1997 Engineering grad dies in car accident Labonte was returning from a camping trip in Texas, where he was working for a software company, when the car he was driving apparently overturned, according to 1997 Penn alumnus Chris Metcalfe, a good friend of Labonte's. Doctors operated on Labonte's brain Monday night to try to reduce the swelling, but the surgery was unsuccessful. Labonte was pronounced brain dead on Tuesday night. His family agreed to donate his organs. Praise for Labonte was widespread. "He's probably the smartest person I ever knew, and he was probably the nicest person I ever knew," Metcalfe said. Computer and Information Science Professor Norman Badler is trying to set up a memorial fund in Labonte's name to honor one senior in the CIS department for his or her senior project. In a letter to the Labonte family, Badler said he has already "received enough pledges from people who knew Guy to establish the necessary fund and make awards for several years." There will be a memorial service at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., Sunday at 2 p.m. People who want more information on the service should contact the school at (603) 772-4311. -- Ben Geldon U. to hold ceremony for Van Pelt reopening The University will showcase one of its newest changes and thank those who made it possible in a ceremony today at 3 p.m. in Van Pelt Library. Music and refreshments will be provided. University President Judith Rodin will be on hand to honor alumni and friends who contributed to the library's significant renovations, which were completed this summer, according to Paul Mosher, vice provost and director of libraries. The library's main entrance reopened in August after the University closed it for a year to renovate part of the first floor. The three-year, $7.5 million renovations were designed to make the library a more productive and aesthetically pleasing workplace for students and faculty, Mosher said. In a statement, Mosher thanked the Penn community for "patiently enduring the months of noise and disturbance brought on by construction," adding that he hoped "the results outweigh the inconvenience. Mosher said he hoped to begin rehabilitating other campus libraries in the future. -- Jeremy Reiss
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