U. Council, with varied agenda, to hold first meeting

The University Council will receive a one-year evaluative report on Penn's alcohol policy at its first meeting of the year this afternoon. The 92-member advisory group will also listen to an update on the Campus Development Plan. Today's meeting will be held in the newly renovated Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. As always, it is open to the public. University Alcohol Policy Coordinator Stephanie Ives will present an evaluation of the alcohol policy after its implementation last fall. Specifically, she will discuss how the policy has lived up to the five goals outlined in April 1999 by the Working Group on Alcohol Abuse. The Committee on Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics will present its annual report to the assembly of faculty, students and staff. The report includes research on how to improve recreational facilities at Penn, an assessment of the University's advising system for athletes and a review of the state of student-athlete admissions. University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi will present status reports, as will Larry Gross, chair of the Council's Steering Committee. Several of Penn's student government associations -- including the Graduate And Professional Student Assembly and the Undergraduate Assembly -- will also provide Council with an update. At today's meeting, the body will select and rank those academic issues they wish to focus on in the upcoming year. In last April's concluding meeting for the academic year, the group suggested a focus on both minority recruitment and retention and the progress of a study of gender equity at Penn.

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