Marketing Professor Barbara Kahn will replace the Wharton School's Undergraduate Vice Dean Thomas Dunfee when his three-year term ends in June. Kahn joined Wharton in 1990 and since then, has been teaching Marketing 101, one of the Wharton undergraduate program's required introductory courses. Kahn said that she is looking forward to becoming the new vice dean and believes that Dunfee has done a "really good job and is committed to his work," adding that she would like to follow in Dunfee's footsteps. Dunfee plans on taking an administrative leave for the fall semester and "get back into focus" the world of business ethics, Dunfee's true love. While Dunfee's colleagues said that his skills and expertise will be missed at Penn, he said that Kahn -- who in 1999 received the David W. Hauck Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Undergraduate Division -- has proven to be a worthy candidate for his position. "It's a terrific appointment," Dunfee said. Kahn is "very involved with the undergraduates, has done a great job and is very dedicated." During Dunfee's tenure as dean, he worked to strengthen Wharton's undergraduate division by establishing and expanding upon a wide variety of programs. He spent time increasing research opportunities for students and trying to create a co-curricular system to build a sense of community for Wharton within Penn as a whole. Recently, Dunfee has been dedicating his time to creating a new Wharton Abroad Program involving two exchanges with the University of New South Wales in Australia and Warwick University in the United Kingdom. Wharton Dean Patrick Harker echoed Dunfee's praise of Kahn, saying in a press release that Kahn "will bring a deep commitment to undergraduate education." Kahn said she is happy that her appointment has been announced so early in the year -- she will not be officially taking over Dunfee's position until July 1 -- and she believes that she will have a significant amount of time to "learn how the office works." "I am very excited about the opportunities," Kahn added. Kahn's immediate plans include sitting in on many of Dunfee's meetings to better acquaint herself with her new position.
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