Administrators await vacation

While students are preparing for finals, completing last-minute reading and packing for the trip home, University administrators are also tying up loose ends so they can enjoy a few weeks of relaxation as well. "I'm planning to relax and cook a big dinner and spend time with the family," University President Judith Rodin said. "I'd also like to sit and read some books." Though Rodin will be staying in Philadelphia for break, other administrators will travel across the country to vacation and visit family. "My older son is getting married New Year's Eve in San Francisco, so half of the vacation will be devoted to getting ready and then recovering from that," Provost Stanley Chodorow said. "We usually go to the theater on New Year's Eve, but this is much better." Chodorow said he plans to stop in San Diego on the way to San Francisco to visit friends and do some cycling on his old routes. "There is a flock of vultures that waits for cyclists in Camp Pendelton, between San Diego and San Clemente, and I'm sure the members have missed me," he explained. "It's a 100-mile round trip to and from San Clemente and by the time you see the birds on the way back, you're almost ready for them." Chodorow said he will also spend some of his break reading and studying in preparation for the course he will teach next semester. Annenberg School for Communication Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson also plans to head west for the break. "I'll fly with my family to Hawaii Christmas morning at six-something," she said. "Then from Hawaii, we'll fly to San Francisco on the fourth [of January] to spend time with our older son." And School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens will also be traveling during winter vacation. "We have a little house in the Shenandoah valley where I plan to do a little rural vegetation," Stevens said. She added that her ideal vacation would include relaxing by a roaring fire and reading some books on her favorite sofa. Wharton School of Business Dean Thomas Gerrity plans to spend his vacation in Jackson's Hole, Wyoming, with his wife and four children. This ski trip has become a holiday tradition for the Gerrity family.