Talk:List of University of Pennsylvania people

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I think that notable faculty should come before noted alumni - after all, they're Penn people now. I also am going to alphebetize the list of categories of noted alumni since I can't think of any reason why the current order exits. Flying fish 19:19, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

I hadn't realized that the Nobel laureates section was exclusively alumni. I think it would make sense to have all Nobel laureates associated with Penn at the top, then faculty, then alumni. Flying fish 19:24, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm surprised to see Wole Soyinka (the 1986 Nobel laureate in literature) on this list; his name was added earlier today (Nov. 20, 2006) by User:Chelsaz27. I am not aware of any connection between Soyinka and Penn. I did some research and all I found were articles about individual lectures he delivered on campus in 1996 and 2004. He's not an alum and, as far as I can tell, has never been a member of the faculty or held any other position within the university. Is there more of a connection than I was able to find, or was Chelsaz27 just eager to add another Nobel winner to the list?

If there's no response to this inquiry within the next couple of weeks I will delete Soyinka from the article.4.232.225.112 02:05, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

Since no one has responded, I'm going to go ahead and delete Soyinka's name. I did a little more research and found that he received an important medal from Penn in 2004, but that isn't enough of a connection to justify listing him here. Since the medal can be presented to people with or without other Penn connections, Soyinka's receipt also does not suggest that he has a meaningful relationship to the university.4.232.225.162 23:42, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I just checked Penn's "official" list of its Nobel laureates (http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/notables/awards/nobel.html) and I note that it does not include Wole Soyinka. It also doesn't include Hideki Shirakawa (Chemistry 2000), whose autobiography (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2000/shirakawa-autobio.html) explains that he was only at Penn for a year (1976-1977) as a visiting research scientist. Like most other universities, Penn does not count short-term visitors toward its Nobel total.

I suggest deleting him from the list as well, but I don't want to act unilaterally. If no one makes a good argument for keeping him on the list I will remove his name and Soyinka's early next month. 4.232.126.32 03:11, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

I've decided to leave Shirakawa's name on the list after all. Most major universities, including Penn, wouldn't claim him based on a one-year visit, but I don't see why information on Wikipedia should be limited by this convention.4.232.225.162 23:42, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I noticed the link for Edward Doheny goes to Edward L. Doheny, the late oil tycoon, rather than the geology professor. I've added his middle initial 'J' to avoid the link. Leilams 08:52, 8 May 2007 (UTC)