Klein and Lareau Named Kahn Chairs

Two distinguished faculty members have been appointed Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professors.

Joshua Klein, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, has been appointed the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Klein is a high-energy physicist and an internationally recognized scholar of experimental particle physics, neutrinos and dark matter. He was a leading team member for the SNO experiment known for "Solving the Solar Neutrino Problem" that resulted in a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics for Art McDonald in 2015. Dr. Klein serves as the Chair and spokesperson for the SNO+ and MiniCLEAN Experiments, and has served as a member of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment Executive Committee. He is a recipient of the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. At Penn, Dr. Klein’s excellent teaching has been recognized by the Provost’s Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, and he has served as Chair of the School of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee and as a member of the Provost’s Academic Planning and Budget Committee and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

Annette Lareau, Professor of Sociology, has been appointed Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor in the Social Sciences. Dr. Lareau, who has a secondary faculty appointment in the Graduate School of Education, is a distinguished scholar of social stratification, family, childhood and education. She is the author of six books, including Unequal Childhoods: Race, Class, and Family Life and Home Advantage: Social Class and Parental Involvement in Elementary Education, which won awards from the American Sociological Association and the American Educational Studies Association.  Her research has been supported by the Russell Sage Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the Maryland Population Center. Dr. Lareau has served as President of the American Sociological Association.

The Kahn endowed term chairs were established through a bequest by Mr. and Mrs. Edmund J. Kahn. Mr. Kahn was a 1925 Wharton graduate who had a highly successful career in the oil and natural gas industry. Mrs. Kahn, a graduate of Smith College, worked for Newsweek and owned an interior design firm. The couple supported many programs and projects at the University including Van Pelt Library, the Modern Languages College House, and other initiatives in scholarship and the humanities.