November 2005

November 30, 2005
Did You Know... that University of Pennsylvania Trustee George A. Weiss,W'65, surprised President Amy Gutmann with a $14 million check in support of undergraduate financial aid at the annual scholarship reception for donors and students held November 10, 2005? "Nothing is more important to fulfilling the promise of our country than educational opportunity," Gutmann said, "and no one understands that better than George Weiss. When we give talented students of high potential access to the great education that Penn can offer, we advance, in the most important way, the ideals of a democratic society."

Read more about George Weiss and his contributions.

November 23, 2005
Did you know. . .  that this year marks the second time in the University's history in which Penn students have won both Marshall and Rhodes scholarships? College and Wharton senior Brett Shaheen is one of 32 American Rhodes scholars who will receive a full scholarship to England's Oxford University next September. Aziza Zakhidova, also a senior in the College and at Wharton, will receive a Marshall scholarship for study at a British university next fall.

Read the full article on these outstanding accomplishments.

November 21, 2005
Did you know. . . that Penn Alumni is seeking nominations for the 2006 Alumni Award of Merit, the 2006 Young Alumni Award of Merit, and four Alumni Trustee positions? Alumni are invited and encouraged to suggest candidates for the trustee positions and nominate individuals for the alumni awards. The Alumni Trustee positions are for the Mid-Atlantic region, the Southern Region and two At-Large positions. Five-year terms will commence on January 1, 2007. The Alumni awards, to be presented during Homecoming Weekend 2006, recognize outstanding service to the University and can be presented to non-alumni. The deadline for Alumni Trustee nominations is Friday, January 13, 2006. The deadline for Alumni Award of Merit and Young Alumni Award nominations is Friday, February 3, 2006.

Get more information on the Alumni Trustee positions and the Alumni Awards of Merit.

If you are not submitting nominations via the online forms available at the above link, please forward your nominations and supporting materials/documentation to Elise Betz, Director of Penn Alumni, by email (ebetz@ben.dev.upenn.edu), by fax (215 898-5383), or by mail at:

Elise Betz
Director, Penn Alumni
E. Craig Sweeten Alumni House
3533 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6226

November 9, 2005
Did You Know. . . that the Penn football team will be featured on ESPN’s show, "The Season" at 1:00 am EST on ESPN2 this Friday, November 11th? "The Season" followed Penn football players and coaches around last week leading up to the Homecoming game on Saturday. Penn is the first I-AA football program to be featured on the series. "The Season," a documentary styled, reality-based series, takes viewers behind the scenes and onto the sidelines with a variety of teams and athletes. The episode featuring Penn will repeat on ESPN Networks (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU) for several weeks.

See the complete article.

Penn (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) plays at Harvard (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) this Saturday at 12:00 pm EST, and many alumni clubs are gathering to watch the game on the YES network. The game can also be heard on ESPN 920AM and www.pennathletics.com.

Alumni in the Boston area are invited to attend the pre-game tailgate.

November 4, 2005
Did you know... that Penn recently named Joan Hendricks as the new Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine? Hendricks assumes her new role on January 1, 2006, succeeding Alan Kelly who served as Dean for 11 years. Hendricks is the Henry and Corrine R. Bower Professor of Small Animal Medicine as well as section chief of critical care in the Department of Clinical Studies. She is also the founding director of the Veterinary Clinical Research Center and holds a secondary appointment as a professor of the Department of Medicine in Penn's School of Medicine. Hendricks earned her V.M.D. and Ph.D. from Penn in 1979 and 1980, respectively, and carried out both her residency and her post-doctoral fellowship here.

Read more about Hendricks.

November 29, 2005
Michelle Singletary hosted author Michael Eric Dyson for a discussion of this month's Color of Money Book Club selection (Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?) on November 17. Singletary writes that Dyson, a professor of religious studies at Penn, deftly demolishes the stereotypes Cosby let loose at the NAACP awards last year. [more]

November 17, 2005
Paul Provenza, C'79 and Mask & Wig alumnus, produced The Aristocrats earlier this year with comic/magician Penn Jillette, filming approximately 100 comedians tell their own versions of world's dirtiest joke--an old burlesque, too extreme to be performed in public, called The Aristocrats. The film has earned rave reviews and includes other Penn notables: comic Wayne Cotter EAS'77 and comedy writer Alan Kirschenbaum W'85.  [more]

November 16, 2005
History professor Alan Kors was one of 11 scholars and artists awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Bush in the Oval Office Thursday. "It's a remarkable feeling to stand where former presidents and great figures have stood," Kors said, "even for someone such as myself who believes in very small government." First awarded in 1989, the National Humanities Medal recognizes professors, artists and other scholars who have made contributions to the humanities. [more]

November 9, 2005
Yesterday, while many headed to cast ballots, 2000 College graduate Paige Kollock filmed students on campus for a program focusing on American college students' interest in political issues. The results will be broadcast worldwide by Voice of America, a broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government that concentrates on news and education. The objective is to explain to any "19-year-old kid sitting at home in Africa what their counterpart in America is thinking," Kollock said. [more]

November 2, 2005
2004 Penn graduate Mikaelyn Austin is making strides on a documentary about the history of the Palestra. At the annual basketball party -- in which she participated for four years as a member of the Quakers women's team she said, "It's going quite well." [more]