May 30, 2023 Volume 69 Issue 36

Penn Medicine is launching a new community mental health hub at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania—Cedar Avenue (HUP Cedar), co-locating inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care with a new crisis response center (CRC) at the facility. The multi-year plan will put crucial psychiatric and substance use care in easy reach for west and southwest Philadelphia residents, at a time when both mental illness and drug and alcohol dependence are surging in the city.

The project will begin with moving inpatient psychiatric and drug and alcohol detoxification units from Penn Presbyterian Medical Center to HUP Cedar in July, followed by the opening of a new crisis response center at the facility later in the summer which is expected to provide an estimated 4,000 patient visits each year. The steps will create two comprehensive, fully integrated mental health hubs at Penn Medicine facilities in Philadelphia, offering emergency mental health services and inpatient and outpatient care at both HUP Cedar and Pennsylvania Hospital, which has operated a CRC since 1999. Together, Pennsylvania Hospital and HUP Cedar will have 73 licensed inpatient psychiatric beds and 16 beds for substance use treatment. Additional space at HUP Cedar will allow for expansion of coordinated services to further care for west and southwest Philadelphia communities over the next five years.

“The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the mental health crisis across the nation,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS). “As COVID recedes, we have a moral imperative to tackle this suffering in our communities. Providing easy access to care when people are in crisis changes—and saves—lives. We are committed to the investment and innovation needed to close the gaps in access to care and reverse the toll of mental health and substance use in Philadelphia.”

As one of the nation’s largest cities, Philadelphia’s mental health struggles are a microcosm of broader trends: A Pew Research Center survey from late 2022 reported that 41 percent of Americans—and nearly 60 percent of young adults—have experienced high levels of psychological distress at least once since the early stages of the pandemic. At the same time, more than two-thirds of Americans live in areas without sufficient psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. In Philadelphia, more than 20 percent of the city’s residents are coping with a diagnosed depressive disorder and substance use-related deaths have climbed to record levels.

Similar to the CRC at Pennsylvania Hospital, the HUP Cedar CRC—which will replace the CRC previously operated on the site by Mercy Philadelphia Hospital until its closure in March 2020—will be licensed as a crisis intervention walk-in facility and will serve as a discreet psychiatric emergency room, providing triage, evaluation, treatment and social services support for acute substance use and serious psychiatric conditions such as bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia.

The co-location of the inpatient psychiatric units with emergency care provided through the CRC will enable a seamless transition of care for patients, eliminating the wait time and additional steps required to transfer patients to inpatient units at other facilities—a common occurrence in a city where emergency psychiatric resources remain in short supply.

“We know that a lack of quality mental health support and crisis response services has a traumatic ripple effect across families and entire communities,” said UPHS chief operating officer Michele Volpe. “When patients and families are coping with a mental health crisis, the last thing they need to think about is how to navigate a complex system. By putting all our services together, we can help keep patients safer, get them into treatment faster, and better support families as they begin to navigate supporting their loved ones during their hospitalization and recovery.”

Staff at both CRC locations will be connected via a real-time data system that provides details on bed availability in order to ensure patients can be placed as quickly as possible and that each location has the right staffing resources. Penn Presbyterian will continue to provide select outpatient psychiatric care as well treatment for substance use disorders after the transition of inpatient services to HUP Cedar.

HUP Cedar is part of the PHMC Public Health Campus on Cedar, which opened in March 2021, transitioning the building from the former Mercy Philadelphia Hospital into a campus offering emergency and inpatient care as well as primary care and community-driven social supports.

Penn Medicine will invest $5.76 million toward the opening of the CRC at HUP Cedar as part of the mental health hub project. The CRC reopening has also received a grant from the Independence Blue Cross Foundation, and the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health earmarked $4.1 million in HealthChoices reinvestment funds.

In addition to Penn Medicine’s adult mental health services on the site, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia plans to open an inpatient pediatric behavioral health facility, the CHOP Behavioral Health & Crisis Center, on the site as well. The 46-bed acute inpatient psychiatric facility and 24/7 walk-in crisis center will create a safe, inclusive and restorative setting for children and adolescents.

The second phase of the new mental health hub plan will also increase care capacity at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) by converting the vacated psychiatric beds to medical surgical units. Those steps will help to improve patient movement across the hospital, reducing emergency department wait times and providing additional capacity for post-surgery recovery.

Interim Provost Beth A. Winkelstein and Vice Provost for Faculty Laura Perna have announced the appointment of Jamila Michener as the Provost’s Distinguished Visiting Faculty Fellow for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Dr. Michener is an associate professor of government at Cornell University, where is also the senior associate dean of public engagement of the Brooks School of Public Policy and co-director of the Cornell Center for Health Equity. Her research investigates the ways in which public policy and political institutions shape the material and political lives of people who are economically and racially marginalized—and the ways in which members of such groups gain power to affect policy. Her recent book Fragmented Democracy: Medicaid, Federalism, and Unequal Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2018) examines how Medicaid affects democratic citizenship. Unpacking how federalism transforms Medicaid beneficiaries’ interpretations of government and structures their participation in politics, the book—which received the 2019 Virginia Gray Book Award from the American Political Science Association—assesses American political life from the vantage points of populations that are living in or near poverty, disproportionately Black or Latino, and/or reliant on a federated government for vital resources.  

