“Course” ratings, celiac disease, Bell and Bednarik, and more.
Preparation for Life
I appreciated the article “Course Corrections” [Jan|Feb 2025] so much that I want to add my “Yes!” to its very important conclusion [as stated by College of Arts and Sciences Dean Peter Struck]—that is, that the formal courses of study we take as undergraduates “are preparing you not just for that first job out of college, but for a lifetime of leadership in your community, embeddedness in your community, and also in your professions.”
My husband [Stanford M. Lembeck GCP’59] and I are perfect examples. We graduated with degrees in city planning in 1959 and 1960. My husband established an adult education program in the Cooperative Extension Service at Penn State University for citizens who participate in local government bodies. It is their participation and contributions that help to create solutions to local problems and define opportunities.
My work with the League of Women Voters in the early 1960s helped to bring about a regional sewerage system in northeastern Pennsylvania where none had existed before. These were not specific lessons we learned in our coursework; they were the result of the preparation our planning education provided in how to define a challenge and how to think about problem solving.
I feel certain that our experiences are typical of many professionals whose education at Penn provided them with the theoretical framework for their chosen careers and who used that foundation to create new solutions to ever-evolving challenges in their communities.
Thank you for making this part of the discussion.
Carolyn Sehl Lembeck CP’58, State College, PA
Humanities Have (More Than) Market Value
Thanks to Trey Popp for his terrific piece about course registrations over time. It’s a great contribution to the history of Penn and also to our broader understanding about what has changed—and what has not—in higher education in the United States.
I also agree with Peter Struck’s important insight that the humanities have market value, and that we’re doing our students (and ourselves) a disservice if we downplay or ignore that. But if we simultaneously channel our students into a narrow band of professions, we make a mockery of the humanistic spirit. It’s supposed to make us ask about what makes for a good life! We can’t advertise it to students in that idiom, then (implicitly) answer it for them: a good life means a high salary in the worlds of finance, tech, and consulting. They will see through all of that. Indeed, they already have.
Jonathan Zimmerman, faculty, Philadelphia
Smile of Recognition
Reading John Prendergast’s comment [“From the Editor,” Jan|Feb 2025] about missing out on Dr. Riasanovsky’s Russian history course brought a smile of recognition to my face. My copy of his red-covered, four-inch-thick history was passed to me by my brother, Steven Feigenbaum W’70, who recommended the class to me. That book sat on my bookshelf for over 50 years until downsizing last summer spurred me to donate it to our local library book sale, along with various other long forgotten textbooks. I didn’t find the course notes, however. Now that would have been something!
Charlotte Feigenbaum Spector CW’73, Hershey, PA
Allies in the Battle Against Celiac Disease
We read Dave Zeitlin’s article “Every Bite, Every Day” [Jan|Feb 2025] with great interest. As the founder/CEO and chief scientific officer of Beyond Celiac and fellow Penn alumnae, we applaud the Bari family’s efforts to raise awareness and support for celiac disease research. With their work and the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation aimed at preventing celiac disease, Penn can boast decades of support for advancing celiac disease education and research.
Beyond Celiac, based in the Philadelphia region, has been the leading patient advocacy and research-driven organization in the field for 22 years. Its origins stretch back to 2003 when founder and CEO Alice Solomon Bast C’83 attended Penn’s Master of Nonprofit Leadership program. There, she learned from esteemed mentors such as Dr. Roberta Snow, now a Beyond Celiac advisor.
In establishing the organization, Alice was motivated by her desire to prevent others from experiencing the long and difficult journey she faced during her diagnosis. In 2023, Dr. Debra Silberg GM’92, a graduate of the internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship programs at the Perelman School of Medicine, joined the Beyond Celiac team as chief scientific officer.
Over the years, we have had the pleasure of hosting the Bari family at our events, where we raise funds for programs to increase diagnosis rates and expand the availability and affordability of gluten-free foods. It has been a joy to see Jax Bari and other children like him enjoying gluten-free foods safely, something impossible two decades ago.
As the article accurately notes, federal funding for celiac disease, a debilitating autoimmune disorder with no approved therapy affecting up to 3.2 million Americans, is a tiny fraction of the overall NIH budget. Recognizing the major barriers this lack of funding presents and the short- and long-term burdens celiac disease imposes on those living with it, Beyond Celiac refocused its mission in 2015 to prioritize accelerating treatments leading to a cure. Since that time, we have invested more than $3 million in research grants to investigators around the world who are advancing groundbreaking work in the areas of biomarkers, disease predictors, neurological manifestations, screening, and more, making our foundation the leading 501(3)(c) funder of celiac disease research.
We know firsthand that achieving a future beyond celiac will require collective effort from all of us and our families. Hats off to the Bari family for their dedication and advocacy and to Penn for inspiring leaders to take on important social causes, like treatments and a cure for celiac disease.
Alice Salomon Bast C’83, Fort Washington, PA
Debra Silberg GM’92, Chestertown, MD
Informative Article, But One Important Error
I found much of “Every Bite, Every Day” to be informative and as a sufferer of celiac disease myself, I was excited to learn about the progress that is being made. I am also delighted to know that Penn is a leader in this field.
