Rodin's two-day inauguration to cost $180,000

The inauguration ceremony for University President Judith Rodin will cost the University $180,000, Associate Secretary and Inauguration Coordinator Constance Goodman announced yesterday. Rodin said she was not involved with the Inauguration Committee "in terms of expense," but said she asked the committee to "hold it in check." "I haven't seen the numbers or how it's breaking down," she said last night. "But I think the money is going for a variety of ways to celebrate this moment in the history of the University." Former President Sheldon Hackney had the first University inauguration in 1981. The official cost was just over $70,000. With an approximate three percent yearly increase in the Consumer Price Index, the equivalent in today's economic climate is just over $94,000, almost $100,000 less than Rodin's inaugural costs. Rodin's inaugural costs will go toward entertainment expenses, including catering and facility rental. It will also go toward permanent repairs and renovations, including painting parts of Irvine Auditorium. The auditorium will receive other repairs as well, and it will be permanently wired to accommodate Resnet and the Academic Video Network, Goodman added. About four of the 60 classrooms wired for the Academic Video Network will be used to transmit Rodin's inaugural ceremony and address, scheduled to take place in Irvine on Oct. 21. The official ceremony is only part of a two-day inauguration celebration which will begin on Thursday, Oct. 20. The inauguration will also include a faculty symposium, luncheons for members of the University Board of Trustees, dignitaries, and faculty, and a College Green celebration. Rodin, Trustees and delegates will also attend a reception and dinner at the Franklin Institute. President Emeritus Martin Meyerson originally proposed the idea of an inauguration for a new University president. He said recently that inaugurations have both "symbol and substance." "I did not have an inauguration [because] it was not the Penn pattern to have inaugurations for presidents," he said. "But when Sheldon Hackney was selected as president, even before the search, I urged the Trustees to have an inauguration." College senior Hayden Horowitz, the sole undergraduate representative on the Inauguration Committee, said he felt that the desire for a "spectacular" event, with outside dignitaries and full University involvement, "justifies a large expenditure." "You don't have the inauguration of a University president very often," he said. "It's a new era and it should be kicked off with a tremendous celebration. "Plus, they made an effort to come up with events attractive to students, and not just administrators," Horowitz added. "They want the entire University to be involved." Goodman said this inauguration will be a "University-wide celebration of Penn." "The expenses are related to delegates who are University presidents or their designees, friends of Penn, and the entire University community of faculty, staff and students," she said. Goodman said she could not provide a breakdown of the final total but added that the Inauguration Committee did whatever it could to keep the costs as low as possible. "Cost has been a most important factor in the decisions," she said. "We have had to strategize for what will be the most effective and efficient." Goodman added that the committee, chaired by History Professor Drew Faust, "worked very hard" to keep the price tag reasonable. Director of Physical Plant Arthur Gravina, a member of the committee, said the basic cleaning and small amount of painting of Irvine will be handled "within our operating budget." He could not specify the amount of money that would be spent. Gravina said the $180,000 total was "reasonable compared to what it could be." "I think our president has demonstrated physical constraint [in financial matters] in a number of areas -- including Eisenlohr," he said, referring to Rodin's decision to scale back renovations to her future home. "The committee was charged to be reasonable and prudent in its suggestions. Rodin said she originally requested that the inauguration be a "celebration of how marvelous Penn is," adding that the planning has focused on that theme. "I want people to feel involved in what is going on, to feel good about the University and their participation in it," she said. Gravina said the inauguration will "demonstrate a commitment to a new era in which our president is going to administer the institution."