The Provost’s Distinguished Visiting Faculty Fellowship is awarded annually to a senior scholar of national or international prominence whose work promotes civic engagement, scholarly innovation, and inclusive communities, with the aim of enriching the intellectual and cultural life of the Penn community. Fellows can be from any academic discipline, with preference for those whose work is interdisciplinary in nature, promotes the growth of academic fields, and involves innovative research, methods, or scholarly themes. Fellows mentor Penn students, participate in panels and public discussions, collaborate on research projects, and provide at least one public presentation to the Penn community.

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries have announced that John Bence has been named university archivist, effective August 1, 2023.  

In this role, Mr. Bence will oversee all operations of the University Archives and Records Center (UARC), including its outreach initiatives and fundraising program. As the chief administrator responsible for UARC’s program to collect, manage, preserve, and make accessible materials of operational and historical value, he will lead a team that serves the Penn community; scholars interested in the history of the University, institutions of higher learning in the United States, and American intellectual life; and the Philadelphia community.

“As university archivist, John will play a very prominent role in both Penn Libraries leadership and the life of the University,” said Constantia Constantinou, the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and director of Penn Libraries. “His depth of experience and his connections to national archival communities will be an asset as we continue working to open information and resources to the Penn community, our region, and the world.”

Mr. Bence is currently assistant director and university archivist in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University. During his 12-year tenure at Emory, he has re-established Emory’s records management program and renewed engagement with stakeholders to raise visibility of the archives. He has also led efforts in in building, preserving, and making available collections connected with Emory’s history.

In 2017, Mr. Bence collaborated on preserving an oral history project with first-generation college students, which eventually led him to administer a new service-oriented oral history program integrated with Emory’s academic mission. More recently, he has collaborated with stakeholders to examine Emory’s connections to slavery, dispossession, and its relationship to issues of social justice, including creation of an online, public-facing portal that highlights the work of Black student activists at Emory from the 1960s through 2010s.

Mr. Bence has held a variety of leadership roles, both at Emory and nationally. At Emory, he served as president of the Employee Council from 2018 to 2020. Nationally, he was co-chair of the Standards Committee of the Society of American Archivists from 2017 to 2019. He was also a member of the 2015 cohort of the Archives Leadership Institute, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

In his new role as university archivist at Penn, one of Mr. Bence’s priorities will be to oversee the continued integration of UARC with Penn’s library system. On January 1, 2022, UARC become part of the Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. The two organizations had collaborated closely for many years, and the shift was made to formally recognize and capitalize on the natural synergies between them.

“Few American universities have a history as deep and rich as Penn,” said Sean Quimby, associate university librarian for special collections and director of the Kislak Center. “Fewer still have been as committed to preserving and providing access to that history. John’s combination of experience and ingenuity will ensure that we build upon this distinguished tradition. I would like to thank assistant university archivist J.M. Duffin for the extraordinary commitment that he has shown in filling the interim role these past few years.”  

Mr. Bence will work with Mr. Duffin and the staff of Penn Libraries to collect, manage, catalog, and preserve Penn’s administrative records as well as the personal and professional papers of its faculty, students, alumni, and benefactors, as well as other historical material relevant to Penn’s history.  

As information ecosystems continue to evolve, Mr. Bence will also be responsible for identifying new avenues and technologies for storing records that include—in addition to born digital materials—collections in other mediums, audiovisual collections, and computer emulation.

“I am absolutely delighted to be joining Penn Libraries and to be working with the UARC team,” said Mr. Bence. “UARC is a robust university archives and records management program, and I am excited to help build upon this strong foundation. With the integration of UARC into the Penn Libraries, there are many opportunities to move the program forward, and getting to be part of such progress is a great privilege.”

Mr. Bence holds an MA in archives and public history from New York University and a BA in history from Kenyon College.

Penn Dental Medicine faculty members have been honored for excellence in teaching by the Class of 2023. Each academic year, the graduating class recognizes members of the faculty who have had a significant impact of their educational experience; this year’s awards were presented as part of the Senior Farewell celebration, held on May 9. The awards and honorees included:

The Basic Science Award 

This award is presented for excellence in teaching within the basic sciences. This year’s recipient is Elliot Hersh, a professor in the department of oral & maxillofacial surgery/pharmacology. This year marks a record 22 times that Dr. Hersh has been presented with this award. A highly respected researcher in non-addicting strategies to manage acute postoperative dental pain, Dr. Hersh has been part of the Penn Dental Medicine faculty since 1988. He currently serves as course director of the second-year introduction to pharmacology and the neuro-pharmacology course and lectures in the first-year biological systems foundation sciences III courses and in the second-year oral and maxillofacial complex III, the biological systems V and the biological systems VI courses. He also directs and lectures in the Postdoctoral Pharmacology and Therapeutics course and has created online video/audio material for senior dental students in preparation for National Boards. Dr. Hersh is a past recipient of Penn’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award in Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, and is a co-recipient of Penn’s One Health Award.

