Trustees hear program updates

During yesterday's Executive and Budget and Finance committee meetings, University officials updated members of the University Board of Trustees on the completion of the ResNet program and approved a budget change for the University Health System. Vice Provost for Information Systems and Computing Jim O'Donnell briefed the Board of Trustees on the completion of the final phase of the ResNet program, explaining that the $15 million project -- instituted over the past four years -- used up "every last cent." The original ResNet plan included new high-speed data connections, new cable-TV system and upgraded residential computer labs. The system currently provides access to more than 4,600 users and 10,000 off-campus students through the modem pool. O'Donnell noted that in a national survey last year of campus wiring, the University came in third among Ivy-caliber programs, behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College. Associate Comptroller Kenneth Campbell reported that the University was "in the black one more year" -- meaning that the University is financially solvent -- and doing considerably better than its peer institutions. Trustees approved an amendment to the operating and capital budgets for the University Health System, reflecting the July 1 merger with Phoenixville Hospital. The capital budget increased by $2.7 million and the operating budget increased as well, Executive Vice President John Fry said. The changes reflect a "technicality" in the initial budget, which was drafted before the Phoenixville Hospital joined the University system, Fry said. "Phoenixville is projected to be operating in the black in a very positive way. It will improve our financial performance," he added. And the Health System will have to "tighten its belt" in response to a changing environment for hospitals, Fry said. "The Health System was under pressure and we had to move some money around to make it all work out," Board of Trustees Chairperson Roy Vagelos said. "It's a reflection of what's happened with competition of managed care around the country." In her report, University President Judith Rodin praised the National Constitution Center as "a good opportunity for Penn," describing her September 15 presentation of findings of the constitutional survey in Washington, D.C. She also updated the Trustees on the status of the Sansom Common capital project, saying the initiative is "progressing nicely." Provost Stanley Chodorow highlighted Biology Professor Dan Janzen's recent Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences. He detailed recent Perelman Quadrangle construction, adding that Logan Hall will open its "fully technological classrooms" this winter. Trustees approved appointments of several faculty members or administrative officials, including Kathryn Engebretson as the University's new vice president for finance. Also approved was the sale of a 0.2-acre vacant beachfront property in Ocean County, N.J.