Wharton prof takes major White House honor

Patrick Harker, an associate professor of decision sciences and systems in the Wharton School, recently became a member of an elite group which counts General Colin Powell and Senator Timothy Wirth (D-Colo.) as members. Becoming the third University professor to be so honored, Harker was named a White House Fellow by President George Bush on June 3rd. He joins the more 350 other civic leaders to be Fellows since the program's inception 25 years ago. "I'm excited to have the heavy responsibility that work at this level of the government demands," said Harker, who is also the director of the Fishman-Davidson Center for the Study of the Service Sector. "The experience will undoubtedly affect my teaching and research in a positive way." The White House Fellowship program, established by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, will enable Harker to work in an Executive Branch department, and although his exact position has yet to be decided, he said he hopes to work at a "fairly high level of policy-making." Although Harker modestly claims that he will be a "regular" government employee for the year, the fellowship program has an extensive educational component. In addition to domestic and international travel, the fellows will have a series of "off-the-record" meetings with renowned government and private sector leaders. In the past such speakers have included Secretaries of Defense Harold Brown and Robert McNamara, Caspar Weinberger and General Colin Powell, media personalities and members of the business community. When Harker returns to the University in September 1992, he will becoming the youngest full professor ever appointed in the Wharton school. According to , the promotion which becomes official July 1st, was granted independent of the fellowship. "Patrick is a highly talented and productive scholar and the fellowship is quite an honor with many prestigious members," Santomero said. "The government [officials] came around to members of the Wharton faculty and asked a lot of questions about Harker, basically to see if he was as smart as they thought he was." Harker joins 15 other civic leaders in this year's class of Fellows. Past honorees have been drawn from many occupations, having included doctors, lawyers, farmers and musicians who excelled in their early careers.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.