The Robert E. DeRevere Award

This award is presented for excellence in preclinical teaching by a part-time faculty member. The award is named in honor of Dr. DeRevere, a member of the Penn Dental Medicine Class of 1945, who served on the school’s faculty. This year’s recipient is Frank Smithgall, C’79, D’83, a clinical associate professor of restorative dentistry, who has been a member of the school’s part-time faculty since 1984.

Dr. Smithgall lectures in preclinical courses, and for the past eight years, he has been course director of Partial Removable Dental Prosthesis. This is the ninth time Dr. Smithgall has been honored with this award.

The Joseph L. T. Appleton Award 

This award is presented to a part-time faculty member for excellence in clinical teaching. This year’s honoree is Kenneth Hoover, a clinical associate in the department of preventive & restorative sciences. Dr. Hoover teaches DMD students general restorative dentistry within the clinic with an emphasis on digital scanning. The Appleton Award is named in honor of Dr. Joseph Appleton, a 1914 alumnus of Penn Dental Medicine, who served as dean of the school from 1941 to 1951.

The award was founded in 1979 by Abram Cohen, a member of the Class of 1923 and father of dean emeritus D. Walter Cohen.

The Earle Bank Hoyt Award

This award is presented to a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and is a Penn Dental Medicine graduate. The award was established by a patient in honor of Dr. Hoyt, a distinguished clinician and educator and member of the Class of 1918. This year’s recipient is Katherine France, D’16, GR’16, GD’18, an assistant professor of oral medicine, who earned her DMD and a master of bioethics at Penn Dental Medicine and completed postdoctoral training in oral medicine at Penn. Since joining the faculty in 2018, Dr. France has taught a wide range of subjects relating to oral medicine, ethics and professionalism, and patient management. Her scholarly work also focuses on how changes in medicine impact the teaching and delivery of dental care.

The Senior Outstanding Teaching Award 

This award is presented to a faculty member who goes beyond the scope of their responsibilities to significantly impact the class’s education at Penn Dental Medicine. This year’s recipient is Artur Kofman, CDT director of laboratory affairs and the Office of Laboratory Affairs Supervisor for the clinical labs at the school; this is the seventh year in a row that he is recognized with this award. Mr. Kofman has shared his knowledge and expertise in dental lab work with students as a member of the school’s staff for the past 22 years. Among his responsibilities, he coordinates students’ lab work from the school to commercial laboratories and vice versa, guides dental students in lab-related technical issues, and provides hands-on assistance as needed for minor adjustments to dental appliances at a chair-side setting. In addition, he operates the 3D printing lab for fabricating 3D models, occlusal guards, and surgical guides and is involved in the newly-designed curriculum for CAD/CAM and printing of digital dentures for the dental students.

The Weitzman School’s Allison Lassiter, James Billingsley, and Natalie Kuenzi have been honored with G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Teaching Awards for 2022-2023.

The award is presented annually to three members of the Weitzman faculty, based on nominations by Weitzman students, to recognize distinguished teaching and innovation in the classroom, seminar, or studio. This year’s honorees were widely praised by students for deepening their understanding of their profession and practice and for creating a welcoming and encouraging culture in which students thrived.

Allison Lassiter is an assistant professor in the department of city & regional planning who teaches courses on sustainable cities, smart cities, and water policy. According to one student who nominated her, “she is not only deeply knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter she teaches (smart cities, water policy) but also teaches with a very clear thesis each class period and ties it to compelling real-world examples.”

Dr. Lassiter examines opportunities to use landscape infrastructure and emerging technologies to build resilience and increase adaptive capacity in cities. Her research focuses on urban water management, and she is currently working on evidence-based green infrastructure policy; adapting municipal water to rising seas; and smart water.

Additional quotes from her students: “I cannot overstate how much I absorb through Allison’s teaching style and how motivated I feel to apply what I learn in any future job.”  “Allison is incredibly passionate about her work. She can explain complex concepts so simply and elegantly. She makes every class fascinating and exciting. Her research and work are in the most cutting-edge and timely areas of planning.”

James Billingsley, MArch’20/MLA’20, is a lecturer in the department of landscape architecture who teaches the course topics in digital media landscape existentialism, co-teaches a third-year option studio, and assists in teaching theory II. Students nominating Mr. Billingsley commented on his deep intellect and thoughtfulness. One of the students who nominated him said, “The studio has expanded my understanding of the potential of landscape architecture, and I will carry the experience with me for the rest of my career.”

Mr. Billingsley is the co-founder and editor of Cline, an independent journal for emerging writers in landscape architecture and allied disciplines.

Additional quotes from his students: “James is singular in his ability to share his deep intellect with thoughtful and tender regard to both subject and student.” “He would write long, engaged responses to each individual student encountering landscape architecture theory for the first time, making them feel inspired to engage more deeply in the material.” “James’s ideas and approach to teaching present a range of possibilities for the field of landscape architectures and extend the conventions of what practice might look like.” “Every student produced exciting, unique, and personal projects that simply would not have occurred under anyone else’s guidance. The design work was grounded in our own theoretical arguments that James helped us to develop through an intensive theory seminar series at the beginning to the semester. We each developed our own experimental processes for design inquiry.”

