UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF OF PENNSYLVANIA PENNSYLVANIA Tuesday January 31, 2017 Volume 63 Number 21 www.upenn.edu/almanac Penn’s 2017 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients Commencement Penn’s Vice President and University Secretary Leslie Laird Kruhly has announced Speaker the 2017 honorary degree recipients and the Commencement Speaker for the University Cory A. Booker, a Demo- of Pennsylvania. The Office of the University Secretary manages the honorary degree cratic United States Senator selection process and University Commencement. representing the state of New The 261st Commencement ceremony begins at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, May 15, Jersey, will be Penn’s 2017 2017, and will be preceded by student and academic processions through campus. Commencement Speaker on The ceremony will feature the conferral of degrees, the awarding of honorary degrees, May 15, 2017. He and these six greetings by University officials and remarks by the Commencement speaker. It will others (below) will be presented be streamed live on the Penn website. For University of Pennsylvania Commencement with honorary degrees from information, including historical information about the ceremony, academic regalia, Penn during the ceremony on prior speakers and honorary degree recipients, see www.upenn.edu/commencement Franklin Field. See pages 4-5 of this issue for the biographies of this year’s honorary degree recipients. Cory A. Booker Isabel Allende Clara Franzini- Terry Gross Ada Sue Hinshaw Robert Parris Moses Paul Muldoon Armstrong $12 Million from National Institutes of Health for Penn Researchers to Establish Pancreas Research Program The National Institute of Diabetes and at University of Florida, led by Mark A. Atkinson, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has and Vanderbilt University, led by Alvin C. Pow- awarded Penn Medicine a $12 million, four-year ers, who are funded by a separate award. HPAP, grant to establish the Human Pancreas Analysis the newest program in the NIDDK-funded Hu- Program (HPAP). man Islet Research Network, will build upon “The past decades have seen a dramatic well-established collaborations among Penn improvement in our ability to profile human tis- investigators. sues relevant to Type 1 diabetes at the genomic, An unparalleled multidisciplinary approach, epigenomic, protein and functional levels,” such as the mapping of the “immune atlas” of said Klaus H. Kaestner, the Thomas and Evelyn the pancreas and cutting-edge technology, such Suor Butterworth Professor in Genetics and as- as single cell analysis by mass cytometry, are sociate director of the Penn Diabetes Research some of the program’s strengths. This and other Center, in the Perelman School of Medicine at Ali Naji Klaus H. Kaestner technological platforms will allow researchers to the University of Pennsylvania. study diabetes and pancreatic islets with unprec- HPAP is focused on procuring and pheno- • Physiological phenotyping of pancreatic edented resolution, said the investigators. typing pancreatic tissues from individuals with islets, led by Doris Stoffers, the Sylvan H. Eisman IN THIS ISSUE or at risk for Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes Professor of Medicine 2 Deaths; Penn’s Way: Thanks a Million; Power or other types of pancreatic islet dysfunction • Immunology and epigenetics, particularly Down Challenge; UCD: 20 Years, 20 Stories characterized by changes in beta cell mass. The 3 From the President: On Immigration; involving T and B cells, led by Michael R. Betts, Trump, Philosophy, and American Politics; team will also promote additional analysis of an associate professor of microbiology Council: Open Forum samples, including sharing of biobanked HPAP • Molecular profiling of islets, led by Dr. 4 2017 Honorary Degree Recipients’ Bios tissues and the resulting multi-dimensional data Kaestner 6 One Step Ahead: Security & Privacy Tip; Palestra’s 90th Birthday; with the diabetes research community through • Tissue analytics and biobanking, led by Mi- HR: Summary Annual Report for Health & Wellness an open-access database. chael Feldman, a professor of pathology and 7 The Freedom Principle at the ICA; CrimeStats; The program, directed by Ali Naji, a professor laboratory medicine Bike Commuter Expense Reimbursement Program; of surgery, in Penn’s School of Medicine, consists Million Dollar Bike Ride Registration • Bioinformatics, led by Jason H. Moore, the 8 Tax Forms for 2016 of six teams at Penn with expertise in: Edward Rose Professor of Informatics and direc- • Pancreas procurement and islet isolation, Pullouts: 2017 Summer Camps and Programs tor of the Institute for Biomedical Informatics February AT PENN led by Dr. Naji The Program is also collaborating with teams ALMANAC January 31, 2017 www.upenn.edu/almanac 1 Deaths Peter McDougall: Wharton ner featuring legendary beer aficionado Michael Peter S. McDougall, WG’64, a former faculty Jackson and University dinners with visiting member in the Wharton School at University of dignitaries. The Nichols celebrated the 20th