U. plans to establish grad center

The University announced yesterday that it will increase stipends for doctoral students and create a new graduate student center as part of its ongoing effort to better the quality of life for graduate students. The announcement comes less than two weeks after administrators revealed plans to pay for health insurance for those graduate students receiving full financial support. The initiatives are the result of talks between administrators, the Graduate Students Association Council and the Graduate and Professional Student Association. According to Deputy Provost Peter Conn, Penn is committed to enhancing life for graduate students. "The University is undertaking a series of initiatives to enhance the support that it provides for its grad students," he said. Combined, the three new plans will cost between $2 and $3 million in the 2001-2002 academic year. About $1 million of this total will be devoted towards the creation of the student center. The remaining costs will be recurring funds to finance the increases in stipends, as well as the payment of the health insurance premium. And while the changes in stipend sizes and health insurance policy will not affect all graduate students, Conn said that the student center will provide a place that all can enjoy. "This graduate student center will create a venue that is quite central for all grad students to gather," Conn said. The health insurance premium is expected to cost approximately $1,400 per student, and the stipend sizes for Ph.D. students across the University will be raised from the current minimum of $12,000 to $12,500. Furthermore, Ph.D. students in the School of Arts and Sciences will see their stipends increase to a minimum of $14,000 within the next three years. The money for this increase will come out of the operating budgets of SAS and the various graduate schools offering Ph.D. programs. Officials say that the changes in graduate student policy will not only increase the quality of life for Penn's graduate students, but also make Penn's graduate programs more competitive. When the plan to finance health premiums was first announced, Conn had said that the idea was a partial response to what Penn saw happening at other schools. "In my position as deputy provost, it's my obligation to review financial aid packages offered by our peer institutions," he said at the time. "More and more of them were including the health premium." However, Conn said yesterday that improving the quality of life remains the main goal. "There are a handful of universities in the United States that can be considered in the top 10 in all disciplines," he said. And Eric Eisenstein, chairman of GSAC, said in a statement that the initiatives will definitely improve the lives of Penn's grad students. "These major commitments will improve life for all graduate students, and also demonstrates the importance of graduate students to Penn," he said. And Kyle Farley, chairman of GAPSA, agreed with Eisenstein. "We've been working with the administration for the last year and a half on the new graduate student center and appreciate their commitment to enhancing graduate student life on campus," he said. Farley added that Penn's increases in fiscal support illustrate "a further testament to its commitment to its graduate students."