Campus News Briefs: Friday, September 3, 1999

New ICA head named after 7-month search Gould, 42, said she is excited to "get different facets of the University involved" in the institute. She will take the reigns at the ICA on September 7. "I really like working with emerging artists and students and people that are learning and completely open to learning," Gould said. As ICA director, Gould will supervise all operations -- including financial and personnel management, fundraising and exhibitions -- and determine the center's overall artistic direction. The search for a new director lasted seven months, beginning in mid-November when former director Patrick Murphy stepped down. Murphy served as director for eight years and announced his resignation last September. Judith Tannenbaum, the ICA's associate director and curator, has since served as interim director. According to Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack, who headed the search committee, Gould's leadership experience made her a perfect candidate for the job. Gould has a bachelor's degree in Art History from Boston College and a masters in Museum Studies from New York University. -- Karlene Hanko Wharton prof pays fine, avoids solicitation trial Marketing Professor Scott Ward, 56, ended a 5-year criminal probe in June by agreeing to a $2,500 fine and five years' probation for charges of attempting to promote prostitution and corrupt minors. A Montgomery County judge accepted Ward's Alford plea, whereby a defendant acknowledges that sufficient evidence exists for conviction but does not explicitly confess any guilt. Ward's plea and ensuing punishment mark the latest -- and likely final -- developments in a case that dates back to October 1993, when Ward was arrested for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover state trooper posing as a 15-year-old boy. According to a statement issued in June from the Wharton School, Ward's role as a University professor will not change and he will teach a graduate-level Marketing course in the fall. -- Eric Tucker and Faye Iosotaluno Folklore Dept. closes; profs to move elsewhere To future generations, Penn's Folklore Department may be little more than, well, its own piece of folklore. The beleaguered Folklore and Folklife Department closed July 1, though it will maintain its existing graduate group and offer a minor for undergraduates, according to a resolution passed by the University Trustees at their summer meeting. In addition, the School of Arts and Sciences will establish a Center for Folklore and Ethnography, SAS Dean Samuel Preston told the Trustees' Academic Policy Committee. The department has long struggled to maintain a sizeable number of faculty members and student majors. Only 10 students between the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies have selected Folklore as their major and the number of standing faculty members -- four -- is "not sufficient" for the maintenance of a successful academic department, Preston said. The department's four professors will join other academic departments. -- E.T. Hallal service added to Kosher Dining menu The new Kosher Dining facility set to open in the warehouse near 40th and Locust streets will also accommodate Muslim students who follow a hallal diet, Penn officials said over the summer. A hallal dining service is one that meets the dietary needs of observant Muslims. Officials said the addition of hallal service to the new Kosher Dining option will serve as an opportunity for Jewish and Muslim students to expand their horizons and learn more about each others' cultures. According to Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta, observant Muslim students have traditionally eaten at Kosher Dining -- previously located in the Faculty Club -- because the diets are similar, but now the dining facility will address the needs of hallal students directly rather than serving them by default. The new facility, formerly occupied by both Boccie Pizza and Saladalley, will be run as a price-fixed kosher restaurant open to the public, although dining plans will be available for students, Moneta said. -- K.H. GSE, Chemistry Dept. partner on new degree The School of Arts and Sciences is establishing a new master's of chemical education degree program to be administered by the Chemistry Department. The program is geared towards those students interested in pursuing a career in teaching chemistry in secondary schools. The dual degree will be a collaborative effort by the Chemistry Department, the Graduate School of Education and local secondary school teachers and administrators. The plans for the program call for an entering class of around 10 students each year, with 10 required courses -- eight in chemistry and two courses taught by GSE faculty members. -- E.T. Med School creates new Cancer Biology Dept. The University Trustees approved a resolution at their summer meetings calling for the creation of a department of cancer biology in the Medical School. The department will emphasize the "basic biological issues" associated with cancer and will operate in association with the soon-to-be-created Abramson Family Center Research Institute, according to the proposal. The new department will provide for a more comprehensive and consolidated study of cancer biology within the Medical School. -- E.T. GOP picks First Union Center for convention Next summer's Republican National Convention, expected to bring close to 30,000 visitors to the Philadelphia area between July 29 and August 4, will be held at the First Union Center in South Philadelphia, Republican leaders announced this summer. The announcement follows months of consideration of the First Union Center and the Philadelphia Convention Center, the two potential sites for the event, according to Republican National Committee Chairperson Jim Nicholson. Although the Convention Center can seat about 3,000 more people for the event, the First Union Center was chosen for its broadcast facilities, which will enable television viewers worldwide to watch the week's events. The event will cost about $35 million but is expected to bring in as much as $300 million in revenue to the city. At least 6,000 people, including delegates and their families -- in addition to more than 15,000 members of the news media -- are expected to come to Philadelphia for the convention. About 17,000 hotel rooms throughout the area -- including many in the Inn at Penn and the University City Sheraton -- will be occupied by convention-goers, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau President Tom Muldoon said. --K.H. Top Health Sys. official resigns for Tenn. post A senior executive at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania resigned this week to accept another job in Nashville, Tenn. Thomas Beeman, senior vice president for hospital operations, had a 4-year tenure in the University of Pennsylvania Health System, during which HUP earned several major national awards and was named to the U.S. News & World Report list of the top hospitals in the country. He also spent time focusing on acquisitions by the Health System, HUP's parent, which also includes Pennsylvania, Presbyterian and Phoenixville hospitals. Beeman joined UPHS in September 1995 as vice president for network development. He became senior vice president for hospital operations in January 1998 after holding the interim post for six months. As senior vice president, he served concurrently as executive director of HUP through May 1999. Beeman will become the chief executive officer of St. Thomas Health Services in Nashville. His position will not be filled, a UPHS spokesperson said. -- Rachel Sherman Bellace leaves to head college in Singapore Janice Bellace, who served for five years as Wharton's deputy dean and four years as its vice dean and director of undergraduate education, took a leave of absence June 30 to assume the first presidency of the Singapore Management University. Her 2-year term, which started July 1, will require Bellace to lead a faculty core planning team in developing the SMU, Singapore's third university. Bellace will serve as the director of a research center at the university that operates in conjunction with Wharton and focuses on Asian business. The SMU's first class consists of only 300 students and its curriculum is based largely on Wharton's undergraduate program, which Bellace actively helped to design. Bellace is currently in Singapore and could not be reached for comment. -- Faye Iosotaluno