Vagelos leads aid drive

In only five years as the chairperson of Penn's Board of Trustees, Roy Vagelos has already left a large mark on the University -- literally. Vagelos, a 1950 College graduate, is the former chairperson and chief executive officer of the New Jersey-based Merck pharmaceutical and health care company. Before being elected chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Vagelos spent nearly 20 years at Merck, serving as its CEO for nine years after a long tenure as its director of research. During his career at Merck, the company developed and implemented new drugs and strategies for dealing with health care issues. After Vagelos retired from Merck in 1994, the corporation endowed a chair in the Chemistry Department in his name. He was a Chemistry major as an undergraduate at Penn. As a Trustee, Vagelos has focused much of his energy on boosting the quality of science and research work that goes on at the University. And as chairperson, Vagelos -- who is a former financial aid recipient -- is also personally spearheading the effort to raise the University's endowment for financial aid. In concert with the ribbon-cutting ceremony last fall, Vagelos also announced a pledge to donate another $10 million to create a new undergraduate program in molecular life sciences. The program, beginning in the fall, will allow College of Arts and Sciences students to participate in an interdisciplinary program combining chemistry and physics with biology, biochemistry, genetics, neuroscience and other subjects. This fall, 10 students will be designated as Vagelos Scholars. "The scholars will have an opportunity to work in laboratories in the School of Arts and Sciences as well as the University's Medical, Veterinary and Dental schools in order to receive integrated research experiences," Rodin said. The program will provide the students with financial aid, as well as stipends for support of summer research projects.