U. names six college house faculty fellows

Although plans were drawn up several months ago for new faculty fellow apartments in the High Rises, the inhabitants of those remodeled suites were unknown -- until yesterday. Interim Provost Michael Wachter yesterday announced the appointment of six of the 12 new fellows, including three for the high rises, which have not previously featured faculty in residence. The fellows will serve two year terms -- beginning July 1 -- living and dining in the college houses. The faculty will help to foster academic discussions and programming, as well as communication and interaction between residents and various University faculty and scholars The newly appointed group includes four professors: English Professor Michael Gamer, High Rise North; Tina Lu, an incoming professor of Chinese Literature, High Rise East; Legal Studies Professor Alan Strudler, High Rise South; and Management Professor Lori Rosenkopf, Gregory College House, the renamed combination of the Van Pelt and Modern Languages college houses. Additionally, two administrators, Joseph Sun, director of academic affairs at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Anita Gelburd, director of undergraduate academic affairs for the Wharton School, will assume the faculty fellow posts of Community House and Hill College House, respectively. Three more appointments will be made next month, according to Chris Dennis, the director of academic programming for residential life. There will be a total of 15 faculty fellows in the college houses, including six that already serve in that position, Dennis said. The college house plans -- which will create 12 houses among the current residences by next fall -- calls for increased residential staff, including faculty, graduate students and undergraduate resident advisors. The appointees expressed an overall sense of excitement for the position. Lu, who will be getting married over the summer, will be relocating to HRE from Boston. Her fiance Stuart Semmel -- currently a lecturer at Harvard University -- will serve as scholar-in-residence for the high rise. Lu, 29, received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Harvard last December and will begin teaching Chinese Literature in the fall. She served for six years as a residential tutor in one of Harvard's residential colleges "It was an incredibly important part of my life," she said. "It kept me in touch with some of the best parts of being an undergraduate." Lu added that she would like to start a film series for the residence as a possible connection with her class on Chinese film. Rosenkopf, 35, will be joined in Gregory House by her husband Kevin Valentine, a 1997 graduate of Penn's Law School and an associate at the Philadelphia firm of Blank, Rome, Comisky and McCauley, as well as her children, five-year-old Taylor and two-month-old Trevor. The former engineer for AT&T; and Eastman Kodak said she was "looking forward to being a part of the academic and social community" and is also excited about the opportunities the fellowship presents for her children. "From what I hear, the kids will love it," Rosenkopf said. Already a winner of several grants and awards, Rosenkopf earned her Ph.D. in business from Columbia University in 1994. She said she would like to implement programs dealing with personal and business networking and innovation. Gelburd, a recipient of three masters degrees and a doctorate in American Civilizations from Penn in 1994, already served as a graduate fellow and administrative fellow in Stouffer College House from 1983-85, an experience she called "fun and rewarding." The Wharton administrator -- who will move into Hill House with her husband Lawrence -- said she and her husband, an independent record producer, share an interest in the performing arts, which they may structure their residential programs around. And Sun, 38 -- whose wife, alumna Mae Jane, and daughters, Victoria, 4, and Olivia, 1, will join him in Community House -- said he looks forward to transferring his Engineering School experiences into college house programs based on technology, policy and society. "[The college house] is a terrific opportunity for my family and me and a great environment for the young kids -- to help stimulate them and help them grow," Sun said. Gamer, a recipient of the 1997 Lindback Award for Outstanding Teaching, specializes in Gothic Literature. His experience includes directing two writing programs last summer and co-directing Penn's English Graduate Mentor Program. The professor -- who will be joined in HRN by his wife, attorney Elise Bruhl -- was unavailable for comment. Strudler, who holds both a Ph.D. and a law degree, has taught business ethics and negotiation at Penn since 1995. His wife, Eleonora Curlo, will join him in HRS. Strudler was also unavailable for questions.