The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania affirmed their commitment to expanding the school despite the economic downturn at their annual fall meeting last Friday.
The group passed eight proposals that will pour millions of dollars into medical buildings, student housing and the University museum.
The University's "prudent management of resources and our ability to do more with less serve us well," said Penn President Amy Gutmann.
The resolutions included designating $2.8 million for the new College House to be built on Hill field, bringing the total for the project up to $5 million. Rodin and DuBois College Houses will receive $29.8 million in interior renovations.
The trustees also slated $1.085 million for design and construction of the Richards Building and renovations to the John Morgan building for otorhinolarynology, as well as $1.4 million to purchase a PET/CT scanner for the Proton Therapy Center in the Perelman Center for advanced medicine. An additional $5.85 million was budgeted to purchase resources for animal labs.
The University will also refinance some of its Health Systems, though no figures were released on how much this would cost.
At the meeting, the trustees also authorized ground lease and development on Chestnut Street from 3939 to 3941, the site of the future Hub III apartment complex.
Other updates included reports from the external affairs, facilities and campus planning, neighborhood initiatives and student life committees. The external affairs committee expressed a desire to make a public-safety video for Penn's Web site that encourages students to decrease theft through safer behavior.
- Rebecca Kaplan
