Class acquires, renovates area homes

Students in the University's Entrepreneurial Inner City Housing Markets Class believe they are fulfilling Benjamin Franklin's vision of practical education by completing their fourth renovated house in seven years. "It is a very good lesson about how to manage a project," said Professor Emeritus of Creative Management William Zucker, who teaches the course. "Not until you really do it do you have real appreciation of what is involved." The class is taught every semester and features one two-hour lecture each week and three more hours of work outside of class. "The students are enthusiastic," said Hanley Bodek, president of the Philadelphia Construction Company and co-teacher of the class. "I continue to be impressed with what they accomplished." According to Zucker, the project was much more substantial than the single-family row houses they have usually worked on in the past. The students also faced additional challenges. The building was very large and deteriorated. The roof had even caved in. Zucker said all the work was done by the students themselves, including the actual construction. Students in the class said that it is a good example of applying their classroom education. "This was hands-on community service and making progress in the community," College sophomore Alissa Zolla said. Other students applauded the course's unstructured, unconventional style. "It was fun [and] the teachers were excellent," College senior Sean McDermott said. "It's not just sitting in a classroom." According to Bodek, it usually takes the class about two years to complete a building project. The pace has been altered somewhat by a doubling in the class' size this semester and by working on two houses at once. The class will be offered next year, and will be listed under the College's Dynamics of Organization Program.