Wharton Announces Innovative Program in Life Sciences and Management Roy and Diana Vagelos Give $3 Million for New Undergraduate Curriculum
In fall 2006, the Wharton School and Penn’s College of Arts & Sciences will begin a major new undergraduate program: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management. Students in the program will pursue either a B.S. in Economics or a B.A. with a science major, and they will participate in a common core course, internships in both science and business, and an upper-level science research project.
The program will admit 25 exceptional undergraduates each year, who will combine directed research with program-specific coursework, including a core freshman seminar called Introduction to Bioscience and Management and a senior Capstone Experience designed especially for the program’s students.
Funded by a $3 million gift from emeritus trustee Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, C’50, Hon’99, former CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co., and his wife Diana, the program will be directed by Wharton’s Mark Pauly, Bendheim Professor and Professor of Health Care Systems, Business and Public Policy, Insurance and Risk Management, and Economics, and Philip Rea, Professor of Biology in Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences.
Vagelos Program Prepares Students for Science Management Careers
The Vagelos Program is founded on the principle that students who seek leadership careers in sciences should have a good understanding of management, and those planning management careers in the life sciences should have a deep understanding of science and, even more important, first-hand experience of the processes of discovery and development in a laboratory.
The curriculum presumes that students interested in a career in science or biotech management will need to be fluent in language that allows them to understand and discuss science, as well as in such business areas as strategic marketing, public policy, and product development and management.
The program will focus on preparing its students for intellectually and managerially challenging careers in the rapidly growing life sciences sector, at for-profit or non-profit companies or private or public organizations. This sector primarily includes pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, as well as organizations in such areas as agriculture, medicine, genetic and biochemical research and development, and human or animal health and welfare.
In the words of Prof. Rea, “We need managers with a thorough understanding of the life sciences, and life scientists, fundamental researchers, and biotechnologists who are prepared to take the leap into decision-making with an eye to the general good of society, whether in the commercial, government, or public sectors.
The best way to discover how to do this is to have hands-on experience in a research environment. In the words of a Chinese proverb: ‘I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.’”
Vagelos Curriculum Combines History, Policy, and Hands-On Experiences
Students in the Vagelos program will participate in a cohesive curriculum of research, mentorship, program-specific coursework, and real-world experiences, including the core freshman seminar, a summer business internship after the sophomore year to provide practical management experience, a summer research internship after the junior year to provide practical laboratory experience, and the senior Capstone Experience.
Introduction to Bioscience and Management, which all students will take in their first year, covers four general areas: Science and Society, Science and the Market, Managing Research and Development, and Applications and Lessons From the Field. Within these categories, students will learn about such fundamental topics as: the allocation of resources to research and discovery; the identification and marketing of useful discoveries; and issues of social policy, including patent policy, public and private research support, and regulation and subsidization.
The program forms an integral part of the Penn Compact, which encourages interdisciplinary research across the university, and the variety of science-related programs sponsored throughout Penn by Roy and Diana Vagelos.
The Penn Compact, launched in President Amy Gutmann’s inaugural address in October 2004, places Penn at the forefront of interdisciplinary research around the world, crossing the boundaries of the university’s schools and departments. “To comprehend our complex world,” in President Gutmann’s words, “we must better integrate knowledge from different disciplines and professional perspectives in our research and teaching.”
In addition to the Life Sciences and Management program, Roy and Diana Vagelos have funded two endowed chairs in the Chemistry department; a technologically advanced laboratory building that carries their name; a Scholars Program to support students working in the molecular sciences; a Science Challenge Award to outstanding undergraduate Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemistry or Physics majors; and an Innovation Grant Program to provide support for undergraduate summer internships.
