News Briefs: Friday, March 24, 2000

Card shop to open in Sansom Common The store, Messages, will sit between Steve Madden Shoes and the Ivy Grille restaurant on the 3600 block of Walnut Street, down the street from the Barnes and Noble-operated University Bookstore. Philadelphia retailer Arnold Bank, who runs stores in the Gallery at Market East and the Shoppes at Liberty Place, will also operate a similar store in Houston Hall when it reopens later this year. Bank said the 2,200-square-foot card shop on Walnut Street will look "phenomenally different" than nearby card stores, but added that it's products will be comparable in price to University of Cards, located in the 3401 Walnut Street complex. He described the Sansom Common Messages as an "upscale, trendy" card and gift boutique with a "hot, contemporary" design by the architects of neighboring Ma Jolie women's apparel, exuding an appearance similar to nearby Parfumerie Douglas cosmetics. Unlike other card stores, the shop's "in-depth presentation" will feature a wide variety of boxed notes, according to Bank, who added that it will provide more products than the Messages at Liberty Place. -- Aliya Sternstein U. names new director of Student Health Services Penn named Evelyn Wiener as the new director of Student Health Services earlier this week, filling a position that has been vacant since MarJeanne Collins retired in December 1999. Prior to her appointment as director, Wiener served as associate director of SHS, and she had been acting director since December. A national search for the position had been held since Collins' departure. Wiener said that she was thrilled at the appointment. "It's an interesting field of medicine," she said. "It combines an interesting medical practice with a set of public health issues which are beyond the scope of what one would encounter [in other practices]." Wiener's responsibilities include planning and developing the student health program and instituting initiatives like immunizations and clinical research participation, as well as advising administrators on medical matters. She will report directly to Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum. In a statement, McCoullum called Wiener an extraordinary physician. "She is truly the best and most highly competent candidate to continue Penn's tradition of exemplary student health services," she said. Wiener attended Temple University's School of Medicine and completed her residency in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital. -- Joshua Liez