The 2009 Dean’s Scholars

The School of Arts and Sciences has named 20 students from the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Liberal and Professional Studies, and the Graduate Division as 2009 Dean’s Scholars. This honor is presented annually to SAS students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise.


The College of Arts and Sciences
Phillip Benedetti, Biochemistry, Chemistry and Economics
Thomas Dreisbach, Germanic Languages and Literatures
Farhaan Hafeez, Biochemistry and Biophysics
Kendall Hoechst, English and Psychology
Sumeet Khetarpal, Biochemistry and Biophysics
Benjamin Laitman, Biological Basis of Behavior and Anthropology
Alexander Lessie, Classical Studies
Stefan Sabo, Mathematics
Hayley Walker, Biological Basis of Behavior


College of Liberal and Professional Studies—Undergraduate Program
Justin Alexander, Philosophy
Professional Master’s Programs
Gregory Kelder, Environmental Studies


The Graduate Division—Doctoral Programs
Carolyn Baugh, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Roger Grant, Music
Justin Leidwanger, Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World
Edward Lybeer, Comparative Literature
Neil Mehta, Demography
Jean-Francois Mondon, Linguistics
Barbara Jane Morgan, Chemistry
Karen Tani, History and Law
Keren Yarhi-Milo, Political Science

Arts & Sciences News

University of Pennsylvania, Neubauer Family Foundation, and Philadelphia Police Department Partner to Support Police Leadership Education

The first-of-its-kind graduate degree in the U.S. for police leaders launches this fall at the School of Arts & Sciences.

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Marisa C. Kozlowski Named Next Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences

Kozlowski, who joined the Penn faculty in 1997, succeeds Mark Trodden, who transitions to the Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences on June 1.

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One Fourth Year, One Alum Receive 2025 Hertz Fellowship

Eric Tao, C’25, Gr’25 (left), and Suraj Chandran, C’23, were awarded the honor, part of a group of 19 fellows selected this year. Each one receives five years of funding toward a doctoral program.

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Benjamin Nathans Wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction

Nathans, Alan Charles Kors Endowed Term Professor of History, won for his book “To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement.”

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Mark Devlin Elected to National Academy of Sciences

He joins three others from Penn to receive the honor this year, all recognized for “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”

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Michael Jones-Correa and Sophia Rosenfeld Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

They join three others from the University of Pennsylvania, selected as part of the Academy’s mission to convene leaders from “every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together.”

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