After tough application process, new faculty settle into life at U.

The University's 34 new faculty members were greeted this week with a whirlwind tour of orientations and receptions. The new professors will attend an October 16 gathering at University President Judith Rodin's home, Eisenlohr Hall, according to Rodin's assistant Jennifer Baldino. In addition, each undergraduate school is having its own orientation events. Hiring procedures for this year's faculty freshman class began a year ago when the professors responded to the University's advertisements and newsgroup postings with resumes and cover letters. After they made it past an initial cut, applicants had to submit information about their research, writings and teaching record. Finalists were interviewed extensively. By May or June, the University notified its new staff. And for many of them, like Classical Studies Professor Brent Shaw, landing a teaching spot at Penn is a coveted reward for going through the long process. "I've been looking for the past four or five years," Shaw said. "It's been now or never." Shaw added that because he was looking for a full professor position, there were not many openings, but the job he took here was competitive and attractive. "I gave Penn much more consideration because I was very much impressed with the personnel," Shaw said. Shaw, who studies the family structure of ancient Rome, is now researching marriage, divorce and the education of children. His interest stemmed from the United States' renewed political debate about family values, he said. Newly-hired Nursing Professor Diane Spatz, who received her bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees from the University, said she is glad to be back, especially after dealing with the difficult application process. The Engineering School hired three new faculty members this year, including Professor of Chemical Engineering Daniel Hammer. Hammer is the first hire of the University's expanding Institute of Medicine and Engineering. Hammer, who received his master's degree from the Engineering School in 1987, said the top-notch Chemical Engineering Department and the IME sold him on Penn. Hammer said although he had other offers, including one from Johns Hopkins University, he was eager to come back to Penn. Linguistics Professor Rolf Noyer, who formerly taught at Brown University, also said Penn's well-regarded department set it apart from other schools. "I don't want to denigrate Brown, but Penn is a great place for linguistics," Noyer said. "It's one of the preeminent departments in the country." He noted that Penn's hiring process is less stressful than at some of its peer institutions. "Hiring was relatively quick -- they were very efficient," Noyer said. "It's not always that way." Noyer added that he enjoys his fellow Penn faculty members and thinks he is well matched with the department.