Natalie Kuenzi is a lecturer in the department of fine arts who taught the introduction to clay course this year. One student wrote, “She has been a big advocate for everyone in the classroom and has created a welcoming environment for all students, regardless of their skill level.”

Ms. Kuenzi is an interdisciplinary artist and educator whose work explores traditions of craft and art making that celebrate the artist and viewer as agents of change. She is interested in transforming how humans make and consume through reclamation, material innovation, and the power of the imagination. Her work has been exhibited nationally and she is a member of Vox Populi, an artist-run space in Philadelphia.

Additional quotes from her students: “Natalie has shown true care and consideration for all of her students, giving them a space to explore their own artistic identity.” “I know that she has sparked a life-long interest in the medium for me. She deserves endless recognition for the effort she puts into creating an engaging class.”

The G. Holmes Perkins Distinguished Teaching Award is named in honor of the late G. Holmes Perkins, who served as dean of the Graduate School of Fine Arts, as the Weitzman School was then known, from 1951 to 1971.

The Penn Dental Medicine Center for Integrative Global Oral Health (CIGOH) has announced the launch of Statistics with Crayons, a new animated video and podcast series aimed at making complex statistical concepts accessible to the general public. The series is produced by the Penn Dental Medicine Center for Educational Technology & Innovation (CETI).

Led by Michael Glick, Alonso Carrasco-Labra, and Olivia Urquhart, Statistics with Crayons explores statistical concepts one at a time in animated videos and accompanying podcast episodes. 

“The goal of Statistics with Crayons is to make statistical concepts easy to understand and accessible to everyone,” said Michael Glick, executive director of CIGOH. “We are excited to bring this series to our students, residents, colleagues and the public and to share our expertise in a fun and engaging way.”

The video series features the talents of actor Gideon Glick and Penn Dental Medicine faculty member Roopali Kulkarni, who voice wily cat Hans and his wise canine companion Hera, respectively. The podcast episodes explore real-world applications of the statistical concepts through guest interviews with University of Pennsylvania faculty.

“We are thrilled to partner with CIGOH on this innovative and engaging educational series,” said Chia-Wei Wu, executive director of CETI. “We believe Statistics with Crayons will be an excellent resource for anyone seeking to better understand statistical concepts and their real-world applications.”

Statistics with Crayons will be released in episode format, with each episode exploring a new statistical concept. The series will be available on the Penn Dental Medicine website.

For more information about Statistics with Crayons and to view the episodes, visit www.dental.upenn.edu/StatisticsWithCrayons. 

In honor of Morris Arboretum’s 90th anniversary, there will be a celebration of the joy and importance of public gardens at the Garden Railway. See miniature replicas of iconic structures at some of America’s most famous public gardens including the Climatron at Missouri Botanical Garden, Torii Gate and Pavilion at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Science Pyramid at Denver Botanic Gardens, and more.

The Garden Railway is celebrating 25 years with a new addition—300 feet of track. This is the largest expansion of the Garden Railway since it was installed in 1998. The new looping section of track extends the total model rail trackage to a third of a mile, making it one of the largest outdoor model train displays in the country. 

Visitors of all ages will be wowed by seven loops and tunnels with fifteen different rail lines and two cable cars, nine bridges, and bustling model trains, all set in the lovely garden of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens. The display and buildings are all made of natural materials—bark, leaves, twigs, hollow logs, mosses, acorns, dried flowers, seeds and stones—to form a perfectly proportioned miniature landscape complete with miniature rivers and other bodies of water. For more information, visit https://www.morrisarboretum.org/. 

Heber Graver, D’56, Gr’72, a former associate professor of restorative dentistry and histology-embryology at Penn Dental Medicine, died on April 29. He was 92. 

Dr. Graver completed his undergraduate education at Muhlenberg College, graduating summa cum laude in 1952. He then earned his doctorate of dental surgery from Penn’s School of Dental Medicine in 1956 and received the prestigious Alpha Omega Memorial Award for the graduate with the highest class average. From 1956 to 1958, he served in the U.S. Navy, then left and ran a private dental practice in Topton, Pennsylvania from 1958 to 1968. He then continued his studies and returned to academia, earning a PhD from Penn in 1972 in developmental biology. While earning his PhD, he taught courses, and after he graduated, he joined the Penn Dental Medicine faculty full-time as an assistant professor of restorative dentistry and histology and embryology. He rose to a full professor in 1979. At Penn, he taught courses in histology, embryology, preclinical restorative dentistry, and clinical dentistry, and served as director of operative dentistry. 

As a researcher and mentor, Dr. Graver was influential in his field, training over 3,000 dentists. He earned Penn Dental Medicine’s Earle Banks Hoyt Award (1976) for demonstrating unusual promise, excellence and ability in teaching; the Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching (1979); the Class of 1985 Teaching Award; the Penn Dental Medicine Senior Class Outstanding Teaching Award (1998); and the Penn Dental Medicine Alumni Award of Merit (2009). He was a member of several professional societies, including the American Dental Association, the Academy of Operative Dentistry, the American Academy of Dental Research,  and the Academy of Stomatology of Philadelphia.

