Dear Benny:
I’m always in awe at how much talent Penn has when it comes to its faculty members. I know some, who hold appointments in more than one school, have special titles such as Penn Integrates Knowledge (or PIK) professors. How did that program come about, and how do professors earn the title?
—Amy Askalot

Dear Asking Amy:
Thank you for your curiosity about such an important Penn program. It’s a great question to kick off my retirement.

Penn Integrates Knowledge professors are unique, indeed. I still remember when John L. Jackson Jr., now dean of Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice, was named the first PIK professor. He was recruited to Penn in April 2006 from Duke.

Today, a total of 22 boast the title, with the newest being George Demiris, who will leave the University of Washington to take on his new role at Penn on Jan. 1, 2018.

Demiris, a leader in new technologies for e-health and home-based health care, will hold appointments in the School of Nursing and Perelman School of Medicine.

This joint appointment emboldens the program’s purpose: to recruit renowned scholars whose work draws from two or more academic disciplines, and whose achievements demonstrate a rare ability to thrive at the intersection of multiple fields.

The PIK program launched with an anonymous $10 million gift, just months after Amy Gutmann was inaugurated as Penn’s president in 2004. The recruitment process is led by a committee made up of the provost and the deans of Penn’s 12 schools, and supplement ongoing searches conducted by departments and schools. President Gutmann approves the finalists, who are appointed through the normal process.

To see a list of all the impressive PIK professors, and read their bios, visit pikprofessors.upenn.edu.

Now, as the Penn Current comes to a close, I’m afraid it’s time to hang up my hat. I’m off to Florida. But, do not fear, Google is near.

Energy and persistence conquer all things.