What's Happening July 1?

Barnes & Nobles will assume management of The Book Store. The new superstore is slated to open in fall 1998 and will be almost twice the size of the current store. The store will ultimately offer 200,000 books and over 2,000 periodicals. It will also include a music section, a cafe that serves Starbucks coffee and a seating area. Earlier this month, the company offered jobs to 38 of the 54 Penn Bookstore employees, according to Marie Witt, assistant to Vice President for Business Services Steve Murray. By June 14, the decision's deadline, 26 had accepted. The University offers in-placement services to the remaining 28 former employees. The company will pay the University a guaranteed income of $1.3 million a year or 12 percent of the store's gross sales up to $20 million, and 14 percent of the sales above that figure. Currently, The Book Store grosses $11.6 million a year. Barnes & Nobles currently operates 340 campus book stores around the country. · Three significant changes to retirement plans will take effect. From now on, employees must work at the University for 10 to 15 years, depending on at what age they retire, before becoming eligible for benefits. If an employee leaves before meeting the service requirement, he loses the credit for his years at the University. Also, retirees cannot add new dependents to their University-sponsored health insurance after June 30. · Oversight of University-owned radio station WXPN-FM will move from the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life to the Office of the Secretary. The station was originally placed under the VPUL's control because it was a student activity, according to Terri Conn, assistant to VPUL Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum. It was founded by students over 50 years ago, but now the main student role is in the organization's sports department. In fact, WXPN is now considered a professional media organization. The search is still on for a new General Manager for the radio station. A search committee chaired by Oliver Williams, a political science professor emeritus, has been searching since April to replace Mark Fuerst, who retired in early January. According to University Secretary Barbara Stevens, the search is going well and moving into the final stages. · Kenneth Wildes will be taking the position of director of University communications. He will serve as a central spokesperson for the University and will develop and manage a University communications strategy. He will also oversee the University's internal and external communications and public relations operations and enhance communication of the many contributions Penn's faculty, students and staff make to the advancement of education, research and society. This job has been vacant since March 1994, when Carol Farnsworth left after being named vice chancellor for communications at the University of Denver. Wildes left his post as vice president for community relations at Northwestern University to come to Penn. He was in charge of communications at Northwestern for 14 years. · Nelson Wivel will officially become the Deputy Director of the Institute for Human Gene Therapy. He will oversee the effort to develop a quality assurance and control program for areas such as clinical pathology. Wivel will also co-chair the institute's Research and Development Committee, which was designed to assess, formulate and initiate new clinical protocols and to monitor and evaluate existing trials. Wivel is leaving his post as director of the Office of Recombinant DNA Activities for the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. to come to Penn. He has served in this position since 1989. The Institute for Human Gene Therapy was created in 1992 by William Kelley, chief operating officer of the Medical Center and Health System, in order to focus on the emerging field of gene therapy.