said, “there is no better guide to data science in the public realm!”

Outside of Penn, Dr. Steif was active in his neighborhood, serving on the board of the Spruce Hill Community Association and advocating for the preservation of Victorian town homes in the area. “He was one of most multi-dimensional people I’ve ever met,” said Michael Fichman, Dr. Steif’s longtime collaborator, colleague at the Weitzman School, friend, and neighbor. “Not only was he a scholar and a leader in his professional field, but he also was a talented musician who threw DJ nights across West Philly. He was the center of a bunch of social universes, and he was well-loved by many communities.” 

Dr. Steif is survived by his wife, Diana Owens Steif; two sons, Emil and Malcolm Steif; his mother, Caroline Werth; father, Paul Steif; and brother, Dan Steif and family. He was buried on September 9 in Woodland Cemetery, 50 feet from a community garden plot that he and his wife Diana had tended. 

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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.

The following is published in accordance with the Faculty Senate Rules. Among other purposes, the publication of SEC actions is intended to stimulate discussion among the constituencies and their representatives. Please communicate your comments 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 Actions
Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Welcome and Introductions. Faculty Senate Chair Bill Braham welcomed the members of the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) and offered a brief review of the Senate and its structure. He indicated that the responsibility of SEC is to be the central mechanism for input and feedback between faculty and Penn leaders. He urged SEC members to serve as conduits for communication between the Standing Faculty and the Senate leadership. A full roster of SEC members is available on the Senate’s website (https://facultysenate.upenn.edu/). In particular, the “Tri-Chairs” including Bill Braham (Chair), Vivian Gadsden (Chair-Elect), and Kathleen Hall Jamieson (Past Chair) work in concert and arrive at decisions by consensus. 

Structure and Function of Senate Committees. Each of the standing Senate committees was proposed a common charge: “Address systemic racism and other forms of inequity by assessing and evaluating ways to change University structures, practices, and biases at the University, school, departmental, and individual levels. Examples include eligibility for leadership roles, differential standards for faculty evaluation based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information, department-level voting privileges, biases implicit in quantitative methods for evaluating faculty, evaluation of effectiveness of campus mental health and wellness programs.”

Discussion and vote on draft Charges for Senate Standing Committees, 2021-2022. The specific charges of the Faculty Senate standing committees were finalized.

Follow-Up to Sept. 1 Faculty Senate Seminar on Return-to-Classroom and -Campus Issues. A recap was given of activities the Tri-Chairs took regarding return-to-classroom concerns by faculty members, of which an archive can be found on this page. 

The Tri-Chairs facilitated a survey to Standing Faculty members between September 13-20, 2021, relating to return-to-classroom experiences for instructors and other questions related to COVID-19 issues. A response rate of 18.4% of Standing Faculty was achieved. The use of listservs to extend invitations for survey participation to other instructional staff (including but not limited to Associated Faculty and Academic Support Staff) was requested of the Provost’s Office, but they are planning a follow up to their pandemic survey from last fall and want to avoid over-surveying faculty. A preliminary analysis performed by the Tri-Chairs was shared with SEC members and members of the University administration, including the President’s Office and Provost’s Office. It was also shared with The Daily Pennsylvanian. 

Some preliminary findings included the following. (1) One percent of respondents had requested medical exemptions and one percent for accommodations through schools. (2 Faculty respondents with a child or children not enrolled in full-day primary school or with a child or children in after-school care (N=73) indicated that pandemic-related childcare needs could affect their ability to deliver the quality of classroom instruction they have delivered pre-COVID in-person semesters. (3) The majority of respondents indicated it would not be difficult to pivot to online teaching if required of them. (4) About 26% of respondents indicated they would prefer to teach exclusively online. (5) Faculty respondents felt that the school-level accommodations processes were not, generally speaking, equitable across schools. (6) On a scale of 0 (not at all safe) to 10 (very safe), a mean score of 6.6 was reported with respect to how safe respondents felt when they were teaching in-person during the week of the survey. 

Discussion with Members of the Consultative Committee on the Selection of a President:  Identifying Strategic Priorities for the University and Recommended Strengths and Experiences for the New President. SEC members engaged in a discussion with faculty representatives of the Consultative Committee.

Resolution from CIRCE: The Faculty Senate Select Committee on the Institutional Response to the Climate Emergency. CIRCE voted in support of a resolution at its meeting on September 15, 2021, and forwarded the resolution to SEC for its consideration.  SEC members were requested to share the resolution with their constituents and gather feedback on whether the SEC representative should vote to endorse the resolution.  A copy of the resolution draft before SEC may be requested by any Standing Faculty member by contacting their SEC representative or the Senate Office directly. SEC will vote on the resolution at a future meeting.

