Late last month, Penn Vet Dean Joan Hendricks and three other Penn alumnae were named 2011 Women of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Twelve independent judges selected a total of 26 women from more than 300 nominations for the honors. Hendricks, who in 1979 and 1980 earned her VMD and Ph.D. from Penn Vet respectively, joins fellow Penn grads Lisa Nutter GFA’92; Marilyn Kutler C’71, L’74; and Patricia Woody ChE’82 on the list of honorees from the Philadelphia region.

In 2006, Hendricks became the 12th dean of Penn Vet and the third female dean of a veterinary school in the United States. Before becoming dean, Hendricks served as a faculty member at Penn Vet for more than 20 years. Lisa Nutter is the president of Philadelphia Academies, Inc., an organization that has developed a national model for career academies offering public school students academic courses that are integrated with career training. She is also the wife of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter W’79. Marilyn Kutler is a partner at the law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, and former city solicitor for the City of Philadelphia. Patricia Woody is the head of machinery research and engineering for the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station, responsible for the supervision of more than 1,300 employees and the management of about $1 billion in funding.