Graduate School

The University of Pennsylvania placed the vice dean of its Graduate School of Education on administrative leave late Wednesday after The Inquirer began asking questions about his false claim to have a doctoral degree. Doug E. Lynch has claimed on his resumé that he received the degree from Columbia University. A faculty website repeatedly refers to him as "Dr. Lynch. " Earlier Wednesday, Penn officials said they became aware of the misrepresentation a couple of months ago, taking unspecified "appropriate sanctions" but deciding to leave Lynch in his leadership role.

The vice dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania resigned Thursday, one day after he was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation about his false claim to have a doctoral degree. Penn announced the resignation of Doug E. Lynch, who has been a top official in the education program since 2004. Lynch has claimed on his resume that he received the degree from Columbia University. A faculty website repeatedly referred to him as Dr. Lynch.

On the campus of Cheyney University, a school that is no stranger to financial hardship, professor Adedoyin M. Adeyiga is a rainmaker. The African-born chemistry professor, whose father is a king in Nigeria, has secured more than $5 million in grants for programming to increase minority participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). An additional $1.35 million is pending. Adeyiga, or "Dr. A. " as he is known on campus, works furiously to stop students from shunning a subject and career path that many consider scary and intimidating.

Teresa Pica, 66, of Philadelphia, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and a leading expert in the field of second language acquisition, died Tuesday, Nov. 15, at home of complications from viral encephalitis. She had been ill since March after returning from a lecture abroad, said her sister, Anna Marie Goldberg. Dr. Pica's influence on the theory and practice of second language acquisition was groundbreaking, according to biographical material Penn made public.

NO, IT'S NOT something out of any "Star Wars" prequel. Robert Griffin III is Baylor's fourth-year junior quarterback, who has already thrown for over 7,000 yards and rushed for 1,700 more in his career. And the Bears, who opened with a 50-48 win over TCU, are ranked 15th heading into Saturday's game at fellow Big 12 unbeaten Kansas State, which is coming off that win at Miami. The Bears haven't won a conference road opener since 1995. It's their first 3-0 start since 2005, when they finished 5-6. They haven't been 4-0 since 1991, which was also the last time they've been this high in the polls.

Evan Maschmeyer, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound wing guard from Jeffersonville (Indiana) High, has enrolled at St. Joseph's and will be eligible to play for the Hawks this season. A solid three-point shooter, Maschmeyer averaged 15 points a game and helped Jeffersonville reach the Indiana Class AAAA semifinals. Maschmeyer said injuries to his ankle and wrist limited him through most of his senior season, and recruiting interest dropped off as a result. He visited Boston College after his junior season, when he also attracted interest from Wisconsin and several Ivy League schools, including Penn.

Chemist Corwin Hansch, 92, who pioneered the field of relating a molecule's chemical structure to its biological activity, an approach widely used in developing new drugs and other commercial chemicals, died in Claremont, Calif., on May 8. He had suffered from a prolonged bout with pneumonia. Dr. Hansch was known as the "father of computer-assisted molecule design" for his development of Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships, known colloquially as QSARs, a series of equations that allow chemists to modify drugs and other molecules in a predictable manner to achieve desired characteristics.

DEAR ABBY: May I respond to "Bound for College," the high-school senior who is distressed because she may have to go to a state university? This is America, the land of opportunity, NOT the land of entitlement. A college education is a luxury, not a right. How fortunate she is to have parents who can send her to college. It is my hope that her father does get that job at the university. What an excellent benefit he will have to get reduced tuition for his offspring. If, however, that is not good enough for her, it is her right to refuse that gift.

When Dan Kelly went to the fifth reunion of his Princeton University undergraduate class on May 30, he had a story or two to share. He earned a one-year fellowship after his third year of medical school, in order to study in Sierra Leone. He set up a nonprofit organization in May 2006, before going to the African nation. He watched the nonprofit send $200,000 to Sierra Leone since September 2006. With that money, he opened a medical clinic in January in Koidu Town, where there had been none.

Standing tall in a maroon cap and gown and gold sash, Patrick Webster walked proudly onto the Delaware County Technical School stage and received a completion certificate. To Webster, it will always be his high school diploma. He is a student officer and one of 19 members of the technical school's Class of 2003, the last graduating class for the full-day program. Few in number, strong in memory and friendship, Webster, 17, and his classmates believe in the full-day vocational school that existed for less than seven years.