Students meet new business chief

A month after his arrival, Penn's new business chief is making his presence known on campus.

Students, administrators and faculty members gathered yesterday afternoon on College Green to welcome Executive Vice President Clifford Stanley, the former Marine Corps major general who took the reigns of the post in mid-October. At the campus-wide celebration, University President Judith Rodin introduced Stanley and stressed the importance of his arrival at Penn.

"We have reached, I think, a wonderful point in Penn's evolution, and with Cliff coming, I think we have the opportunity to move again to the next level," Rodin said. "Cliff has spent the first month listening and meeting as many of you as he can and this is another opportunity for him to do that... he is very eager to really reach out and have you reach out to him as well."

Stanley said that his first few weeks at Penn have been spent "learning, observing" and "getting focused." He said he has also been working on staff reorganization and some campus clean-up initiatives.

So far, his experiences on campus have been encouraging.

"I love it," Stanley said. "This is where I want to be... I'm really excited about it."

Stanley fills the vacancy left by John Fry, who was appointed in 1995 and stepped down in July to become president of Franklin and Marshall College, a liberal arts school in Lancaster, Pa.

Stanley is responsible for overseeing the University's finances, investments, human resources, business services, real estate, information systems, public safety and internal audit and compliance, and serving as the link between Rodin and her senior administrators. He will also be involved with the implementation of the University's new strategic plan, which was released last year.

Stanley comes to Penn following a 30-year military career -- he most recently served as the deputy commanding general at a 60,000-acre Marine Corps. base in Quantico, Va. -- and has had little experience in higher education. But according to his new colleagues, his transition to the campus environment has been a success.

"All in all, it has been tremendously engaging, I think, for him as well as for us," Vice President for Real Estate and Facilities Services Omar Blaik said of his experiences with Stanley. "He is someone who doesn't hide behind closed doors and [stay] in his office. He wants to walk around and get to know people, where they work and how they work."

"It's a delight to be working with him," Provost Robert Barchi said. He's "very collegiate, very committed to what we're doing here at Penn. He's a wonderful partner, so I'm finding him to be the best that I could have hoped for... we're looking forward to a very productive relationship."

Vice President for Budget and Management Analysis Michael Masch said that although Penn is "a big, complicated place" and Stanley "has a lot to learn," he has been a great addition to the University's administration.

"This is a mature team [Rodin] has put into place," Masch said. "I think Cliff is the beneficiary of that.... He's a major league guy and this is a major league place, so he fits in well."

Masch added that while some may have preconceived ideas about how Stanley's military background will shape his work, "I think everyone at Penn will come to recognize that he doesn't fit any of those stereotypes."

He's "bringing a little bit more discipline to an institution that in order to thrive needs to find an appropriate balance between discipline and creativity," Masch said.

At yesterday's event, some students and faculty members lined up to introduce themselves to Stanley for the first time. Others, like Director of Naval Science Col. Bruce Hulick, were there to support him as an old friend and colleague.

Hulick, who came to Penn this summer and last worked with Stanley at the Quantico base, called him "a great leader with a lot of experience" and said he was "elated" about Stanley's decision to come to Penn.

"He has a lot to offer the University, and the University has a lot to offer him," Hulick said. "It's going to be a win-win [situation] for everybody."

A number of students also attended the event, but most said they hadn't known about it in advance and were simply drawn in by the music and food while walking by. Still, they said they saw it as a good opportunity to meet Stanley.

"I think the fact that he's from the military gives a lot of credibility to the school," said Francisco Fonseca, a Graduate School of Fine Arts international student.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.