Trustees convene at winter meeting

Some of Penn's most powerful decision-makers will weigh in today on key University projects.

The University Board of Trustees will gather at the Inn at Penn for its winter meeting, one of three held each year.

Issues on the table include campus safety, east-campus development and ongoing construction projects in University City.

The Board of Trustees is made up of 55 Penn alumni and prominent professionals and has the final say in most major University decisions.

Twenty-five resolutions are up for approval by the board today, ranging from a memorial resolution for Mickey Tarnopol -- a longtime trustee who died last summer -- to the approval of over $270 million in construction projects and technology purchases.

"The trustee meetings are an opportunity for the trustees to hear from the administration about what is going on," said University Secretary Leslie Kruhly, who helps organize the event, adding that the trustees will also officially approve major decisions by Penn administrators.

University President Amy Gutmann said that trustee meetings are a time to "take stock of what we have been doing and get feedback from the trustees."

East-campus development is expected to be a main point of discussion at the Facilities and Campus Planning meeting this morning. The University is trying to determine the future of 24 acres of U.S. Postal Service property east of campus that it will gain control of next year.

"Acquiring those postal lands has been in the works for a decade," Board of Trustees Chairman James Riepe said. He added that the trustees will discuss where the project currently stands and options for its future but said the committee "is a long way from making commitments" to any one plan.

Trustees on the Facilities and Campus Planning Committee will hear a presentation on the planning process from Omar Blaik, Penn's top real-estate administrator, who recently announced he will resign at the end of next month.

The trustees are also expected to approve $261 million for the construction of the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, to be built on the former site of Convention Hall at 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard.

Other topics for discussion include freshman-concentrated housing, initiatives to ease burdens on graduate students with children and suggestions to improve Penn's global image.

Gutmann highlighted the significance of trustee approval of projects, saying that the University "can only go forward with the campus development plan if the trustees like it."

But Riepe said passage of most of the resolutions is all but assured.

"Usually by the time the resolution gets to the full board, there has been discussion," he said. "We've just simply reached a point where we have to make certain commitments."

This year's meetings will be better-attended than the winter meetings usually are, Kruhly said.

"We have a great trustee turn-out this time," she added, citing the board's curiosity about Gutmann's initiatives.

Riepe agreed, saying that many alumni are eager to return to campus and immerse themselves in the issues -- all of which, he said, are equally important.

"I don't think you can say that one thing is more important than another," he said. "The safety of our campus is just as important as construction projects and budgeting."

Today Some committees meeting: - Facilities and Campus Planning - Student Life - Academic Policy - Neighborhood Initiatives

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