Provost wows students with presentation of research

When Provost Ron Daniels spoke about research on law and legal institutions in the Fireside Lounge of the ARCH Building, so many students showed up that some were funneled into nearby offices.

Daniels, who came to Penn in July from the University of Toronto, shared his research in areas spanning from voucher use in the government to the problems of the developing world.

"The provost is new to the University, and it made sense to give him the opportunity to meet interested students and [give] them the opportunity to meet him, too," said Art Casciato, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. "We are very pleased with the things the provost had to tell us about, but we are particularly pleased with the overflowing crowd."

Daniels' interest in legal research began when he worked with one of his professors on a Canadian royal commission on health hazards stemming from asbestos.

"There are those serendipitous moments that happen to change your life, and this was one of those," he said. "From that moment, this fueled my interest in the role of legal institutions. I wondered, 'How can we best use private interest to help the public weal?'"

Daniels also shared his work relating to the presence of HIV in blood transfusions in Europe, the government's utilization of educational and medical vouchers and the growing gap between industrialized and Third World countries.

"The monumental problem of our time is the glaring and stunning difference between people living in the First and Third worlds," Daniels said. "If you look at what developing countries are missing, it's a good set of laws and legal systems."

Daniels is currently co-authoring a book on this topic.

Students came to the hour-long lecture for a variety of reasons, from interest in law to involvement in CURF.

"I came to hear the provost speak because I'm interested in applying to law school, and the provost has such a strong background in law," College senior Eamon Lorincz said.

During the question-and-answer portion of the presentation, another student expressed his approval of Daniels' speech.

"It's good to see the passion of your work coming out of your pores," College sophomore Jason Karsh said.

Daniels' presentation was the first of three talks this semester about faculty research hosted by CURF.

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