Student Health Services Director Evelyn Weiner pleaded with the University trustees at their meeting yesterday for drastic improvements to Student Health facilities.
"I sound like a broken record, but . there is no way we can improve the efficiency . and maintain the quality of care we have with the facilities we have," she said.
Provost Ron Daniels and Alan Hassenfeld, chairman of the Student Life Committee, said they were working on the problem and pledged to stay on top of it.
Weiner's plea was one of the highlights of yesterday's meetings of the University Board of Trustees, Penn's top governing body, which meets three times a year at the Inn at Penn to discuss issues affecting the University. The trustees oversee top Penn administrators and the University's relationship with other institutions.
A summary of the day's proceedings:
Student Life Committee
n In 2004, Student Health officially identified the need for better facilities and space, Weiner told trustees. Officials' short-term solution - designed to hold SHS over for another two years - is to renovate the current space in the bottom of Penn Tower and make limited expansions to its space.
Daniels said his office is still looking for a better space to house SHS, citing it a "priority project."
n SHS is also implementing new technology to create online records and enable students to schedule appointments with doctors online.
n Mark Liberman, faculty director of College Houses and Academic Services, told trustees that he wants to increase the number of students living on campus by 10 percent with new housing developments planned for the next several years.
He said that the college houses will also be spearheading other initiatives, including a partnership with academic and co-curricular programs and an expansion of intramural sports.
Facilities and Campus Planning Committee
n Officials are planning a pedestrian bridge to cross over the train tracks by the Schuylkill River so that students can access playing fields more easily.
Cecil Balmond, an Architecture professor and deputy chief of Arup Associates, the design firm planning the bridge, presented trustees with his vision for the structure, which will provide access to facilities after the South Street Bridge is closed for repairs at the beginning of the summer.
The timber and stainless steel bridge will cost about $1.5 million and will be part of the larger
eastward campus expansion project. Construction is set to begin next fall.
Academic Policy
Committee
n Provost Daniels made a presentation on faculty recruitment and retention.
Over the past five years, the School of Arts and Sciences has had a 30-percent turnover rate for professors, while the School of Engineering and Applied Science has had a 32-percent rate.
There are currently 1,155 tenured faculty members at Penn and 459 on tenure track.
n Daniels said Penn has begun to work on finding jobs for spouses of prospective professors either at Penn or at nearby institutions to help attract new talent.
"We're losing women and men because of accompanying partner issues," he said.
Committee on
Neighborhood Initiatives
n Retail on property owned by the University generated $200 million in the last fiscal year, in addition to $9 million for Houston Market and other cafes on campus, Executive Director of Real Estate Ed Datz said.
Penn has also begun to cede some control of its property to developers to build more retail and real-estate space.
Budget and Finance Committee
n University revenues are up 4.38 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
n The Health System had a $76.1 million operating margin, a $30.8 million increase from last year. Part of this increase is due to Penn Health's new electronic billing system has helped generate revenue for the University, according to Scott Douglass, the University's vice president for finance and treasurer.
n The trustees on this committee agreed to a resolution that the University would try to buy ten acres of land near Valley Forge, Pa., to place medical facilities there.
The Board's 11 committees met yesterday and today, and the full board will convene at 11:30 this morning.
- Jacob Schutz, Nicholas Joy, Rachel Feintzeig and Evan Goldin contributed reporting for this article.
