New and Notable On Campus
The Korea Foundation of Seoul and the University recently signed a five-year agreement in which each party will commit $2.5 million to create an endowment designed to establish new professorships in Korean Studies in SAS and to fund related activities at the University. "Over the past decade, we have established high-quality programming in Korean Studies, significantly augmenting faculty, course offerings, links with Korean universities, and outreach," said President Judith Rodin. "Our need, so generously addressed with this agreement, is to be able to increase the number of Korean specialists on the faculty to create a critical mass in the discipline. We are deeply grateful to the Korea Foundation for its interest in raising the level of Korean Studies at Penn so that is among the finest in the world."
Six SAS Faculty Win Woodrow Wilson Fellowships
Of the 35 fellowships awarded by the Woodrow Wilson Center in
Washington, DC, six were won by members of the SAS faculty. Winners were
chosen from 640 applications received in a world-wide competition among
scholars in the humanities and social sciences. Fellowships were awarded
to: David Brownlee (history of art); Beshara Doumani and Michael Katz
(history); Tom Callaghy and Francine Frankel (political science); and
John Skrentny (sociology), who had to decline the Wilson Center
fellowship in order to accept one from the Princeton University Center
for Human Values.
New Masters Degree in Environmental Science
The College of General Studies and the Institute of Environmental
Studies have recently established a new masters program in environmental
studies. The MES degree provides graduate-level education in
environmental analysis and management, and undertakes to expose its
students to the range of disciplines that must be considered in
addressing critical environmental problems. Students enter into one of
several disciplinary streams, including environmental geology,
environmental biology, environmental policy, and environmental
humanities. The program consists of 11 courses and an independent
research capstone project. For more information, contact Susan Gill at
(215) 898-6517 or
sgill@sas.upenn.edu.
William T. Golden Receives SAS Distinguished Alumni Award
In April, the 1996-97 SAS Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to
William T. Golden, C'30, HON'79, chairman emeritus of the American
Museum of Natural History in New York City. Mr. Golden was recognized
for his achievements in the sciences and humanities. "Bill Golden
exemplifies the spirit of the liberal arts, which is why we have honored
him," explained Interim Dean Walter D. Wales. "He is a man with an
undergraduate degree in English who has not only achieved success in
investment and banking, but has also developed his interest in science
and its social uses into an avocation that has brought him personal
satisfaction and international recognition."
USA Today Honors College Students
USA Today has named College seniors Abby Close, Michael Wildermann, and
Edton Mock (College/Wharton) to their 1997 All-USA Academic Team.
Winners were nominated by faculty and were selected for their
"demonstration of leadership on and off campus." Students submitted an
essay describing an original "academic product" or other significant
accomplishment. Alice Chong (Engineering) was selected
as well.
The SAS Alumni Lecture Series was pleased to present Joe Klein, C'68, in February. Klein is the Washington columnist for The New Yorker, and the formerly-anonymous author of the best-selling novel Primary Colors. During his lecture to more than 130 students, Klein talked about ways young people can contribute to the future of the country, campaign media coverage, and his experiences on the other side of the microphone when he admitted to penning Primary Colors. After his lecture, Klein met with a small group of undergraduates to discuss careers in political journalism.
Jubilee of Physics and Astronomy Brings "Stars" to SAS
The February Jubilee of Physics and Astronomy brought many notable
scientists to campus. Harrison Schmitt - the last Apollo astronaut to
walk on the moon, a former US senator, a geologist, environmentalist and
entrepreneur - lectured on the Apollo mission and on the entrepreneurial
uses of resources from space. Martin Perl, 1995 Nobel laureate in
physics, lectured on the human and emotional aspects of science. The
series concluded with several physicists who participated in the
Kamiokande experiment discussing the Supernova 1987A and the birth of
neutrino astronomy.
Rethinking Adam Smith
The theme for this year's Steinberg Symposium was "Rethinking Adam
Smith." The two-day event - which was held in conjunction with the
annual Economics Day at SAS - began with an Adam Smith student reading
project. Students read excerpts from Smith's The Wealth of Nations and
The Theory of Moral Sentiments and discussed the selections in small
groups with faculty members. The symposium continued the next day with a
session on "Adam Smith: Past and Present," which featured Nobel laureate
Douglass C. North, professor of economics at Washington University, and
Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Harvard Institute for International
Development and professor of international trade at Harvard University,
and was moderated by Nobel laureate Lawrence Klein, professor emeritus
of economics at SAS. The final program was "The Legacy of Adam Smith,"
which featured Harvard economists John Kenneth Galbraith and Robert
Barro. The Steinberg Symposium is funded by Gayfryd and Saul Steinberg,
and is presented each year by SAS.
Three New Minors Debut
Legal Studies and History
Beginning next fall, SAS and the Wharton School will offer a new joint
minor in Legal Studies and History. The minor - which consists of eight
courses - aims to expose students to multiple points of view about law
and public policy, and it is geared to students wishing to pursue
careers in government, journalism, business or international affairs.
Asian American Studies
Asian American Studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to the lives
and experiences of Asian immigrants and Americans of Asian descent
through comparative studies of race and ethnicity and of global
histories and contemporary movements and forces.
American Public Policy
A joint venture of the political science department and Wharton's public
policy and management department, this interschool minor combines
coursework in political science and in professionally-oriented policy
studies. For political science majors, the program will be a
concentration within their major.
Comings and Goings
Judith Eubank, the able editor of Penn Arts & Sciences for the past
several years, has left the University. She takes our thanks and our
very best wishes with her. Those of you with good memories may recall
the work of Joanne Ahearn, who wrote for the newsletter from 1988 to
1992. We are pleased to announce that Joanne is back and will, once
again, contribute her considerable writing talents to the newsletter.
Both Judith and Joanne can be reached through the Penn Arts &
Sciences office. -Ed.