Mayor Rendell may teach class at Penn this fall

Penn and city officials said the U. alum could teach in Urban Studies When some Penn students look at their schedules next fall, many may be surprised to see a name that appears to be out of place -- Professor Edward Rendell. According to both University and City Hall officials, Philadelphia's outgoing mayor could be teaching a course at Penn as early as next fall. "[Rendell] has talked about the possibility of teaching," mayoral spokesperson Kevin Feeley said. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if he popped up in a classroom. There's a distinct possibility." Feeley added that the mayor -- a Penn alumnus -- has not agreed to an official deal with the University, and his name is not listed in the fall on-line course timetable. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston confirmed that Rendell could join Penn's roster of distinguished professors, though he was unsure whether Rendell would begin teaching in the fall or wait for the spring semester, after his term expires on December 31. "I believe the rumor is correct," Preston said. "We have endeavored to secure his teaching services in the Urban Studies Department and we're hoping he'll accept." Rendell, whose son is a College freshman, would likely be teaching a course in urban politics. Michael Katz, a Penn History professor and co-director of the Urban Studies Department's graduate certificate program, emphasized that Rendell has yet to announce his future plans but that he would be a fine addition to the Penn faculty. "I think it's safe to say that many of us would like to have him teach, but that is clearly his decision," Katz said. "He'll just have to make that [decision] in due time." In the past few years, Rendell has been in the national spotlight for his innovative approach to urban recovery and development, earning the title of "America's Mayor" from Vice President Al Gore. Rendell is widely expected to run for higher office in the future, possibly for the U.S. Senate in 2000 or for governor in 2002. When he succeeded Mayor Wilson Goode in 1992, Rendell took the helm of a struggling Philadelphia on the verge of bankruptcy, with annual deficits running as high as $200 million. Since then, Rendell led the nation's fifth-largest city to six consecutive years of budget surpluses, oversaw the construction of a new convention center -- which will house the 2000 Republican National Convention -- and helped reform city fiscal policy after a showdown with the city's municipal unions. Before winning election in 1992, Rendell served as city district attorney in the 1980s. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1986 and for mayor in 1987. Rendell's possible arrival as a professor will not be his first visit to the University. A 1965 College graduate, Rendell traces his political roots to Penn's Undergraduate Student Government, where he served as vice president. And any Quakers basketball fan can attest to Rendell's enthusiastic support at the Palestra at almost every Penn home game, as well as the road game at Princeton where the team won the Ivy League title Tuesday.

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