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The Daily Pennsylvanian's 117th Board of Editors and Managers will be inaugurated Saturday night with a banquet at the University Museum. (Jacques-Jean Tiziou/The Daily Pennsylvanian)

After a year of hard work, late nights and neglect of self and school, The Daily Pennsylvanian's 116th Board of Managers and Editors will hand over the reigns of power at a gala affair tomorrow night at the University Museum. Almost 300 dignitaries, staffers and family members will be on hand for the DP Banquet, one of Penn's oldest traditions, at which the outgoing 116th board and the incoming 117th board will be honored. Speakers will include University President Judith Rodin and incoming Executive Editor Michael Vondriska, a Wharton junior. Philadelphia Magazine Editor Loren Feldman, a DP alumnus and formerly the executive editor of George, will deliver the keynote address. In a year that will be long remembered for the closest presidential election in United States history, the 22 editors of the 116th Board raised the DP's coverage of campus and national issues to a new level. The fallout from the death of Jesse Gelsinger, the continuing battle to regulate the production of Penn-logo apparel, the failure of the Sundance Cinema project, the continuing difficulties of the Penn Health System and race relations on campus were just some of the issues that made headlines. And "Bush wins uncertain victory" -- the lead headline for the November 8 edition of the paper -- remains the quintessential summary of events that followed. In 2000, the DP also posted record profits, launched a new Web site, tinkered with its design, increased its emphasis on special issues, supplements and feature writing, and improved the quality of 34th Street magazine. Now a new board, led by Vondriska, will work to continue the tradition of excellence. A native of St. Louis, Vondriska served as the corporation's Finance Manager last year, and sat on the DP's executive board. He had previously served as Credit Manager. Over the next year, he aims to "improve the depth and consistency of our coverage while continuing our tradition of journalistic integrity and excellence." The Wharton junior added that the DP remains committed to its mission of serving its readers, advertisers, and staff. Managing Editor Rod Kurtz and Business Manager Cassandra Howell will join Vondriska in leading the 29 editors and managers of the 117th Board. Kurtz, a College junior from Lynnfield, Mass., will be responsible for the day-to-day editorial operations and content of the DP and dailypennsylvanian.com. His background as a crime and city reporter, and as a design editor on the 116th Board, will serve Kurtz well as he leads an effort to "make picking up a DP a more complete and enjoyable reading experience." 34th Street Editor-in-Chief Oliver Benn, a College junior from Gainesville, Fla., will direct operations and content at the weekly arts and entertainment magazine following a year as editor of its Voice section. On the other side of the operation, Cassandra Howell will head up the DP's business operations. A College junior from Alexandria, Virginia, Howell served as Advertising Manager on the 116th Board. She will act as the Vice President of the corporation and head up the Business Board. Other members of the Editorial Board include Arman Anvari, Andrew Armstrong, Kyle Bahr, Jason Bodnar, Will Burhop, Mia Villarreal Frietze, Paul Gulesserian, Rebecca Kahan, Jonathan Margulies, Matthew Mugmon, Stacy Humes-Schulz, Theo Schweitz, Jonathan Shazar, Michael Sonsino, Aliya Sternstein, Caryn Tamber, Alec Templeton, Jessica Tuchinsky and Dave Zeitlin. Members of the Business Board include Stephanie Beyer, Geoff Fichte, Rachel Foltz, Andrew Hegyi, Andrew Klein and Lauren Plackter.

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