Faculty Senate Seminar:  Faculty Research Opportunities in the Climate Emergency. At 4 p.m. ET, a Faculty Senate Seminar was held virtually and open to the public as part of Penn Climate Week 2021.  An archived recording of the presentation is available on the Climate Week website and on the Faculty Senate Seminar Series website.

The Executive Committee of the Trustees met on September 23, in-person and virtually.

Trustees Chair Scott Bok and Penn President Amy Gutmann delivered the Chair’s and President’s reports, respectively.

Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein presented a resolution proposing various faculty appointments and promotions across Penn’s schools. All were approved.

Senior Executive Vice President Craig R. Carnaroli delivered the financial report. Total net assets were $26.9 billion as of June 30, 2021, an increase of $7.4 billion, or 37.7% over June 30, 2020 and 35.2% above budget.

Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine J. Larry Jameson delivered the Penn Medicine Report.

Lee Spelman Doty, chair of the Audit & Compliance Committee, presented a resolution to approve the audited financial statements for fiscal year 2021. The resolution was approved.

Dhananjay M. Pai, chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, presented resolutions to authorize the purchase of property at 217 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, PA, for $20.3 million; and to install a cross-tie and extension of the existing 34th Street chilled water line, at a cost of $9.8 million. Both resolutions were approved.

Trustees chair Scott L. Bok presented a resolution to appoint Dhananjay M. Pai as a term member of the Penn Medicine Board and as a member of its Executive Committee. The resolution was approved.

The next Trustees meetings will be held on Thursday and Friday, November 4-5, 2021.

During the September University Council meeting on September 21, 2021, held via BlueJeans, President Amy Gutmann welcomed everyone back to campus. She stated that Penn’s in-person had held Convocation in August welcomed the University’s most accomplished and diverse yet class of new students and transfers. President Gutmann announced that in-person teaching and research is going smoothly thanks in part to vaccination and testing efforts.

Interim Provost Beth Winkelstein welcomed three leaders in the Provost’s Center: Karen Detlefsen, vice provost for education; Alanna Shanahan, T. Gibbs Kane, Jr., W’69, Director of Athletics and Recreation; and Whitney Soule, vice provost and dean of admissions.

Amalia Dache, associate professor in the higher education division at GSE, was appointed moderator. Scott Schafer, chief university privacy officer, is the new parliamentarian. The Council discussed focus issues for the academic year as well as its council committee charges for 2021-2022. 

Council Open Forum sessions this academic year will take place on December 1, 2021 and February 23, 2022. Programs for 2021-2022’s academic theme year, the ongoing Year of Civic Engagement, were also discussed.

Visit the University Council website at https://secretary.upenn.edu/univ-council.

Download the October AT PENN calendar as a PDF or visit the online version at https://almanac.upenn.edu/at-penn-calendar/october-at-penn-2021.

ICA presents a new series, Outside In, that will visually transform ICA’s 36th Street façade, a space that has a distinct presence, to be experienced both by passersby from the vantage of the street and by visitors within ICA’s ramp space gallery. With each iteration, ICA will select from an interdisciplinary range of artists, poets, and designers and invite them to collaborate with Maharam—a forward-thinking textile company based in New York known for their innovative graphic wall installations and commitment to design. Each commission will provide the invited artist with the opportunity to work with Maharam’s unique materials and production expertise to create a site-specific artwork that welcomes publics from multiple vantage points and animates ICA’s building in unexpected ways.

To launch the Outside In series with Maharam, ICA has invited the conceptually-driven graphic designer Na Kim, who works between Seoul and Berlin. Known for her use of bold colors, shapes, and patterns inspired by everyday life, her work often expands beyond the page and into the creation of dynamic installations and environments. Na Kim studied with legendary Dutch designer Karel Martens at the Werkplaats Typografie and since 2016 has been a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI). From 2009 to 2011, she was responsible for the concept and design of GRAPHIC magazine and has exhibited her work at venues including MMCA and SeMA, Seoul; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; MoMA, New York; and the Triennale Milano, Milan.

Maharam Digital Projects is a division within Maharam that produces large-scale wall installations and has recently developed an innovative technology to cover glass. They have worked closely with artists such as Spencer Finch, Sarah Sze, Marilyn Minter, Liam Gillick, Teresita Fernández, Polly Apfelbaum, designers such as Hella Jongerius and Karel Martens, and fashion designers such as Paul Smith.

