August 28, 2008
Did You Know... that the 2008 Penn Reading Project (PRP) selection is Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin? Shubin, a renowned paleontologist and anatomy professor, explores evolution as he investigates fundamental questions of origins, development, and human existence in his book. Dr. Shubin served on Penn's faculty from 1989 to 2002 and was the first Faculty Master of Hamilton College House (now Rodin College House).
The choice of this year's PRP book also reflects Penn's commitment to the Year of Evolution, a year-long commemoration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday that examines the concept of change across many disciplines.
August 25, 2008
Did You Know... that Penn alumna Susan Francia, C'04, won an Olympic gold medal in rowing? Francia and the US women's eight team bested the Netherlands on Sunday by 1.88 seconds to capture the first gold for the U.S. in this event since 1984. Francia, from Abington, PA, originally joined the Penn rowing program as a walk-on and lettered for the Quakers in 2003 and 2004. "On the Schuylkill... at college -- that's where I fell in love with this sport," said Francia, 25. Francia continues a Quakers tradition -- she is the 11th Penn female rower to compete in the Olympics.
To learn more about Francia and the team's gold medal performance, please see:
Philadelphia Inquirer article
Philadelphia Daily News article
PennAthletics.com announcement
August 14, 2008
Did You Know... that David Thornburgh has been named Executive Director of Penn's Fels Institute of Government? The 70-year-old Fels Institute trains current and future leaders for public service in government. In his current position as senior advisor to the Econsult Corporation, a Philadelphia-based regional economic consulting firm, Thornburgh has been a consultant to non-profit and for-profit clients on strategic planning, policy and communications issues. Thornburgh succeeds Don Kettl who will return to full-time research and teaching in the Department of Political Science and continues to serve on the Fels faculty and academic advisory committee.
Read more here.
August 8, 2008
Did You Know... that Penn's fencing head coach Dave Micahnik, C'59, was inducted into the U.S. Fencing Hall of Fame? Micahnik was a member of the 1960, 1964, and 1968 United States Olympic epee teams. In 1960, he won the U.S. National epee championship. He led Penn's fencing teams to 33 consecutive winning seasons, and he was chosen as Collegiate Coach of the Year in 1997. His Penn teams have won a combined 22 Ivy League championships, two NCAA team championships, and 10 Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) team championships. Cathy McClellan, inducted in the 2008 class with Micahnik, was noted for being the first female fencing coach at an Ivy League School. She coached at Penn under Micahnik from 1982-1984.
Read more at the Penn Athletics site, the US Fencing website about Dave Micahnik and the US Fencing website about Cathy McClellan.
August 4, 2008
Did You Know... that John Gearhart has been named Penn's director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and also a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor? Gearhart is the James W. Effron University Professor with joint appointments between the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in the School of Medicine and the Department of Animal Biology in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
Gearhart led a research team that first identified and isolated human embryonic stem cells. His groundbreaking work focuses on the role of genes in regulating the formation of human tissues and embryos, especially as it relates to mental retardation, Down syndrome and other congenital birth defects.
Read more in this press release. |