an- Pennsylvania, died on January 19. He was 76. niversary of MCC in 2009. Mr. McDougall received an MBA from Mrs. Nichols is survived by a brother, Marco Wharton in 1964 and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers (Jeannine); and a sister, Carla (Walter), her son School of Law in 1980. He worked at Wharton and grandchildren. A Memorial Service celebrat- as a student and became a full-time personnel ing her life is being planned for a later date at St. records officer in 1964. In 1970, he became Marks Episcopal Church. UCD: 20 Years, 20 Stories the administrative course director in Wharton’s José Regueiro, Romance Languages 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of University systems design training program. He joined the José M. Regueiro, City District (UD). Over the next 12 months, it Dean’s office at Wharton in 1977 as a research G’72, associate pro- will be celebrating this momentous milestone administrator, a position he held until his resig- fessor emeritus of with special events, reflections on University nation in 1981. Romance languages City’s growth and accelerating investments in Mr. McDougall then went on to work as an at the University of the neighborhood’s future. attorney for 37 years. Pennsylvania, died on As part of their celebration, they are pleased to He is survived by two sons, Scott and Greg; January 22 after a long launch 20 Years, 20 Stories, a multimedia series granddaughter, Laura; brother, Alan (Joan); sister, battle with cancer. He designed to share stories from the people who Janet; former wife, Nancy; nieces, Anne Burgess was 78 years old. have made University City the vibrant, healthy (Allen), Susan Balcerski, Beth Caputo (Anthony) Dr. Regueiro and diverse community it is today. Those with and Laura McGuire (James); and nephews, Ste- was affiliated with reflections to share or an idea for a story UCD ven (Wendy), John (Andrea) and Arthur Collier the University for 47 should tell are encouraged to contact UCD at (Christine). years; first as a gradu- [email protected] as they continue to ate student, then as an collect new stories throughout the year. Beatrice Nichols, Penn Museum UCD was created to address concerns about instructor, and from José Regueiro Catering Company 1972 onwards, as a safety and cleanliness within the district, and Beatrice “Bea” Nichols, who co-owned and their Clean and Safe programs have been criti- managed University of Pennsylvania’s Museum member of the standing faculty of both Romance languages and Spanish. He retired in 2015 (Al- cal to their work in the neighborhood ever since. Catering Company for more than 20 years, died To honor the legacy of their fundamental work, on December 19, 2016. She was 67. manac April 7, 2015). To date, Dr. Regueiro is the longest serving they chosen to kick off 20 Years, 20 Stories series Mrs. Nichols was born in Bern, Switzerland. with an interview of two remarkable people who She lived in Switzerland until 1973, when she and undergraduate chair in Spanish. He also served as graduate chair, managing editor of the Hispanic have been with University City District since its her husband Bruce moved to Philadelphia for him inception, http://www.universitycity.org/ to attend graduate school at Penn’s Annenberg Review and director of the CGS Summer Program School of Communications. in Spain. He also represented Romance languages Mrs. Nichols taught French and German at in the Faculty Senate. Power Down 2017— Germantown Academy before taking a job at He is survived by his wife, Kathryn K. McMa- Signal a Change The Gold Standard. She opened her own restau- hon, director of language instruction in Romance Penn’s Power Down Challenge is planned for rant, ECCO, at 17th and Lombard streets, in the languages at Penn; two sons, Miguel and Richard; February 1-24, 2017. Start thinking now about mid-1980s. Through ECCO, the Nichols met and several grandchildren. ways you can join this campus- wide energy reduc- Robert Dyson, then-director of Penn Museum, To Report A Death tion campaign! How can you encourage members who encouraged the couple to open the Museum Almanac appreciates being informed of the of the Penn community to reduce their energy Catering Company (MCC). The Nichols opened deaths of current and former faculty and staff consumption and deepen their understanding of MCC in 1989 and later secured an exclusive members, students and other members of the energy-related issues? The Power Down Chal- contract with Penn Museum. MCC hosted events University community. Call (215) 898-5274 or lenge includes educational and interactive events, including Book and Cook, the annual beer din- email [email protected] culminating in a campus-wide, 24-hour Energy Reduction Challenge on Wednesday, February 22. As in the past, Penn’s Sustainability Office will Penn’s Way—Thanks A Million be awarding a donation prize to CURF’s Climate Dear Friends and Colleagues: Action Research Grants based on the amount of Each year Penn’s Way calls upon the strength of the Penn community to respond to the needs energy saved during the 24-hour Energy Reduction of those less fortunate.