The Stories We Wear is a new exhibit on display in the Merle-Smith Galleries on the lower level of Penn Museum. The opening day celebration was held on Saturday, September 25.

“Museum work, at its core, is about telling stories,” said Christopher Woods, Williams Director of the Penn Museum. The displays illuminate the stories of human experience and help make anthropology and archeology accessible to everyone. 

The Stories We Wear is organized into five themes: work and play, battle, performance, ceremony, and rule. Objects on display include clothing, jewelry, uniforms, regalia, and tattoos. Among the 250 objects, visitors can see the coral-beaded Hubert de Givenchy gown worn by Grace Kelly, High Serene Princess Grace of Monaco; a Philadelphia Eagles uniform loaned to the museum by retired Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin; the velvet merlot gown worn by contralto Marian Anderson; and a theatrical ensemble worn by 2018 Drag Queen of the Year Eric Jaffe in Thweeney Todd: The Flaming Barber of Fleek Street.

Learn ancient history from drag queen “archaeologists” Eric Jaffe and Lili St. Queer during an after-hours musical theater comedy tour every Thursday evening in October, entitled Eric and Lili’s Night at the Museum. It will include an interactive walking tour of the galleries, live musical theater, dance, and comedy for mature audiences only. Those who attend can view The Stories We Wear and Eric Jaffe’s theatrical emsemble before each performance.

General admission to Eric and Lili’s Night at the Museum is $35 and tickets can be purchased at https://www.penn.museum/events/adult-programs/pm-pm.

Fitness & Learning

29        Thouron Award Information Session for Graduate Study in the UK; learn about a program with which current Penn seniors and recent alumni can study in the United Kingdom; 2 p.m.; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/thouron-info-sept-29 (Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships).

30        OurPlan in YourNeighborhood: Using Technology to Engage and Educate Changing Communities; learn about a free, open-source, web-based technology that uses videos and surveys to teach and engage communities around their neighborhood’s land use issues; noon; upper gallery, Meyerson Hall; register: https://tinyurl.com/ourplan-sept-30 (Historic Preservation).

Graduate School of Education (GSE)
Online and in-person events. Info and to register: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/events-calendar.

28        How to Write a Models of Excellence Nomination; 11 a.m.; online.

29        Estate Planning with MetLife; 11:30 a.m.; online.

30        Welcome Back Outdoor Yoga Class; noon; Shoemaker Green.

            Time and Energy Management: Ideas for Sustainable Life Balance; 12:30 p.m.

            Grad School Fair: Idealist Fair; 5-8 p.m.

School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2)
In-person events. Info and to register: https://www.sp2.upenn.edu/sp2-events/month/2021-09/.

28        MSSP Ice Cream Social; 4 p.m.; courtyard, Caster Building.

29        Pop-Up Graduate Student Center; 2:30 p.m.; courtyard, Caster Building.

Readings & Signings

Kelly Writers House
Online and in-person events. Info: http://writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/0921.php.

28        Zine Workshop led by Dre Grigoropol; 6 p.m.

Talks

28        Artist Talk About Fields of Transformation; Claudy Jongstra, artist; noon; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/jongstra-talk-sept-28 (Penn Libraries).

            What is Happening in Cuba?: Perspectives on the Current Situation after the Protests on July 11; panel of speakers; 4:30 p.m.; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/lals-talk-sept-28 (LALS).

29        Strongly Driven Quantum Materials; David Hsieh, Caltech; 3:30 p.m.; Zoom meeting; join: https://tinyurl.com/hsieh-talk-sept-29 (Physics and Astronomy).

            Dana Tomlin: A Celebration of a Life Visualizing Complex Information; panel of speakers; 5 p.m.; Zoom meeting; register: https://tinyurl.com/tomlin-celebration-sept-29 (Weitzman School).

30        Ultrafast Raman Spectroscopic Probes of Chemical Reaction Mechanisms; Renee Frontiera, University of Minnesota; 1 p.m.; Carol Lynch Lecture Hall, Chemistry Complex; info: rvargas@sas.upenn.edu (Chemistry).

            Africana Dantes 2021: Creative Responses to the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321); Herman Beavers, English; 6 p.m.; Class of 1942 Garden, Kelly Writers House; register: https://tinyurl.com/beavers-talk-sept-30 (Africana Studies).

Annenberg School for Communication
Online events. Info and to register: https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/events.

