Trustees OK new retail corp.

The entity will develop 40th Street retail. The Perelman Quad budget was also increased. Finishing out their fall meeting with a burst of activity, the University's Board of Trustees approved the creation of a for-profit company to handle the ongoing development of the 40th Street area and allocated an additional $40 million toward the creation of a new student center in the heart of campus. In their Stated Meeting -- which uncharacteristically outlasted its delegated one-hour time frame Friday afternoon -- the Trustees also finalized plans to renovate the Law School's facilities, announced an increase in financial aid to Wharton School students and welcomed several distinguished Penn alumni to their own ranks on the University's highest decision-making body. Money Matters As usual, financial matters topped the Trustees' agenda. They approved a complex plan to authorize the formation of Hamilton Square Inc., a for-profit corporation charged with developing retail and entertainment venues at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets. The University has already announced several projects for the area on the campus' western boundary, including a fresh food market, a parking garage and an art-house theater operated by Sundance Cinemas, a partnership of actor-director Robert Redford and General Cinemas. The movie theater complex -- to be constructed behind the Hamilton Village shopping center -- may also include a cafe, a community center and a video "library." The Trustees' action authorizes Executive Vice President John Fry to form the new corporation which willmanage development of the various projects, and allows the University to take out a $35.5 million loan on the corporation's behalf. Of that sum, up to $16 million will go to the parking garage with up to $19.5 million going to construction of the cinema and other related projects. On the other end of campus, the Trustees allocated an additional $40.1 million for completion of the Perelman Quadrangle, the University's ongoing construction project -- which began in 1996 -- to link five buildings on the eastern half of campus: College, Williams, Logan and Houston halls and Irvine Auditorium. The new funds will go for the construction of Wynn Commons -- a student meeting area in the middle of the Quadrangle -- and for the renovation of Williams and Houston halls. Exterior walkways, an outdoor amphitheater and the two-story Silfen Study Center in Williams Hall are included in these projects. However, under the influence of the new expenditures, the entire project's budget has ballooned past $80 million, far above the original $69 million planned for the project. To the north, the Trustees approved $11.2 million in renovations to Silverman Hall. The repairs, funded partially through a gift from University Trustee and 1964 Law School graduate Henry Silverman, include restoring deteriorating walls, floors and facades to their historic states, replacing outdated mechanical and electrical systems, building a large multi-purpose space for gatherings and lectures and relocating the Bernard Segal Moot Courtroom. Academic Planning The Trustees also voted on issues affecting the academic side of the University, approving a new financial aid plan for Wharton students and creating a new degree in the School of Arts and Sciences. Under the terms of the financial aid program, MBA students from outside the United States will now be eligible for financial aid for the first time, under the same terms available to domestic students. The Trustees also approved doubling the amount of loan guarantees for MBA students to $100 million to bring international students within the fold of the current program. While graduate students in Wharton may now have an easier time paying for college, those in SAS now at least have more academic options. The Trustees approved a new master's degree in Medical Physics, to be administered by the Department of Physics and Astronomy -- in combination with the Medical School's Departments of Radiation and Radiation Oncology -- which will allow students to take advantage of the growing use of physics in medical research and diagnosis. When not approving new programs, the Trustees also heard from Penn administrators on programs instituted in between the Board's three annual meetings. Flanked by School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston, College Dean Richard Beeman and Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack, Interim Provost Michael Wachter led a discussion of the University's interdisciplinary and cross-school programs at Friday morning's Academic Policy Committee meeting. No new programs were unveiled, but the committee did hear about several recently announced initiatives, such as the joint GSFA-Engineering-Annenberg School for Communication major in Digital Media Design. The committee also heard from Computer and Information Science Professor Norman Badler on the Center for Human Modeling and Simulation. "I guess it's only a matter of time before this board has the opportunity to appoint a virtual Trustee," Academic Policy Committee Chairperson Donald Langenberg quipped. "I wonder if its name might be [2001: A Space Odyssey villain] HAL." Internal Affairs In fact, the Trustees did appoint several new members to their board, but all are certified flesh and blood. David Silfen, a 1966 College graduate, heads the list of the three new term Trustees appointed to serve on the Board for the next five years. Silfen, a limited partner at Goldman, Sachs & Co., donated $2 million in 1996 for the creation of a glass study pavilion in Williams Hall as part of the Perelman Quad project. Joining Silfen are 1973 Electrical Engineering graduate Mitchell Quain, chairperson of the Engineering School's Board of Overseers, and Mitchell Blutt, who holds three degrees from the University -- from the College in 1978, the Medical School in 1982 and Wharton in 1987. Blutt currently sits on several University committees, including the SAS Board of Overseers. While four current Trustees were promoted to the emeritus level, the board also said goodbye to three Trustees: 1950 Wharton and 1955 Law graduate Edwin Krawitz, 1961 Wharton graduate William Schwabel and 1965 Wharton graduate George Weiss, who established the "Say Yes to Education" program, which has allowed hundreds of West Philadelphia schoolchildren to attend college. Rodin thanked the Trustees for their service and expressed hope that they would continue to extend their "guidance, counsel and friendship."