Trustees discuss Penn's budget and student life

In one of three annual conferences, the University’s Board of Trustees met last week at the Inn at Penn to address the budget, current construction projects, academic initiatives and student life.

The academic policy committee addressed the University’s need to increase public access to online research and scholarship, an effort which Harvard University, Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are undertaking as well. “Penn is fairly progressive in its development,” Provost Vince Price said, but its plan will evolve over time.

The Budget and Finance Committee discussed the University’s investment in capital improvements — which totaled $400 million, up from $286 million last year — in the current economic environment.

Vice President for Budget and Management Analysis Bonnie Gibson announced a rise in graduate school tuition and fees, though these gains have been “offset by [an] increase in [financial] aid.”

In his budget update to the External Affairs Committee, Vice President for Government and Community Affairs Jeff Cooper lauded the University’s increase in research funding. He noted that the School of Veterinary Medicine escaped a 1.9-percent state budget cut this year. Nevertheless, Cooper projected that next year’s budgeting process will be “very difficult.”

Following a presentation by the office of Alcohol and Other Drug Program Initiatives, the Student Life Committee addressed the increasing prevalence of prescription drugs as performance enhancers on college campuses — both nationally and at Penn. They also discussed academic support programs for international students with Weingarten Learning Resources Center staff members.

At the Stated Meeting — the last of the conference — trustees discussed plans for Shoemaker Green, an open green space to replace the tennis courts between David Rittenhouse Laboratory, the Palestra and Franklin Field.

The Board also approved several appointments, including the tenure extension of School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rebecca Bushnell until 2013, and that of Dean of the Law School Michael Fitts until 2015.

Incoming School of Medicine Dean Larry Jameson — who will begin his term in July 2011 — also addressed the Board for the first time, highlighting his goals of increasing interdisciplinary study at Penn Med by forging partnerships with the University’s other schools.

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