30        Theory in a Global Context; Tarek El-Ariss, Dartmouth; 5:30 p.m.

Biology
Online events. Info and to register: https://www.bio.upenn.edu/events.

30        Ocean Epidemics From Foundation to Keystone Species; Drew Harvell, Cornell; 4 p.m.

Economics
Location TBA. Info and to register: https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/events.

28        The Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Pharmaceutical Prices, Utilization and the Direction of Innovation; Zhemin Yuan, economics; noon.

29        Specialization in a Knowledge Economy; Yueyuan Ma, economics; noon.

            Competing Platforms and Transport Equilibrium: Evidence from New York City; Nicola Rosaia, Harvard; 3:30 p.m.

            The End of Privilege: A Reexamination of the Net Foreign Asset Position of the United States; Jonathan Heathcote, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; 4 p.m.

History of Art
In-person events. Info: https://arth.sas.upenn.edu/calendar/month/2021-09.

30        Manifold Meanings: Indigenous Art and Perspectives; panel of speakers; 6 p.m.

Mathematics
In-person events. Info: https://www.math.upenn.edu/events.

28        Wilson Loop Expectations As Sums Over Surfaces in 2D; Minjae Park, MIT; 3:30 p.m.; room A1, DRL.

29        What is Model-Theoretic Algebra? Deirdre Haskell, McMaster University; 3:45 p.m.; room A4, DRL.

30        Graph Systoles, Torus Representations, and Positive Curvature; Lee Kennard, Syracuse University; 5:15 p.m.; room 4C8, DRL.

Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)
In-person events. Info: https://events.seas.upenn.edu/calendar/tag/mse/list/. 

30        Microstructural Design Principles for Achieving Stable Electrochemical Interfaces for Metal Anodes; David Mitlin, UT Austin; 12:30 p.m.

Sociology
In-person events. Info and to register: https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/events.

30        Intergenerational Education Mobility of Asian Americans in the Pre-Civil Rights Era; Ziyao Tian, Princeton; 9:30 a.m.; room 367, McNeil Building.

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AT PENN Deadlines 

The October AT PENN calendar is now online. The deadline for the November AT PENN is Monday, October 11.

Professional and Personal Development Programs

Open to faculty and staff. Register at http://knowledgelink.upenn.edu/

Leadership Awareness - Supporting the Emotional Well-Being of Your Team; 10/5; 12:30 p.m. –1:30 p.m.; free. This training focuses on the role of the supervisor in the EAP referral process. The EAP is an effective, preventive resource for employees whose work performance is being impacted by personal problems. The training reviews the basics of the EAP, including making referrals, techniques for reaching out to staff with support, and dealing with the different reactions employees may exhibit when they are approached.

The Work Happiness Method Workshop Series Session 1; 10/6; 1 p.m.–2 p.m.; free. Join positive psychology expert and executive coach Stella Grizont in a seven-week series called The Work Happiness Method. Each week Stella will teach you a new inner skill to help you not only cope with transition back, but to help you thrive moving forward. The program will help you feel more positive, in control, and purposeful at work and in life.

How to Write a Models of Excellence Nomination; 10/12; 2 p.m.–3 p.m.; free. Do you work with someone who shows special initiative or demonstrates outstanding leadership? Have you noticed that a colleague or team excels at fostering workplace collaboration or shows an especially deep commitment to service? If so, then recognize them as a Model of Excellence. The Selection Committee depends on the content of the nominations to make its decisions. Therefore, nominations submitted should be as detailed and descriptive as possible in order to convey a nominee’s exceptional performance. Be sure to attend this workshop and learn about how best to write your nomination!

The Gift of Feedback; 10/20; 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m.; free. Feedback can be an amazing gift that helps improve performance, but many managers feel challenged by giving and receiving feedback.  In this session managers will learn how to frame feedback as a gift that creates productive dialog and improved performance.  Additionally, we will cover how managers can solicit feedback from staff in order to become a more effective leader.

Assertiveness Skills; 10/27; 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.; free. You may experience situations when you need to be assertive to complete a task, goal or project. In this class, we will identify personal blocks to assertiveness, identify both assertive and non-assertive language and behaviors, and learn ways to use assertiveness in everyday situations.

Work-Life Workshops

Open to faculty and staff. Register at www.hr.upenn.edu/registration

Virtual 30-Minute Guided Meditation; 10/1; noon–12:30 p.m.; free. Meditation, quite simply, is training your attention. In an age of distraction, especially this past year, this becomes a very important skill if we are to maintain focus, mental acuity, and develop emotional intelligence. This meditation is guided to encourage spaciousness and stability in your life. It may be the most worthwhile 30 minutes of your day! Also October 8, 15, 22, 29.  

