Wharton School deputy dean named

Samuel Blank Professor in Legal Studies Janice Bellace, deputy dean of the Wharton School , has been named the Samuel A. Blank professor in Legal Studies. Bellace, a professor in both Wharton and the Law School, got her undergraduate education at the University and graduated from the Law School in 1974. She said her specialty is comparative labor laws, adding that she has done extensive research on how different labor laws impact business. According to a statement released by the Public Affairs Office of the Wharton School, Bellace has "gained international recognition for her ability to analyze the impact of legal policy on human resource management practice." She has also gained recognition through her work with labor relations in the United States and Europe. Bellace said she is excited and thrilled by the new chair. "The endowed chair is a mark of recognition," she said. "Everyone likes to be recognized or have their work recognized by their peers." She is currently working on an article about a new European works committee which will affect companies operating in Europe, including some American companies. Bellace, who serves as the general editor of the Comparative Labor Law Journal and editor-in-chief of International Labor Law, has published more than 30 chapters and articles on labor unions and other issues. Bellace added that it is a "particular pleasure" to hold the Blank professorship since she is a University graduate and a Philadelphia native. The Blank professorship was established in 1995, and dedicated to the memory of 1965 Law School graduate Samuel Blank. Blank, founder of the Philadelphia law firm Blank, Rome, Klaus and Comisky, was a Philadelphia native. Bellace said Blank's sons set up the professorship as "a way of honoring their father." "I think they felt that he used his business as well as his law skills by starting his own business," she said. "So, it is fitting that [the professorship] should go to someone in Wharton's legal studies department." According to Bellace, when Wharton was founded in 1881 it was decided that "people involved in business need to know some law." Wharton's legal studies department is the oldest law department in a business school in the nation. The Samuel A. Blank professorship is one of 71 endowed chairs created at Wharton. Each chair has a search committee dedicated to reviewing candidates for the professorship. Bellace said the committee usually is made up of senior faculty members in the school. The committee makes a recommendation to the school's dean who reviews the candidate and then turns his recommendation over to the provost who makes the final decision.

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