However, I found one important factual error in the article. Specifically, it states that celiac disease, “disrupts the small intestine’s ability to digest gluten.” This is factually incorrect. Those of us with celiac disease have an immune system that responds to gluten exposure in the form of antibodies, as it would respond to a foreign invader like a virus. These antibodies attack various systems, including the gastrointestinal and nervous systems, among others. The scarring from these antibodies results in over 300 accepted symptoms of the disease, including GI issues and peripheral neuropathy, among many more. The scarring in the small intestine results in our inability to absorb any nutrients, not just gluten. This happens because the villi, or the small, fingerlike projections in the small intestine, deflate. This significantly decreases the surface area of the intestine, compromising nutrient uptake. As such, malnutrition is a major concern for the undiagnosed which leads to secondary issues such as anemia.
Unfortunately, the confusion and misinformation surrounding this disease is rampant. The article even references the confusion between this serious disease and a fad diet. While I appreciate the article for so many reasons, this factual error merely perpetuates the lack of understanding of the disease.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, not a digestive disease. Reactions are triggered from our immune system. It is not that our bodies can’t digest gluten, it’s that gluten causes our bodies to attack themselves. This is an extremely important distinction.
Jeff Alexander, staff, Philadelphia
Bell and Bednarik at the Varsity Shop
It is most appropriate that Penn has immortalized Bert Bell with a statue in his honor [“Sports,” Jan|Feb 2025]. I met the NFL commissioner/Eagles owner in 1945, when he occupied an office on the second floor of my Dad’s clothing store, The Varsity Shop, 3657 Woodland Avenue—for free!
Penn’s winning football team hadn’t joined the Ivy League … the stands were always full. Bell lamented that if he couldn’t get 6,000 fans to an NFL game on Sunday, he couldn’t make payroll! (This occurred prior to games being televised.)
Chuck Bednarik was a customer, also … with hands so big, gloves had to be specially ordered to fit him! He was the last NFL 60-minute, two-way player.
Jacqueline Zahn Nicholson W’62, Marietta, GA
Architects Unmentioned
I read with interest the article titled “Gutman. Vagelos. Ott.” [“Gazetteer,” Jan|Feb 2025]. All those new buildings and not one mention of who the architects were. Having graduated from Penn in architecture, I expected to see that attribution at least mentioned. I hope future articles that focus on new buildings on campus can include recognition.
Joy D. Swallow Ar’86, Kansas City, MO
An earlier article, “Under Construction” [“Gazetteer,” Sep|Oct 2023] did note the architects of the Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology and Amy Gutmann Hall—Behnisch Architekten and Lake|Flato, respectively. Cannon Design was the architect for the Ott Center.—Ed.
Just a Bit Outside
Congrats to Jake Cousins, Doug Glanville, and Mark DeRosa for achieving Major League Baseball status. The article “Baseball’s Biggest Stage” [“Profiles,” Jan|Feb 2025] states that they are the only alumni to play MLB in the last 60 years. I remember watching Grover Powell from Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, pitch for the New York Mets in the mid-’60s. As I recall he pitched very well but had a career shortened by injuries.
Paul S. Batterson Jr. W’66, Tolland, CT
Powell pitched in the majors in 1963—close, but technically more than 60 years ago. The Gazette profiled him in “Shooting Star Over Flushing” [“Profiles,” Nov|Dec 2015].—Ed.
You Be the Judg
With regard to “Point, Counterpoint” [“Expert Opinion,” Jan|Feb 2025], the position of quotation marks should be a matter of judgment. On the other hand, it could be a matter of judgement.
Jack May C’58, Montclair, NJ
Puzzled by PIK
I have enjoyed reading several of the articles in the Jan|Feb 2025 Gazette. However, one thing puzzled me in the story on Dorothy E. Roberts being honored with a MacArthur Fellowship [“Gazetteer”]. What on earth is a “PIK Professor”?
Irvine Milheim M’60, Sharon, PA
Apologies for the confusion and, for others also wondering, PIK stands for Penn Integrates Knowledge and refers to faculty with appointments in two or more schools.—Ed.
Bravo
Awake early this morning up here in Toronto, I pulled out the Nov|Dec 2025 Gazette. I couldn’t return to sleep because of all the wonderful articles. Ranging from self-reflection on aging, to the struggle to find common sense governance rules, and finally football recollections. Bravo. And thank you.
Paul J. Brown W’77, North York, ON, Canada
True Love
The article “The Price They Paid” [Nov| Dec 2025] dealt with the Penn football team’s difficult transition from big-time competition to the Ivy League in the mid-1950s. Jim Shada’s recollection of Penn’s loss to Notre Dame in 1955 reminded me of my painful memory of that game.
That fall I was in my second year at Penn Law and my fiancée was visiting me from Brooklyn that weekend. We had tickets for the big game, but she was tardy as usual, and we were late in our arrival. As we approached the stadium the game had already begun, and we heard a big roar from the stands. As mentioned in the article, Penn had returned the opening kickoff 108 yards for a touchdown. Of course we had missed this highlight and the Quakers lost by a score of 46–14.
Pearl and I were married in 1956, and I’ve never let her forget that event, even when we recently celebrated our 68th wedding anniversary.
Maurice Axelrad L’57, Bethesda, MD