Mindfulness and Anxiety; 10/6; 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m.; free. In this experiential workshop, you’ll see, feel and practice how mindfulness can help you to improve your ability to reduce anxiety. Participants will learn how to be intentional, stay present, observe our thoughts, and manage our feelings. Participants will enjoy learning how to let go of negative emotions in favor of more positive emotions like courageousness, acceptance, and peace. No prior meditation or mindfulness experience necessary. Bring a journal and pen.

Virtual 30-Minute Chair Yoga Plus Core; 10/11; noon–12:30 p.m.; free. Start your week off right! This offering consists of moves you can do to tone your abdominals, lengthen your spine, and strengthen your entire torso region. Chair Yoga + Core consists of moves you can do to tone your abdominals, lengthen your spine, and strengthen your entire torso region. Many activities depend on a strong core, from the simple act of bending to put on shoes to the most athletic endeavors. Chair yoga for the core helps you learn to engage your abdominals correctly. With the abdominals engaged, you’ll find a natural lift and length without having to force anything. In just 30 minutes, beginners and those who regularly exercise can learn at their desk. Also October 18, 25.

Mindfully Moving Through Change 4 Week Program; 10/14; 3 p.m.–4 p.m.; free. Mindfulness can help us to navigate through change with more poise, ease and self-care. This four-part series will introduce a framework to help participants to understand the process of change and learn mindfulness-based strategies that can assist them in navigating the change process more skillfully. Also October 14, 21, and 28, and November 4.

Balancing Work Life and Family; 10/19; 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m.; free. Balancing your work and home life can seem impossible in our busy world. Feelings of guilt and turmoil are stirred by the demands of work and home and the lack of personal time and time for family and friends. Through open discussion, this workshop outlines how to work toward attainable personal and professional goals, while reducing stress levels. It also offers effective workday tips for reducing discomfort and guilt, and successfully “keeping it all together.”

Chair Yoga; 10/20; noon-1 p.m.; free. Chair yoga is a more moderate form of yoga that’s done while sitting in a chair or using a chair for support. You get the same benefits of a regular yoga workout (like increased strength, flexibility, and balance) but you don’t have to master complex poses. Chair yoga can even better your breathing and teach you how to relax your mind and improve your well-being. Ready to give it a try? Join us for a free Chair Yoga workshop. And don’t worry about your experience or flexibility—chair yoga can be modified for all levels! This workshop will be led by Judith Glass from UPHS.

Guided Mindful Meditation; 10/21; noon–1 p.m.; free. This workshop is for participants to practice present moment awareness with kindness and compassion. Our practice will include guided meditation focusing on the breath, body awareness, mindful movement, and other practices to cultivate wellbeing for self and others. The workshop is appropriate for people new to mindfulness practice as well as more experienced practitioners. No experience necessary. All warmly welcome.

Mindfulness and Social Justice; 10/21; 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m.; free. Many of us are compelled to stand up for racial and social justice as the events in our city and throughout our country make it clear that without substantial change, great suffering continues. But how do we maintain equanimity and not succumb to helplessness in our efforts to bring about change? This workshop, led by Valerie Brown, will discuss how to use mindfulness to navigate these challenges. She will share her experience with mindfulness training through a social justice lens.

New and Expectant Parent Briefing; 10/22; 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m.; free. This is an introductory resource briefing designed for expectant parents and those who are new to parenting or child care. Participants will learn about local and university childcare and parenting resources including the lactation program, childcare locators, back-up care, adjusting to new schedules, flexible work options, and other topics. This session will also cover Penn’s time away from work policies including short-term disability, parental leave, and related sick leave and related policies.

Virtual 30-Minute Chair Yoga for Posture; 10/27; noon–12:30 p.m.; free. A chair-based stretching and strengthening class to sit upright with ease. Long hours of sitting can weaken the glutes, destabilize the pelvis, and lead to back pain. Learn simple techniques that may reduce discomfort and empower you right in your seat.

Penn Healthy You Workshops

Open to faculty and staff. Register at www.hr.upenn.edu/registration

Understanding Social Security with MetLife; 10/12; noon–1 p.m.; free. There are advantages to delaying Social Security. In this financial wellness workshop, you will learn about those advantages, the consequences of earned income, and how taxes can affect benefits. This financial workshop is sponsored by MetLife and led by Al Corrato, Jr. from Creative Financial Group.

