U. hires security chief for Penn Tower Hotel

As part of plans to accelerate security improvements in the Penn Tower Hotel since a University Health System secretary was brutally assaulted Monday, the University has hired a new security director for the building and revamped the facility's telephone system so callers can dial security directly. Philadelphia resident Toby Laiken, 53, suffered serious head injuries after being assaulted by an intruder to her office shortly after she arrived at work at around 5:15 a.m. Police are searching for the assailant. Laiken, who underwent surgery to the lower jaw on Wednesday, remains in satisfactory condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In response to the beating, the University is overhauling the building's telephone system so that dialing "0" automatically connects the caller to Penn Tower security. When Laiken had dialed "0" to call for help after being assaulted, by contrast, she reached an operator at HUP, who then transferred her to Health System security, Health System spokesperson Rebecca Harmon said. From there, a Health System security operator transferred Laiken to her husband, a Physical Plant employee working in the Franklin Building Annex at 36th and Sansom streets. Meanwhile, the operator called Penn Tower security for Laiken, Harmon said. Penn Tower security guards found Laiken "within minutes" of their notification, Harmon said. Police officers arrived at about 6:15 a.m. Currently, three separate telephone systems exist within the one building: the hotel's, the Health System's and the University's. Although the three are connected to each other, an individual dialing abbreviated extensions -- like "0" for operator -- may reach different places depending on the phone's location. By next week, dialing "0" from any phone in the building will connect the caller to Penn Tower security. The building's new security director, who Harmon would not name, is female and will begin work February 1. Former Security Director Anthony Marziani left his position about three weeks ago, Harmon said. Since then, Health System Security Director Alfred Glogower has been responsible for security in the building. Harmon said officials have been "aggressively recruiting" a replacement for Marziani since the incident. In addition, plans to "beef up" security in the building will extend to the parking garage, as more guards with "increased visibility" will patrol the five-story enclosed lot, she said. Although police do not believe that security in the garage played a direct role in Monday's incidents -- which also included two burglaries -- the lot has been the site of the most crime of any area in the building during the last six months. During that time, police records show that 23 thefts from vehicles and one auto theft were reported. In the same period, seven thefts were reported from inside the building itself.

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