Rendell 'absolutely' will teach at Penn

University President Judith Rodin confirmed the mayor's plans but was unsure when he will start. Philadelphia Mayor and University alumnus Ed Rendell will "absolutely" be teaching at Penn within the next year, Penn President Judith Rodin said this week. Although it is still unclear when Rendell will arrive, Rodin confirmed that he will join Penn's Urban Studies Department either during the fall or spring semester of the next academic year. Rendell's second and final mayoral term will end on December 31. Rendell spokesperson David Yarkin would not definitively say when Rendell would join the Penn faculty but he didn't rule out the possibility that the popular mayor could begin teaching in the fall, even though he would still be the city's chief executive. Rodin, though, said Rendell probably would not start until the spring. "He and I have spoken about [teaching]," Rodin said. "We didn't talk about timing but I imagine it will be as soon as he leaves office." Rendell is interested in teaching both a "theoretical class on urbanism and a more practical class on urban politics," Rodin said. Rodin also pointed out the obvious benefits of having one of the nation's most well-respected civic leaders as a member of the teaching faculty. "He will be wonderfully popular," Rodin added. "He has a wealth of experience and the kind of engaging personality that I think will be really wonderful in a classroom." Rendell -- whose son is a College freshman -- inherited an ailing Philadelphia in 1992 and after nearly eight successful years at the helm, the man nicknamed "America's Mayor" by Vice President Al Gore is credited with the city's remarkable turnaround. During Rendell's tenure, Philadelphia has bounced back from the brink of financial disaster. After years of posting annual deficits of over $200 million, the city has recorded six consecutive budget surpluses. And the Pennsylvania Convention Center, completed several years ago, will house the Republican National Convention in 2000, signaling the renewed confidence that many have in the nation's fifth-largest city. Elaine Simon, co-director of the undergraduate Urban Studies program, said she believed any course taught by Rendell would be extremely popular, adding that an initial Daily Pennsylvanian report regarding Rendell's status already prompted one student to beg for admittance to the class. Michael Katz, a Penn History professor and co-director of the Urban Studies Department's graduate certificate program, said that Rendell's potential effect on the Penn student body would be enormous. "I think [Rendell teaching at Penn] would be very exciting," Katz said. "He has been a very dynamic and successful mayor. He is very thoughtful about urban issues and I think he could communicate to students well about what's been happening in American cities and the kind of frameworks for interpreting the issues facing cities currently." Katz added that a future mayor of Philadelphia could be currently roaming the Penn campus -- just as Rendell was in the early 1960s -- and Rendell's return to the University as a professor could help unlock the potential of many students. "I think that [Rendell] could actually provoke students to think about careers in public service in ways they hadn't thought about them before," Katz said.

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