PHILADELPHIA - Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania, will be recognized for her outstanding accomplishments in the area of women progress when she receives The Beacon Award during the 125th-anniversary celebration of the admission of women students to Penn. The celebration will be Nov. 1-2.

The Beacon Award, presented by the TrusteesCouncil of Penn Women, is given to an outstanding woman, man or institution that has displayed exemplary leadership in furthering the advancement of women through dedicated pursuit of and commitment to issues affecting women. The presentation will highlight a gala luncheon on Nov. 2.

Rodin, who has been the University president since 1994, is the first alumna to serve as president of Penn and the first woman to serve as president of an Ivy League institution. This historic first served as a model for other Ivy League institutions as evidenced by the recent appointments of women presidents at Princeton and Brown universities.

"Dr. Rodin represents a true role model for all those involved in furthering the cause of women rights and opportunities," said Chris Hikawa, chair of the TrusteesCouncil of Penn Women. "We look forward to many more years of her leadership in the continuing effort to enhance the status of women in our society."

Rodin, 57, holds appointments on the Penn faculty as professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences and as professor of medicine and psychiatry in the School of Medicine.

Dr. Rodin professional accomplishments have had an impact on the role of women in American life. She was selected as one of "The Best of 1996" by NBC Nightly News, and one of the 25 most influential working mothers by Working Mother (February 1998). In 1998, she was one of 20 women selected by the White House Project in its Ballot Box Initiative "to create a climate where a woman could be elected by the year 2008." At a special White House ceremony in 2000, she was recognized as the Sara Lee Frontrunner for "accomplishments that have both shaped our past and given inspiration for the future."

For her contributions to the field of psychology, she was recognized by American Health for Women as a "trailblazer" who has made the United States a "healthier place for women." Her research interest has focused on the relationship between psychology and biological processes in human health and behavior. She has published more than 200 journal articles and book chapters, and is the author or co-author of 10 books, including Body Traps, which examines the role of physical appearance in the psychological health of women.

Previous recipients of The Beacon Award include U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; Virginia Knauer, special assistant to the president for consumer affairs, 1969-1977 and 1981-88 and the first Republican woman to be elected to the Philadelphia City Council; Claire Fagin, professor emeritaand dean emerita of the Penn School of Nursing and interim president at Penn in 1993-94; and Al Shoemaker, who chaired the University Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1994 and was the inspiration for the founding of the TrusteesCouncil of Penn Woman.