The University of Pennsylvania placed fourth in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of “America’s Best Colleges,” up one spot from last year. Wharton’s undergraduate business program ranked first, and the school’s real estate, marketing, management, insurance and finance programs all topped out in the specialties rankings. Penn ranked 10th in best value.

Marybeth Gasman, assistant professor of higher education in the GSE, won an H.S. Warwick Research Award in Alumni Relations for Educational Advancement from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Gasman was given the award for her book, “Fund Raising from Black College Alumni: Successful Strategies for Supporting Alma Mater” (CASE, 2003), which she co-wrote with a colleague from Georgia State University.

Diana Muiz, the Samuel Stouffer Professor of Political Science and Communications, recently won the 2004 Graber “Best Book” Award of the American Political Science Association’s Political Communication Section. The award, presented earlier this month at the APSA’s annual meeting, is given annually to a major book on political communications published within the last 10 years. Muiz received the award for her 1998 book, “Impersonal Influence” (Cambridge, 1998), which is about how people are affected by the perceptions of the collective opinions or experiences of others.

Brian Strom, director of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and chairman of that department, will assume the presidency of the Association of Clinical Research Training Program Directors in April 2005. He will lead the association in fostering the development of clinical investigators, solidifying the infrastructure in clinical investigation education, developing clinical research training and promoting technical advances to improve patient care.