Trustees discuss achievements at U.

The Executive Committee of the University's Board of Trustees basked in the glow of the University's accomplishments at its Stated Meeting yesterday. The Trustees also approved resolutions that will hopefully provide for an equally bright future. In her opening remarks, University President Judith Rodin announced that Trustees Chairperson Roy Vagelos was recently inducted into the Fortune Business Hall of Fame and received the National Academy of Sciences Chemistry in Service to Society Award. Rodin also updated the Committee on her trips to Harrisburg and Washington this semester and on University alumnus and Trustee Ronald Perelman's $20 million gift for the student center that will bear his name. Additionally, Rodin said she continues to be impressed by the "dedication and support" demonstrated by University alumni she has encountered during her "heady and exhausting" development trips this semester. In his report, Provost Stanley Chodorow reviewed the multitude of awards and honors University faculty members have received in recent weeks, including five Guggenheim Fellowships, membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and, for Rodin, installation in the American Philosophical Society. Chodorow also told the Committee he has selected Michael Wachter, a professor of law and economics, as deputy provost. Wachter will assume the position July 1, and will focus much of his attention on academic planning. Medical School Dean William Kelley, who is also chief executive officer of the University Health System, said in his report that the recent merger of the University Health System and Presbyterian Medical Center is "extremely important for health care in this region." Executive Vice President John Fry and Trustees' Investment Committee Chairperson John Neff then detailed the current state of the University's finances and investment holdings. Prior to adjourning, the Committee approved a resolution renaming Biomedical Research Building I in memory of former Anatomy Professor and Provost Eliot Stellar, who died last year, and in honor of Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics Britton Chance. The facility will now be known as the Stellar-Chance Laboratories. The Committee also appointed a number of alumni -- including Rolling Stones manager Joseph Rascoff -- and equally prominent, non-alumni executives to various University Boards of Overseers, and approved the sale of University-owned properties in suburban Philadelphia and New Jersey at yesterday's session.

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