Rodin's tenure sees better town-gown relations

President Judith Rodin has focused on initiatives in her native W. Philadelphia. and Catherine Lucey When Judith Rodin assumed her position as University president in 1994, the West Philadelphia native and Penn alumna quickly made a commitment to work with the surrounding community. And after spending five years working to repair a relationship badly damaged by years of Penn neglect and lack of communication, Rodin can walk through the streets around Penn and see the tangible changes -- such as new retail venues, freshly renovated houses and clean, well-lit streets -- that have happened during her tenure. "The community as a whole did not have a uniformly positive opinion of Penn," Rodin said of the days before her arrival. West Philadelphia has a long memory, and many residents have still not forgiven the University for buying up the land in what is now Superblock and demolishing the existing residential area to make way for the high rises, among other transgressions. For the following 20 years, critics say Penn administrators did little to repair the damage that had been done to the relationship between the University and its neighbors. So Rodin said she moved quickly to work toward establishing better ties with the community, citing her belief that Penn should play an active role in improving the quality of life in the surrounding area. "She wanted to make it clear that this University was going to work hard at being a good neighbor, at consulting [and] at talking," said Carol Scheman, the University's vice president for government, community and public affairs. Upon her arrival, Rodin surveyed the existing community service projects and outreach programs in West Philadelphia and blended them with her own set of key initiatives to form the University's five-point West Philadelphia Initiative. The community development plan includes measures to make the neighborhood cleaner and safer, encourage faculty home ownership, support local businesses, improve public education and attract further retail development to the area. Rodin says she derives "personal pleasure" from the successful programming she has stimulated in West Philadelphia. "It was and is very personally rewarding for me to be able to give back," Rodin said. "I grew up there." Still, supporters say the plan has direct benefits for Penn students and faculty as well, particularly in the area of safety. Increased lighting and activity in the University City area are two of the major proactive steps Penn has taken since a 1996 crime wave that saw a multitude of armed robberies, several shootings and the stabbing death of a Penn scientist. Under the five key initiatives, the community has seen significant improvements in the quality of life in the neighborhood. The 18-month long UC Brite project, which installed about 2,400 lights on area properties, marked the first major West Philadelphia project under Rodin's administration. Rodin credits UC Brite with "[getting] the ball rolling" for further development of the West Philadelphia Initiative as a whole. "The most important part of the project might not even be the lights but the relationships and the trust that it started putting back into the picture," Penn Director of Neighborhood Initiatives Esaul Sanchez noted. In 1997, Penn, Drexel University, the University City Science Center and several other area institutions came together to create the University City District, a special services organization that aims to improve safety and cleanliness of the area. The organization is chaired by Penn Executive Vice President John Fry, and Penn donated $1.5 million of the group's $4.3 million endowment. Not only are the streets getting a new look, but many area homes are receiving a much-deserved face-lift as well. Through several home ownership programs, 13 formerly abandoned houses have been dramatically transformed into attractive and affordable homes and sold to new owners. And to encourage faculty and staff to live in the community where they work, Penn started offering cash incentives last year to employees who agree to buy homes in West Philadelphia. The program has already attracted over 100 faculty and staff members to the area and has redesigned nearly 20 once-condemned homes. Improving West Philadelphia's troubled schools is one of the latest projects to spring from Rodin's plan. Last summer, Rodin announced a partnership between the University and the Philadelphia School District to construct a pre-K-8 public school to open on Penn-owned property in September 2001. While the city is paying the construction costs, Penn will donate $1,000 per student annually to the planned 700-student school. Rodin's plan also calls for the development of retail establishments -- including Sansom Common and the Sundance Cinemas project -- to draw money and crowds to the area. Both retail projects are crucial to a third initiative -- supporting local businesses and residents through employment programs within University construction projects. While other urban universities have community service projects in place and try to reach out and work with their neighbors, few have matched Penn's deep-rooted commitment to its neighborhood. Fry cited the West Philadelphia Initiative as Rodin's biggest accomplishment, adding that "we're doing more in this neighborhood in this area [of community development] than any other institution." But despite all of Rodin's and Fry's efforts, there still exists a level of distrust between West Philadelphia residents and the behemoth organization that lives next door. Issues continue to arise periodically -- most notably the University's recent drive to kick food vendors off of campus streets -- that put a wedge in a still-precarious relationship. And even in specific instances where Rodin insists she is trying to help the community, she at times receives only a cold shoulder. She received criticism for her lack of consultation in announcing the Sansom Common project and some say her vision of an "upscale" and "trendy" University City may help improve Penn's reputation but does little to help the community. Tomorrow: Rodin's efforts in procuring donors and increasing the University's endowment.

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