Cooking Demonstration with Corporate Wellness Nutrition; 10/13; noon–1 p.m.; free. In honor of Work and Family Month, join a registered dietician from Corporate Wellness Nutrition for a family-friendly, healthy cooking demonstration! Two recipes will be demonstrated: Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese and Nutrient-Packed Popsicles. 

Monthly Wellness Walk - Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness; 10/14; noon–1 p.m.; free. Meet the team at noon on Woodland Walk, by College Hall and the Ben Franklin statue. The CPHI will lead you on a two-mile walk on/near campus to help you increase physical activity and steps, plus build community with participating Penn staff and faculty. Be sure to wear sneakers or comfortable shoes, bring water, and invite a colleague to join the celebration!  For our October walk, show your support with a Pink Out for breast cancer awareness and to encourage yearly breast exams for early detection.

Virgin Pulse Wellness Platform Demo; 10/20; noon–1 p.m.; free. Join us for a virtual live demonstration of the new Virgin Pulse wellness platform and information on the 2021-2022 Be in the Know campaign! During the demonstration, Virgin Pulse client success manager Leah Beckwith will walk participants through many aspects of the platform.

Middle Career - Expanding Your Household with PNC; 10/26; 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m.; free. Career advancement—and the increased income that comes with it—presents both new opportunities and responsibilities. In this workshop, we’ll discuss creating a spending plan, managing your credit history, and what to do if your identity is compromised. You’ll learn the stepping stones to buying your first home and how to make use of home equity products. We’ll also cover the financial aspects of an issue that confronts many mid-career adults: caring for elder parents.

—Division of Human Resources

The 2021 ITMAT Symposium will again enlist outstanding speakers from the U.S. and abroad to address topics of direct relevance to translational science. The theme this year will be “Translational Science in a Pandemic World.”

The event will be held virtually and is free to attend.

Dates: Monday and Tuesday, October 11–12, 2021

Registration is here: https://upenn.irisregistration.com/Site/itmat2021.

The Thomas W. Dunfee Distinguished Lecture Series in Ethics, sponsored by the Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at Wharton, has announced Kwame Anthony Appiah as the speaker on September 30, 2021. Dr. Appiah’s talk is titled Capitalism and the Social Good. This event will be held on Zoom beginning at 5:15 p.m.  

Registration is required: https://zicklincenter.wharton.upenn.edu/events-hq/a1W3a000003dL8eEAE/.

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 September 13-19, 2021. 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 September 13-19, 2021. The University Police actively patrol from Market St to Baltimore and from the Schuylkill River to 43rd St in conjunction with the Philadelphia Police. In this effort to provide you with a thorough and accurate report on public safety concerns, we hope that your increased awareness will lessen the opportunity for crime. For any concerns or suggestions regarding this report, please call the Division of Public Safety at (215) 898-4482.

18th District

Below are the Crimes Against Persons from the 18th District: 7 incidents (4 assaults, 1 aggravated assault, 1 robbery, and 1 rape) with 1 arrest were reported for September 13-19, 2021 by the 18^th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th St & Market St to Woodland Avenue.

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

In celebration of October’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), the Office of Information Security (OIS) presents several events for the campus community.

• October 8, OIS is offering a James Bond “No Time To Die” movie screening for students, preceded by a brief discussion on DMCA and Penn’s copyright policy. 
• October 14, Security Logging Q&A session to answer your questions, queries, or alerts on security logging on how to best use Splunk and other tools for data analysis.
• October 19 & 20, OIS will present at Ivy+ CyberFest, hosted online by Stanford University:
  • Ransomware–With ransomware hitting the news at regular intervals, it’s more important than ever to be aware of the risk and have a plan in place. (To fight ransomware, back up data regularly on offline digital storage. Install and run anti-virus software on all your devices and use two-step verification or two factor authentication when possible.)
  • Coordinating Phishing Response in a Decentralized University–A discussion of phishing incident response challenges and opportunities for future improvements.
  • Deconstruction of short segments/movies from “popular media” into a security awareness media presentation.
  • Ivy+ Chief Information Security Officers discussion panels led by Penn’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) on the information security challenges experienced by CISOs across Ivy+ universities.
• October 28, a panel with OIS staff and interns will discuss the information security internship program “Security Forward,” its requirements, experiences, and path to a career in information security.

For additional information about these activities and to register for the Ivy+ Cyberfest, please visit www.isc.upenn.edu/security/ncsam2021.

Information on secure backup best practices: https://www.isc.upenn.edu/security/backup.

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