Goldberg House to lose beloved faculty master

A big change is coming for some Quadrangle residents. It's not this summer's planned renovations, but the departure of longtime Goldberg House Faculty Master Ivar Berg and his wife, Callie. A respected sociologist and former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Berg recently announced that he will leave the Quad at the end of the academic year. Berg has lived in the Quad for eight years, first as a faculty fellow and then as a house master. Berg, 71, said health problems and advancing age were the factors that most influenced his decision to step down as faculty master. "I'm not getting any younger," Berg said. "[Life in the Quad] is a buzz of activity -- we rarely say goodnight before midnight." Though leaving his Quad home, Berg will remain at Penn as a professor, said Director of College Houses and Academic Services David Brownlee. Berg and his wife, who served by his side as associate faculty master, were well known for the attention they gave to their residential students. "What always struck me was the true and sincere interest he would take in the career of undergraduates," said Goldberg House Resident Advisor Damian Werts, a College and Wharton junior. "For an accomplished, tenured faculty member to take such interest was remarkable." College senior Karim Sadak offered an example of Berg's eagerness to help undergraduates. "Last year, I was having some trouble deciding what to write my med school personal statement about. I mentioned this to him, and he had me over for lunch twice to discuss my interests in medicine and why I wanted to be a doctor," Sadak said. "I could come to [the Bergs] when I needed advice, when I was in trouble and even when I just wanted a home-cooked meal," he added. Berg was also known for a freshman seminar on the 1960s, which he taught specifically for the residents of Goldberg House and, before that, for the residents of the Butcher/Speakman/Class of 1928 section of the Quad. "[Every year] 200 people would try to sign up for the seminar," College senior Jane Hill said. "Even when [Dr. Berg] was on sabbatical, he came down to work with the freshmen." A new faculty master for Goldberg will be appointed this spring for the fall of 2000. Berg will serve on the selection committee for the new faculty master, but he said he sees his role as providing a source of information for the new faculty master, rather than taking part in the review of candidates. "It has been a glorious experience," Callie Berg said. "I have loved every minute." Also leaving the college house system at the end of this academic year are Faculty Master of the Modern Language College House Peter Steiner, DuBois College House Faculty Fellow William Franklin, Spruce College House Faculty Fellow Vivian Gadsden, and Ware College House Faculty Fellow Jonathan Pletcher. "Our family is growing and it's time to move on," Pletcher said. "Living at Ware and working with the freshmen and RAs and GAs has been a great experience for me."