For Penn's new top Facilities official, rebuilding lower Manhattan after Sept. 11 has been good preparation for rebuilding University City.
From the vast physical size of the projects to the amount of public scrutiny she will likely face, the similarities between memorializing Ground Zero and redeveloping University City are numerous, said Anne Papageorge, who starts at Penn Oct. 16. She is currently a vice president and was previously memorial design director at the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
Papageorge will oversee Penn's expansion toward the Schuylkill River next spring, as well as all real estate and facilities management on campus.
Papageorge is hesitant, however, to name any big plans for Penn's expansion. She said that her experience on campus has so far been limited, making any judgments about Penn's architectural future premature.
Before she develops a comprehensive vision, one of Papageorge's first tasks will be to get acquainted with the University's aesthetics.
She says, though, that she is no stranger to the University. She considered Penn in the past for jobs and graduate school, and has spent considerable time in Philadelphia.
Managing the development of the World Trade Center Memorial has been good preparation, she said, to oversee Penn's eastward expansion plan, which, like the memorial, will be subject to public scrutiny.
Adrian Grad, a project manager who worked with Papageorge at LMDC, said that Papageorge often had to deal with a number of public constituents, from government officials to New York families.
Her move to Penn, Grad said, will be "a loss" for LMDC, since her "leadership has been responsible for the success of the project" to create a World Trade Center memorial.
Papageorge's priorities are not limited to ensuring a smooth start to construction on the newly acquired postal lands.
Streamlining "the way we do business" and improving the effectiveness and transparency of Operations and Facilities Maintenance are also priorities for Papageorge.
She added that she is excited to move her work to a university setting.
"In looking for work other than government [work] that has that . higher purpose, I thought that education is probably the closest thing," she said.
Papageorge's position on the Landscape Architecture Advisory Council at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry School of Landscape Architecture - her undergraduate alma mater - gives her prior experience in higher education.
Papageorge was "really quite good" at communicating the needs of the council to university administrators, according to George Curry, the former chairman of the landscape architecture department and Papageorge's former teacher and colleague.
Response to Papageorge's appointment from Penn staff in Facilities has been positive.
New University architect David Hollenberg - her soon-to-be colleague - said that Papageorge is "a very exciting choice, and we can't wait for her to get here."