Dr. Graver was a longtime member of Wentz’s United Church of Christ of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, and in his retirement, he enjoyed reading, photography, gardening, and traveling. 

Dr. Graver is survived by his wife, Lois Elaine Graver; his sons, Jeffrey (Bill) and Jay (Susan); and his four grandchildren, Hunter (Monica), Elizabeth, Tyler, and Ethan. He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Ann. A funeral service was held on May 3. Contributions in his memory may be made to Wentz’s United Church of Christ, 3246 W. Skippack Pike, Lansdale, Pennsylvania 19446. 

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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.

On Thursday, June 15 and Friday, June 16, there will be meetings of the Penn Board of Trustees. All meetings will be held at the Inn at Penn.

Thursday, June 15

• 8:30-10 a.m.—Local, National, & Global Engagement Committee
• 10:15-11:45 a.m.—Facilities & Campus Planning Committee
• 1:45-3:15 p.m.—Joint Meeting: Student Life Committee and Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity
• 3:30-5 p.m.—Academic Policy Committee
• 3:30-5 p.m.—Budget & Finance Committee

Friday, June 16

• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.—Stated Meeting of the Trustees

The agenda will be posted at https://secretary.upenn.edu/trustees-governance/open-trustee-meeting. Please contact the Office of the University Secretary at (215) 898-7005 or ofcsec@pobox.upenn.edu with questions regarding Trustee meetings. Attendance plans can be submitted via a response form or by contacting Antoine Jones at jonesan@upenn.edu or (215) 898-0414 by Friday, June 2.

Two Penn faculty members, Paul Offit and Dorothy Roberts, have been elected members of the American Philosophical Society (APS).

Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743 for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge,” APS is the oldest learned society in the United States, continuing its founder’s spirit of inquiry by providing a forum for the free exchange of ideas. Election to the APS recognizes extraordinary accomplishments in all fields.

Paul Offit is the Maurice R. Hilleman Chair of Vaccinology in the department of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the division of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. An internationally recognized expert in virology and immunology, Dr. Offit was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He is a member of the Food and Drug Administration Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and a founding advisory board member of the Autism Science Foundation and the Foundation for Vaccine Research, a member of the Institute of Medicine, and co-editor of the renowned text Vaccines. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine.

Dorothy Roberts is a Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor with appointments in the School of Arts & Sciences and Penn Carey Law. She is the George A. Weiss Professor of Law & Sociology, the Raymond Pace & Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, and a professor of Africana Studies. She is also the founding director of the Penn Program on Race, Science, and Society. An acclaimed scholar of race, gender, and the law, she researches the consequences of racial inequities for women, children, families, and communities and counters scientific tenets about racial identity. Her work in law and public policy focuses on urgent social justice issues in policing, family regulation, science, medicine, and bioethics.

The American Philosophical Society promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach.

The Excellence Through Diversity Fund, a University-wide initiative to foster diversity and inclusion, is awarded annually by the Office of the Provost. This year’s awardees are:

• Hydar Ali and Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia, School of Dental Medicine: Culturally Sensitive Mentoring, Professional Development, and Leadership for Underrepresented Faculty at Penn Dental Medicine
• Nelson Flores and Damani White-Lewis, Graduate School of Education: Visibilizing the Invisibilized: Equity and Faculty Labor at Penn GSE
• Jessica C. Fowler, Mira Mamtani, Iris M. Reyes, Courtney Anne Schreiber and Nicole R. Washington, Perelman School of Medicine: A Structured, Intentional Sponsorship Program for Women Assistant Professors Who Are Underrepresented in Medicine

On Sunday, May 14, the Annenberg School for Communication held its annual undergraduate graduation ceremony, honoring the communication majors graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. This year’s graduation speaker was alumna Lauren Hitt, C’13. In addition to recognizing each graduate, ASC leadership presented the following awards.

Honorable Walter H. Annenberg Award: Jonah Charlton

Named in honor of Annenberg’s founder, this award recognizes a graduating communication major who has strengthened and improved the University of Pennsylvania’s student community through communication service activities.

Phyllis C. Kaniss Award: Celia Kreth and Tara Shilkret

Named in memory of former assistant dean Phyllis C. Kaniss, this award is presented to a graduating communication major who has demonstrated a commitment to civic participation through meaningful action around issues of public concern, including individual actions or actions undertaken through organizations on or off campus.

Carolyn Marvin Award: Pia Singh

Named in honor of Dr. Marvin, the Frances Yates Emeritus Professor of Communication, this award recognizes a graduating communication major who, through their curricular, co-curricular, or extra-curricular activities, has advanced understanding of the importance of free speech and assembly in a democratic society.

C. Nicole Dickerson Award: Anika Prakash

Named in memory of former undergraduate advisor C. Nicole Dickerson, this public service award is given to a graduating communication major who has made a significant contribution to our neighbors in the West Philadelphia community.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson Award: Tommy Christaldi, Jeffrey Fishman, Leanna Tilitei

Named for former dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson, this award honors a graduating communication major(s) with the highest cumulative grade point average in the major.

