When it comes time for the spotlight, Penelope Soskin prefers a low profile, joking that fortunately she’s a better advocate for students than herself. After years of thoughtful influence on the college’s honors programs, however, Soskin’s contributions have been brought to light by none other than her students.
Soskin, senior assistant dean and director of honors, scholarships, and experiential learning initiatives in LAS Student Academic Affairs, will receive the Moms Association’s 2009 Medallion of Honor, the organization’s most prestigious annual award. Created in 1966, the honor recognizes those people who use their talents to enrich the lives of others.
She was nominated for the honor by class of 2008 Edmund J. James Scholar Ian Clausen, who described Soskin as “a continual source of encouragement and insight.” Similar sentiments are voiced by other former and current honors students, who quickly become acquainted with Soskin through her frequent well-crafted emails and classroom visits during which she hands out what a coworker calls her “lucky” pencils.
Students say such gestures are only the tip of her efforts, however. Soskin’s main role is directing the college’s James Scholar program, which she tailors to enrich students’ education and also to instill a sense of leadership and civic responsibility. Since Soskin became director in 1999, she’s not only advised and mentored students but also worked to increase the program size (it now has about 1,400 students) and honors credit opportunities. Additional initiatives are ongoing, and one—a new online system for students to submit learning agreements—is being considered by other colleges.
Soskin’s other duties include administering the college’s scholarship-selection program, which serves as the primary support to out-of-state LAS students, and organizing the LAS Senior Thesis program.
Former James Scholar Lauren Denofrio has worked with Soskin as both student and coworker. Denofrio received her bachelor’s degree in 2003, and later, after earning a master’s degree, she took a job in the Department of Chemistry. With Soskin’s help, she expanded its large and successful REACT program (Reaching and Educating America’s Chemists of Tomorrow), now one of the largest science outreach programs in the country.
In January, Denofrio took a job as assistant director of the LAS Honors Program, working with Soskin on advising students and organizing events such as lectures, tours, and other cultural activities. Soskin always makes a point of asking how students are contributing to the community, and thanking them for it, Denofrio says. They try to make the honors office as accessible and personal as possible.
“I came over here because I knew I would work with Penny,” she says. “I like to feel her creative vibes washing over this office. She’s a very creative person. She has a lot of vision, and she takes very seriously the educational promise of this program and the distinction that these students have.”
Christine Knight, a James Scholar senior in integrative biology, worked with Soskin last year on a project to help provide relief to New Orleans. Soskin respected their opinions, gave realistic advice, and let their visions grow “in our own way,” Knight says. She adds that Soskin is continuously notifying students of opportunities to interact with the community outside the University.
“I really feel that she’s redefined education for a lot of students, in that it’s not just something that’s supposed to happen in the classroom,” Knight says. “I would say she enriches a lot of people’s lives.”
Soskin has also been active in the community, serving on numerous volunteer boards that support education and the arts.
Soskin is a native of Great Britain, where she earned a law degree through the Council of Legal Education in London before coming to the U of I to earn a master’s degree in social work. She worked previously with international scholarship students and also disadvantaged youth in the community.
“Trying to support young adults in making the most of their opportunities has always been important for me,” Soskin says. “Whether it’s more disadvantaged sectors of the community, or the talented and industrious, they’re the leaders of tomorrow.”
She was surprised to receive the Moms Association award.
“I was amazed, overwhelmed, dumbfounded—you know it’s from fantastic people,” Soskin says. “It was very kind, but I just do my job, really. So it’s quite an honor.”
