SAS programs to occupy FIJI house

Several academic programs, including the Humanities Forum, will operate out of the vacated Locust Walk house. The Phi Gamma Delta house, made vacant this past spring when FIJI brothers forfeited their charter, has been committed to the School of Arts and Sciences for use by several academic programs, University officials said Tuesday. The University-owned building will house the recently created Humanities Forum and the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Provost Robert Barchi said. "Other SAS activities may also be accommodated if space allows," Barchi said. "Detailed planning for those programs is now under way." Barchi said that the School will likely occupy the house for at least four years, at which point FIJI will have the opportunity to reapply for a Penn charter and may request residence in their former house. "We have to think about using the building for at least the next four years during which the FIJI fraternity is not part of our campus," he said. But it is not yet known whether FIJI will reapply for a charter or whether Penn will grant the fraternity occupancy of the house. The FIJI brothers forfeited their house in early April after violating alcohol and risk management policies at an alumni dinner March 20 that ended in the death of 26-year old 1994 College graduate and FIJI brother Michael Tobin. The fraternity, which had occupied the house for 85 years, was suspended by its national office shortly after the incident. The provost's office had received numerous proposals over the past several months from organizations and departments across the University vying for space in the house. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs petitioned in April that the facility be occupied by another fraternity or sorority come fall. Although Barchi said the space was designated for academic use, he noted that officials "had an open mind about all the proposals that came in," which did include "quite a number of requests" from various academic programs. Administrators considered the house's location -- which is central on Penn's campus -- as well as "broader campus planning" issues in making the decision to allot the space to SAS, he said. But exactly when the house will be ready for occupancy by the Forum and the McNeil Center is still not clear. Barchi said the needs of each program must be assessed and renovations to the building must occur before the programs will be able to operate out of the house. Since estimates are not yet complete, Barchi said he could not speculate on the length of time it would take to complete the renovations, though he said he did not expect them to take an extended period of time. "I don't see these as major renovations that are going to take years," he said. According to SAS Dean Samuel Preston, the use of the FIJI house will reduce an academic space crunch within the School, preventing new programs from being put aside or overlooked. "The wonderful new Humanities Forum, which promises to galvanize scholarship and teaching in the humanities, is currently homeless," Preston said. Preston said that if space allows, the house's occupants may include the new Center for Folklore and Ethnography created upon the closure of Penn's Folklore and Folklife department last month. "The library in the FIJI house will be the finest seminar space in the School and will be available to other users as well," Preston added. The Humanities Forum will operate out of Bennett Hall, where it has been located since its creation this past fall, until renovations are complete. According to Wendy Steiner, the director of the Forum and an English professor, the Forum will be able to have meeting rooms, lecture spaces, offices and facilities that would not be available if the program were permanently based out of Bennett Hall. "It's as central [a location] as you can imagine on campus," Steiner said. "It's just a perfect location." The Humanities Forum is a research center for students interested in the humanities. The Forum also intends to facilitate academic exchange between faculty members of different academic departments and involve the Philadelphia community in humanities-related activities and discussion. The McNeil Center is currently located at 3440 Market Street.