George Gerbner Award: Tara Shilkret

Named for former dean George Gerbner, this award recognizes a graduating communication major whose thesis best demonstrates an original and comprehensive application of research skills as well as a thorough understanding of communication scholarship.

Charles Morris Price Prize: Jeffrey Fishman

This award acknowledges an outstanding graduating communication major who has most distinguished themself through a combination of academic excellence, research accomplishments, and/or contributions to Annenberg’s academic objectives.

Michael X. Delli Carpini Award: Leanna Tilitei

Named in honor of former dean Delli Carpini, this award recognizes a graduating communication major who has completed an outstanding thesis in the communication and public service program.

Chloe Estep, an assistant professor of East Asian languages and civilizations in the School of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a Long-Term Early Career Fellowship from the Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Program in China Studies. The fellowship enables early-career faculty to take leaves of four to nine months to work full-time on researching and writing a scholarly text.

Dr. Estep’s research focuses on poetry, media, and material culture in modern China, as well as the history, theory, and practice of translation. The fellowship will support her work on a forthcoming book, Print Classicism: Poetry, Politics, and Media in Republican China, 1911-1949. The book examines how print periodicals enabled the transformation and modernization of classical aesthetics (including painting and calligraphy) as poets, writers, and artists reckoned with the radical political changes of early 20th-century China.

Dr. Estep earned her doctorate in modern Chinese literature from Columbia University. Her most recent publication is “‘Still holding the pipa to hide half her face’: Visions of Bai Juyi’s ‘Song of the Pipa’ in Republican China,” in Nan Nü: Men, Women, and Gender in China in 2021.

Four Penn Nursing professors have been selected for new fellowships from national organizations in their respective fields.

José A. Bauermeister, the Albert M. Greenfield Professor of Human Relations, chair of the department of family & community health, and founding director of the Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, has been inducted a 2023 fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). This distinction recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of the science and practice of behavioral medicine. Among the considerations are academic, professional, clinical, legislative, or other meritorious accomplishments.

Diane Spatz, the Helen M. Shearer Term Professor of Nutrition and a professor of perinatal nursing, has been selected as a 2023 fellow of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). This honor recognizes nurse leaders who have made substantive and sustained contributions to the health of women and newborns beyond expectations of their role. AWHONN fellows have made outstanding contributions to clinical practice, research, education, advocacy, or policy at the regional, national, or global level that reflect AWHONN’s mission and vision.

Abigail Howe-Heyman, a practice assistant professor and director of the midwifery track, has been inducted a 2023 fellow of the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM). This honor is bestowed upon midwives who have demonstrated leadership within ACNM, clinical excellence, outstanding scholarship, and professional achievement.

Dawn Elizabeth Bent, a practice assistant professor, will be inducted a 2023 fellow of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA). This designation is a major career achievement that recognizes recipients as outstanding practitioners, educators, researchers, and advocates for the profession. Selection criteria include professional achievements demonstrating impactful contributions that continue to promote and advance the profession in the areas of clinical practice, education, research, and professional advocacy and are consistent with the high standards of AANA.

Jean Bennett, the F.M. Kirby Emeritus Professor of Ophthalmology; Albert Maguire, the F.M. Kirby Professor of Molecular Ophthalmology, and the late Samuel Jacobson, the William C. Frayer Professor Emeritus of ophthalmology, have been honored by the Helen Keller Foundation and BrightFocus Foundation with the Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research. The award recognizes research excellence and career-long contributions to vision science.

Rebecca A. Hubbard, a professor of biostatistics, has been honored with the Gertrude M. Cox Award by the Washington Statistical Society and RTI International. Established in 2003, the award recognizes early- to mid-career statisticians who have made notable contributions to the fields studied by Gertrude M. Cox, who is considered to be one of the founders of modern statistics.  

Casey Jo Humbyrd, chief of foot and ankle surgery and an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and medical ethics & health policy, has been recognized with the Career Development Award of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) for her leadership in the field of foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons. Dr. Humbyrd is lauded for her work within the field of bioethics. She founded the program in surgical ethics and health policy at Penn not long after arriving in 2021.

Lorraine Boakye, an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of clinical research in foot and ankle, has been selected to represent the AOFAS at the Orthopaedic Research Society’s annual Clinician Scholar Career Development Program for 2023. The program is for young orthopaedic surgeons who strive to become leading clinician-scientists.

Bruce Levine, the Barbara and Edward Netter Professor in Cancer Gene Therapy, has received the Jerry Mendell Award for Translational Science from the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, in recognition of his work on the first FDA-approved gene therapy, and multiple first-in-human adoptive immunotherapy trials. The award honors the extensive work required to bring gene and cell therapies to clinical trial.

David Mankoff, vice chair for research in radiology, has received the 2023 Edward H. Ahrens Jr. Distinguished Investigator Award from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science, honored for his outstanding contributions to the clinical research and translational science field. Dr. Mankoff has also received the Research Innovation and Leadership Award from the Association of University Radiologists Radiology Research Alliance. He is recognized for not only his contributions to the field of radiology, but also for his generous mentorship of colleagues and trainees, which will shape the future of molecular imaging.

