Stars of David

November 26, 2008 - Michael Elkin, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Leonard Barrack

They're certainly giving thanks over at Temple University these days, and not just on this Thursday. It's all because Leonard Barrack, prominent securities and antitrust litigator, who's also been adjudged one of the community's leading philanthropists/humanitarians, has been selected as chair of Temple Law School's board of visitors. Come here often? Barrack certainly has; he's been serving the board for the past 14 years. How to celebrate for dessert? Torts, anyone? ... And since we're talking Thanksgiving, what better dish to offer than squash. That's right -- Julie Kessler helped rep the Philly team into the finals of the Women's National Squash Tournament in King of

Julie Kessler

Prussia. How'd they do? Well, they didn't win the Howe Cup, but they came close, that's how. ... Stuffed with good news is Blank Rome LLP, which just announced that Arthur Bachman has been voted in as 2009-10 prexy, the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, Benefits Council of Delaware Valley, whose board he's been serving the past 11 years. ... Recession? Joel Naroff, prexy of Naroff Economic Advisors and

Joel Naroff

chief economist for TD Bank, is in a state of ascension. He's just been named winner of the 2008 Lawrence R. Klein Award and will receive it from the the Nobel Prize-winning economist himself in ceremonies in New York. Don't know about the Dow Jones, but this news has certainly increased Naroff's stock -- already high -- in the money community. ... Writing on the wall? Joe Goldblum has been elected to chair the board of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Advocates, which serves the highly acclaimed and brushed-with-greatness Mural Arts Program, that has put Philadelphia and the org on the map, er, wall. ... Art and TV certainly do mix -- especially at public TV: Proof? Art Ellis, a vet of more than 20 years at WHYY

Art Ellis

(and don't ask WHYY not), has been chosen exec director of the station's communications and brand management. No surprise there; "Stars" branded him a winner when they first met several decades ago. ... The Million-Dollar Man? That's what they should be calling Carl June, M.D., director of translational research at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, for landing a $1 mil grant from the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, Inc. And June is bustin' out all over; he's also a prof of pathology and lab medicine at the U of P med school. ... If you were casually thumbing your way through your recent edition of Journal of Applied Social Psychology at bedtime last night and came across an article on "Scaling and Testing Multiplicative Combinations in the Expectancy-Value Model of Attitudes," maybe you thought to yourself, "Gee, isn't that the kind of article Martin Fishbein, the Harry C. Coles, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Communication at Annenberg, would write?" Well, yes, it is; the U of P luminary co-authored the article. Now, back to sleep. ... Fixer Upper: The honoree at the ZBT centennial should have appeared in last week's "Society" as Leonard Malmud. ... Hava Negillah, hava-

Sally Mitlas

inauguration! That's on the music menu for Sally Mitlas, the noteworthy singer/producer whose Mitlas Productions' 747 Dance Band is about to help the presidential inauguration fly. Mitlas and her musical minions are booked for the George Washington U.-sponsored part of the gala night on Jan. 20 at the Omni Hotel in Washington, D.C., when Barack Obama will take the vows as the nation's 44th prexy. Cool gig for a cool new national CEO. Just can't wait to see Barack do the hora! ... And, remember, you don't have to be a smoker to relish the best of all possible midnight snacks -- going cold turkey. Happy Thanksgiving!