COLUMN: Why John Fry gets a bum rap

From Steve Schorr's, "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later," Fall '98 From Steve Schorr's, "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later," Fall '98If you ask any alumni to name the executive vice president who served while they attended Penn, you can be pretty confident that they will have no idea -- and probably not even know that such a position existed. That is, unless they attended Penn in the last few years, while John Fry was in office. The first is that before coming to Penn, Fry served as a consultant and partner at Coopers & Lybrand. This gives him the reputation of representing "big business," two words which when put together mean the ultimate in evil at most universities. One of the many examples of this belief was expressed by Daily Pennsylvanian columnist John Hogan, who mentioned that due to John Fry's corporate actions on behalf of the University, Penn should no longer enjoy its tax-exempt status. He stated, "If they want to act like a Fortune 500 company, we should tax them like a Fortune 500 company," ("Ignoring the Effects," DP, 7/25/96). The second rationale for the many condemnations of Fry is that he differs from the common belief that once an institution hires someone, it become responsible for that person's livelihood and well-being, along with that of his or her family, until everyone associated with that employee is dead. This reasoning is what motivated Librarian Jim Gray, a tri-chairperson of the African American Association, to express displeasure even upon hearing about Fry's quality-of-life improvements for employees, which included benefits such as exercise services. Gray stated, "When you are hearing the statement that people only have a job as long as their skills are needed by the corporation -- how can you get excited about exercise when you can't eat?" ("Officials announce 'quality of life plans'," DP, 2/10/97). You can get excited because you should believe that your skills are benefitting the University. When evaluating Fry's performance, one must consider one of the chief complaints of anyone attending a university -- the high cost. Traditionally, students have correctly tried to get the University to cut costs and become more efficient. If they felt that the University was wisely spending all the tuition money in a way that benefits all students, the complaints would stop. But how do they expect a University to cut costs? How about bringing in someone from the outside and setting them to the task of cutting waste and improving efficiency while maintaining the current level of service? This was exactly Fry's mandate when he was hired in April 1995. Although it is difficult to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of his various outsourcing and restructuring plans, since Fry is spending many long days weighing numerous possibilities for eliminating waste, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. If the level of service in the bookstore or in facilities management is worse, then we will know outsourcing was a mistake. In less than three years, not only has Fry significantly cut costs, but he has also taken many steps to drastically improve student life on campus. In order to trim spending at the University, he has undertaken a plan to cut $50 million in 5 years, which has already resulted in millions of dollars worth of savings. As part of this effort, Fry orchestrated a deal to outsource the Book Store to Barnes & Noble. One complaint about this move focused on the University's lack of involvement in the new bookstore. However, if one were asked who he thinks could run a bookstore more efficiently, a University or a bookstore chain, even a sociology major -- even a GAPSA member -- wouldn't guess the University. Another complaint has been that the Barnes & Noble bookstore will be so popular that it will force private bookstores, like House of Our Own, out of existence. But the University's priority should be that students can get all their books conveniently, not that as many bookstores exist as possible. Additionally, Fry outsourced facilities management to Trammell Crow Co. The same question which applied to the bookstore applies here. Who do you think can run facilities more efficiently: a university or a corporation that specializes in facilities management? Fry was harshly criticized for, among other things, not consulting employees in facilities management about the deal. A-3 Assembly Chairperson Donna Arthur asked, "Why was this kept so secret?" She then criticized Fry for "shutting people out of basic decisions that affect their lives," ("Council pleads for prevention of alcohol deaths, DP, 10/16/97). But how could they have been consulted? Can you imagine asking someone if they think they should be fired or if they should continue to be employed? As Fry explained, this answer could not be unbiased. Additionally, the outsourcing was protested with a "Save our Jobs" rally. But the University does not serve as a jobs program. Jobs are there in order to benefit the University, and part of John Fry's responsibility is to determine the extent of their benefit. Short of guaranteeing everyone a job, Fry has done his part to show the University cares about its employees. For instance, immediately after the outsourcing was announced, he scheduled resume-writing workshops and job interview training sessions for effected employees. In addition to cutting costs, Fry has finally addressed safety problems that students have been clamoring about for years. This fall, many students were delighted to find lights throughout the University. It's a mystery why the administration did not put up lights before, and students should be grateful to John Fry for finally doing it. Additionally, more police have been hired and crime rates are down. Has anyone noticed that 40th Street looks significantly better than before? Again, we have John Fry and his 40th Street Task Force to thank for that. During his tenure Fry has also brought in several restaurants, including Mad 4 Mex. The large nightly turnout at this restaurant emphasizes the void it fills. Fry has also recruited a diner, and is working toward a grocery store and many other places that students have been requesting for a long time. Lastly, a major criticism of Fry is that the University should focus on education, not saving money. But saving money that would otherwise be wasted is one of the best ways to help education -- and Penn. Why should the University charge students more money to use such a wide variety of services as a bookstore, residences, facilities and dining? If Penn instead focuses on having these run as efficiently as possible, more University resources can be focused on education -- exactly where they should be.