Penn associate vice president Anthony Sorrentino is one of 30 higher education leaders from across the country asked to participate in the HUD + Higher Ed Engagement Think Tank, comprised of leaders who have broad experience in community engagement, economic development, and public policy.

Think tank members lead activities of the HUD + Higher Ed Engagement Network. The network focuses on strengthening connections and collaborations between higher education institutions and the 64 HUD field offices located throughout the country. Areas of focus for the network will include worker empowerment, maternal and infant health, eviction prevention, landlord outreach, housing security and access, broadband access and digital literacy, and cultural competency.

The resources identified by the think tank will be disseminated to members of the HUD + Higher Ed Engagement Network, which will include a diverse group of higher education leaders and institutions from across the country. These institutions will put think tank plans into action on the ground with the goal of building inclusive, sustainable, and thriving communities through increased civic and community engagement.

Cynthia Sung, the Gabel Family Term Assistant Professor in the departments of mechanical engineering & applied mechanics and computer & information science in Penn Engineering, has received the 2023 IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Philadelphia Section Delaware Valley Young Electrical Engineer of the Year Award.

The Young Electrical Engineer of the Year Award is given to an electrical engineer who has demonstrated excellence in technical, scientific, academic or managerial endeavors. The award emphasizes creative, important, and widely recognized work.

Dr. Sung received this award, given in recognition of “her fundamental contributions to design and fabrication of soft and origami robots,” at the IEEE Annual Awards Gala on April 22, 2023.

From a field of over 160 submitted papers, “Dissecting Green Returns” was selected as the winner of the 2022 Moskowitz Prize at Northwestern University. The award, which recognizes high-impact research in sustainable finance, was presented to the paper’s authors, Lubos Pastor (University of Chicago Booth School of Business), Robert Stambaugh (the Wharton School), and Lucian Taylor (the Wharton School).

The Moskowitz Prize, now in its 27th year, is awarded annually to a research paper that demonstrates both impeccable empirical methods and strong potential to influence real-world business and investment practices related to sustainability.

“The study identifies a green factor that has impacted asset prices and portfolio returns in recent years,” said Lloyd Kurtz, founder of the Moskowitz Prize and one of this year’s judges. “They show that superior returns of green stocks were at least partly due to a change in investor preferences. But outperformance likely won’t continue over the long term. That’s good for green companies because it gives them a lower cost of capital—a big advantage in a competitive economy. It’s an important paper for showing that sustainability is now priced into markets and past strong returns don’t guarantee future ones.”

The paper aimed to understand what kind of returns investors should expect from green (environmentally friendly) versus brown assets in the future. Theory suggests that investors derive satisfaction from owning responsible investments, and that green assets can hedge against climate risk, which should drive prices higher and the expected rate of return lower.

Susan Taylor, the Bernett L. Johnson, Jr., Professor in the department of dermatology and the vice chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the Perelman School of Medicine, has been elected the 84th president of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD)—the largest society of dermatologists in the world. She will serve as president-elect from March 2024 to March 2025 and then as president from March 2025 to March 2026. Dr. Taylor has made history, becoming the sixth woman and the first person of African American descent to serve as president of the AAD.

Dr. Taylor was the vice president of the AAD from 2020 to 2021. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in alopecia pigmentary disorders and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Taylor has also focused on health equity, increasing knowledge and representation of populations with skin of color in medical textbooks and education. Dr. Taylor is also passionate about mentorship and is the founder and director of the skin of color pre-residency fellowship program in the department of dermatology at Penn.

“It is an honor to be elected to this position by my peers,” said Dr. Taylor. “Our society of dermatologists is well positioned to continue pushing dermatologic care forward and looking out for the well-being and best interests of our patients. I look forward to using the role to promote the AAD strategic goal of excellence in care through education and advocacy.”

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Taylor on our faculty,” said George Cotsarelis, chair of dermatology at Penn. “She will not only bring passion and years of experience to her role but also add an important dimension, as she has in her role at Penn as the department’s vice chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She understands how to make important and effective systemic changes in order to ensure access and care for all people.”

Since its founding in 1938, the AAD has been focused on furthering clinical care, research, and education related to skin, hair, and nails. Currently, there are over 20,000 physician members of the AAD.

The Summer AT PENN 2023 calendar is online. To view a web version of the calendar, click here. To download a printable PDF of the calendar, click here. 

The May AT PENN PENN 2023 calendar can still be viewed at https://almanac.upenn.edu/at-penn-calendar/may-at-penn-2023. 

Ancient Food & Flavor takes curious minds and palates on a gastronomical journey across time by examining food and plant remains in an indoor/outdoor exhibition. It opens Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the Penn Museum.

What can burned seeds, dried meats, or waterlogged fruits, remarkably preserved for thousands of years, tell us about the past? Food remains are tiny treasure troves of data that reveal information about people’s decisions, diets, activities, and traditions. Archaeologists study these ancient remains to reconstruct the landscapes that produced them, revealing untold histories and forging connections to the past.

