As University President Judith Rodin prepares for the last two weeks of her final academic year in College Hall, her time will be consumed with packing, work -- and celebration.
"There's still so much to get done, and I feel like we're still working so hard," Rodin said. "Clearly, I am feeling very sentimental going into these last few weeks."
Though the next two weeks will be filled with celebrations involving students and alumni, Rodin said the true close to her time as president will not come until the June meeting of the University Board of Trustees.
"We have a huge trustee meeting in the middle of June, so for me it really is a June 30th deadline rather than an academic semester deadline," Rodin said. "The June meeting is always packed, and this one will be especially packed since it's my last."
However, Rodin has already begun to bring closure to her decade-long term as president.
"Clearly a big weight off my mind is getting the post office deal done," Rodin said of the 24-acre parcel of land recently purchased from the U.S. Postal Service. "I was very determined to make sure that that was finished before I left."
Leah Popowich, Rodin's assistant, said that work continues despite the occasional farewell party.
"There is a lot of work to get done, and it's very much business as usual -- if anything, business as usual times 10," Popowich said. "We're reminded that she's stepping down, but we're still working as hard as ever."
Popowich also said it was important to remember that Rodin is not leaving Penn and will remain a professor and active alumna.
"She will continue to be an enthusiastic cheerleader for Penn as she has been over the past decade," Popowich added.
Other administrators said that Rodin's last two weeks will be much work tempered by some reflection on the end of her term.
"What she's doing is what she has done every year for 10 years, which is to focus on the multitude of issues that the University faces both on campus and as part of the West Philadelphia community," Senior Vice President and University General Counsel Wendy White, Rodin's chief of staff.
University Provost Robert Barchi agreed.
"I think that people are very definitely conscious that we are coming to a close of one era," he said. There is a "feeling of conjoined celebration with her of a decade of commitment and effort on behalf of the University, so I definitely think you feel it."
Along with events related to the end of the academic year, Rodin will also be attending various alumni events celebrating her term.
"It's exciting, and there are so many farewell parties going on, so there's no single final capstone," Rodin said.
When she is not working or celebrating, Rodin said packing consumes the majority of her time, as she works to compress the contents of 3812 Walnut St. into boxes.
"I actually had the directors of the College House System come and walk through the house with me, because I have a lot of stuff that is in the house that's mine that I'm going to donate to the college houses," she said. "So there will be some Rodin memorabilia spread around the college houses."
In addition to moving out of her house, Rodin is preparing to relocate her office into temporary space in the Left Bank.
"I have to move out of my office, too, so [there will be] a lot of packing and moving those last few weeks," she said.
