Trustees OK appointment of state reps

Move saves funding for U. and Betty Yuan The University Board of Trustees approved the appointment of four non-elected officials yesterday, as part of a deal between the University and the state. In return, the University will accept $35 million in funding from the state for the current fiscal year. This resolution was approved without debate, questions or comments yesterday at the Trustees Stated Meeting. No timetable has been currently set for when the new Trustees will join the Board. University spokesperson Barbara Beck said the agreement is a fair trade. "If the state is going to give the University money, then the University should be accountable," she said. "[This] expands the state's presence on the Board, but does not change the Board's objective to govern the University in the most fiscally responsible matter," Beck added. She said the Board will continue to "preserve Penn's status as a premiere teaching and research institution." Outgoing Board of Trustees Chairperson Alvin Shoemaker said he was in favor of the decision. "A long-term question of Commonwealth support in higher education is not yet resolved," Shoemaker said. "The University will continue to work with the state to craft the most productive relationship in order to move forward." "Penn is currently accountable to the state in many ways," Beck said after the meeting. "With the election of a new governor in November, there is a certain amount of insecurity surrounding the future of state funding." The Board also elected Trustee Roy Vagelos to replace Shoemaker as chairperson of the Board. During the meeting, Trustees praised Shoemaker for his eight years of leadership and gave him a standing ovation. "[When Shoemaker was selected], I thought he had all the right qualities for the job," Trustee Paul Miller said. "I was wrong. He had more than the right qualities for the job." Shoemaker expressed his gratitude to the Board, and proceeded to shake hands and change places with Vagelos. During the meeting, University Provost Stanley Chodorow also announced that President Judith Rodin has been appointed a professor of Psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences. And there were several Trustee committee meetings yesterday, including one for the Academic Policy committee and another for the Budget and Finance committee. The Academic Policy meeting was held to address undergraduate academic concerns. Speaking to the committee, Chodorow reiterated Wednesday's announcement of the administration's plans to revamp undergraduate education at the University. "I want to see a model defined by the spring of next semester," he said. He explained that students can participate in this effort as well. There will be five undergraduate students who will serve on the oversight committee. The five students will include the chairperson of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education and one representative from each of the four undergraduate schools. The Budget and Finance committee passed four resolutions to proposals made in June for funding of the Medical School, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the Center for Molecular Modeling and the University's library system. Comptroller Al Beers also delivered a financial report at the meeting. According to the report, the Nursing School, the School for Social Work and the Graduate School of Education all rendered profits during the fiscal year that ended in June. Beers added that the University's other schools all "broke even." Daily Pennsylvanian Staff Writers Randi Feigenbaum and Jorie Green contributed to this article.