Find out what archaeologists have learned about what ancient people were growing, eating, and drinking, based on evidence left behind at three sites:

Robenhausen: Waterlogged houses and surfaces at this 6,000-year-old site in present-day Switzerland revealed fishing tools, food remains, and more.

Numayra: This 4,500-year-old community in present-day Jordan contained carbonized plant material that suggests wine production and grain storage.

Pachacamac: The desert landscape of this 1,800-year-old city in present-day Peru preserved corn, potatoes, cloth, basketry, and wood.

The exhibition is curated by Katherine Moore and Chantel White, teaching specialists in the Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials. Admission to the exhibition is included with general museum admission. To buy tickets, visit https://www.penn.museum/tickets/.

Exhibition Events

Saturday, June 3
Opening Day: Ancient Food & Flavor: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
CAAM Tour of Ancient Food & Flavor: 11 a.m.-noon

Saturday, June 10
We Are What We Eat: Ancient Food & Flavor Tour: 2-3 p.m.

Sunday, June 11
We Are What We Eat: Ancient Food & Flavor Tour: 2-3 p.m.

Saturday, June 17
We Are What We Eat: Ancient Food & Flavor Tour: 2-3 p.m.

Sunday, June 18
We Are What We Eat: Ancient Food & Flavor Tour: 2-3 p.m.

Saturday, June 24
We Are What We Eat: Ancient Food & Flavor Tour: 2-3 p.m.

Sunday, June 25
We Are What We Eat: Ancient Food & Flavor Tour: 2-3 p.m.

Your Food Story: Storytelling Through the Photography of Community Landscapes

In collaboration with the Netter Center’s community partnership program Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative (AUNI), students from Sayre High School will interpret parts of Ancient Food & Flavor as pop-up tours during the museum’s Garden Jams program on July 26.

This community partnership is an opportunity to lift youth voices in museum exhibitions and cultivate career pathways for young people in the arts and sciences.

This program will culminate in a pop-up student photography display, which will be on view at the museum this fall.

Share Your Flavor: #Timelessflavor

Penn Museum wants to hear from you. Share your favorite food––a meal, recipe, ingredient or vegetable garden! Send a photo or video with a short caption, and it could appear in the exhibition! Two ways to share:

Post it on social media using #TimelessFlavor and tag @pennmuseum. Not on social? Email it to food@pennmuseum.org.

Songs for Ritual and Remembrance, which will be featured at the Arthur Ross Gallery from June 17 through September 17, brings together the work of four artists who uplift suppressed historical narratives, honor embodied forms of knowledge, and center community memory through ritual and storytelling. The exhibition will feature the work of Adebunmi Gbadebo, Ken Lum, Guadalupe Maravilla, and a new commission by Mary Ann Peters. Spanning works on paper, sculpture, and installation each of the works meditate on a social fabric revealing the imbalances of power that condition cultural memory.

Ms. Gbadebo’s work engages with the histories held in materials, specifically those of her enslaved ancestors at the True Blue plantation in Fort Motte, South Carolina. In her paper pieces, Ms. Gbadebo uses indigo and rice, both of which were produced at True Blue, as well as Black human hair, which itself carries a history through time and DNA. Ms. Gbadebo’s ceramic vessels are crafted from clay made from the soil on which her ancestors once labored. “The making of the work has been a practice of healing and a practice of care for their memories and what remains of their physical bodies—it’s in the soil,” Ms. Gbadebo said.

Mr. Lum, the Marilyn Jordan Taylor Presidential Professor and chair of the department of fine arts in the Weitzman School of Design, is known for his conceptual and representational art. Songs for Ritual and Remembrance includes a letterpress print from his Necrology series, which creates nuanced portraits of fictionalized characters based on fragments of real 19th-century obituaries. Mr. Lum’s work imagines the life of a textile worker—using historic fonts and typesetting inspired by an actual obituary of Abraham Lincoln—and illuminates social structures that continue to condition society today.

Mr. Maravilla’s Disease Thrower #16 is created from objects that the artist collected by retracing his migration route to the United States, which Mr. Maravilla combines with gongs intended to create space for meditation and recovery. Mr. Maravilla’s autobiographical and transdisciplinary practice explores the systemic abuse of immigrants.

For Songs for Ritual and Remembrance, Ms. Peters created a new work in her impossible monuments series, which offers monuments to individuals who are unlikely to be memorialized. The piece offers a rare account of the 19th-century Syrian silk workers who successfully negotiated with the French government to increase their wages and better their working conditions. A Lebanese American artist based in Seattle, Ms. Peters has been making studio work, installations, and public art projects for more than 30 years.

Songs for Ritual and Remembrance will offer a series of programs that aim to cultivate community memory and create space for embodied healing after the prolonged period of illness, stress, and confinement brought on by the pandemic.

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 May 15-21, 2023. 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 May 15-21, 2023. 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: 6 incidents (3 assaults, 2 robberies, and 1 aggravated assault) were reported for May 15-21, 2023 by the 18^th District, covering the Schuylkill River to 49th St & Market St to Woodland Avenue.