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(09/15/99 9:00am)
From Mark Fiore's, "The Right Stuff," Fall '99 From Mark Fiore's, "The Right Stuff," Fall '99Violins have been playing all over campus in these early weeks of fall. Indeed, so many students, professors and administrators have been whining recently that the pitch is becoming deafening. Doubtful. Blinded by such concerns, those demanding the hasty installation of permanent deans are ignoring a crucial consideration: appointing a second-rate administrator in order to shave a few months off a search process could result in years of mediocrity, failed visions and missed opportunities. The stakes are high. And the search committees charged with selecting the new deans are rightly taking their jobs seriously, giving deliberation precedence over speed. While the committees continue their work -- which in all three searches has admittedly taken longer than hoped -- interim deans have been appointed at each of the schools: Charles Mooney at the Law School, Patrick Harker at Wharton and Eduardo Glandt at Engineering. To opponents of drawn-out search processes, such temporary appointments provide few benefits. These skeptics contend that interim leadership results in stagnation, a lack of focus and instability. The evidence, however, suggests otherwise. Mooney, who took over for former Dean Colin Diver at the end of the summer, made his intentions known in a message published in this fall's Penn Law Journal, the school's alumni publication. "I am confident that the Dean Search Committee will bring our search for a new dean to a successful conclusion as soon as possible," Mooney said. "In the meantime, Penn Law School will continue to move forward on the many initiatives that are already in place." Funny how Mooney makes no mention of putting on hold all the projects Diver began. Instead, Mooney has been emphasizing the continued renovation of Silverman Hall in preparation for its November 2000 rededication. That project certainly has not stopped because Diver stepped down. Indeed, the whirring sounds of drills and the pounding beats of hammers continue to resound throughout the Law School's original home. Such a commitment is typical for an interim dean. Though less likely to initiate new programs and projects, interim deans rarely bring schools to a standstill. The contention that such administrators are little more than seat warmers and paper pushers lacks any merit. On the contrary, individuals selected to serve as interim deans are often highly qualified in their own right, possessing many of the skills required of a permanent dean. Mooney, for example, has served as the Law School's associate dean for academic affairs and has been active on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. And at Wharton, Harker has taken on the added duties of interim deanship in addition to his responsibilities as deputy dean. Glandt, too, has impeccable credentials. Such leadership allows the University's search committees to thoroughly consider candidates for a reasonable amount of time rather than rushing to a quick decision born of necessity. As former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin advised in hisCommencement address at the University in May, "Effective decision-making is the key to almost everything you will do. "Time and again during my tenure as Treasury secretary and when I was on Wall Street, I have faced difficult decisions," Rubin told the graduates. "But the lesson is always the same: Good decision-making is the key to good outcomes." And for schools with reputations for academic excellence, the need for excellence in decision-making is all the more important -- a fact not lost on University President Judith Rodin this summer when the Law School search committee revealed that it needed more time. "The committee is doing what I charged them to do: to find the best of the best," Rodin said. "That takes time and effort."
(09/14/99 9:00am)
Those who have served in a temporary capacity say the job can be tough. Yale School of Management Deputy Dean Stanley Garstka, for instance, harbors negative memories of his 16-month stint as interim dean of Yale's School of Management and insists that the position of interim dean can actually have adverse effects on a school. "The worst thing in the world is to be a 'pretend' dean," said Garstka, who served as interim dean of the Management School from June 1994 to October 1995 while the search for a permanent chief sputtered along for nearly two years. "Any institution suffers if there is not someone clearly in control." And Peter Byrne, associate dean of Georgetown Law School, said appointing an interim dean doesn't seem desirable. "I think it's a problem," said Byrne, who sat on the search committee that appointed current Georgetown Law Dean Judith Areen in 1989. But the interim deans of three of Penn's top schools have all recently insisted that their schools' agendas will not be hindered or adversely affected by temporary leadership. Interim Law School Dean Charles Mooney, Interim Wharton School Dean Patrick Harker and Interim Engineering School Dean Eduardo Glandt agreed that their schools, as a whole, have enough skilled faculty members and detailed initiatives well underway that they can survive -- and even prosper -- without permanent deans in place. Glandt, for instance, has served as interim dean since July 1998 and says he has since been evaluating the school's priorities and has tried to obtain collective goals that were established even before he took the position. "These schools all have a very well-defined plan," Glandt said. "We have a script. We have something that comes from the faculty bottom-up. The mandate for an interim dean is very clear." Physics Professor Walter Wales, who served as interim dean of the School of Arts and Sciences twice in the past 10 years, agreed that it is often the faculty members -- and not the actual dean -- who can steer the direction of the school. "One hopes that the agenda that one is fulfilling is the school's agenda, not the deans'," Wales said. Still, the resignations of former Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity and Law School Dean Colin Diver leave the University without two if its most renowned administrators, both of whom individually helped elevate their respective schools to unprecedented financial success and top-rate national status. Though Mooney acknowledged that Diver's shoes would indeed be tough to fill, he, like Glandt, said the school had a planned trajectory that could guide him while in office. "Colin has left us with a plan. We know what we want to do, we know what we need money for, we have targets for the money we need," Mooney said. But for some interim deans, maintaining intense fundraising initiatives -- an area in which both Gerrity and Diver were particularly successful -- is a top priority, and a challenging one at that, given that successful fundraising often requires a close relationship between the donor and the institution. Glandt, for example, said a "new kid on the block" might have more trouble soliciting donations if he has not yet established a direct bond with the potential donor. And Clark Havighurst, who has served as interim dean of Duke University's Law School since July 1, said it was "expected that some donors will adopt a wait-and-see attitude," though he did not anticipate any "permanent harm" being done at his institution. Harker, though, claimed that donors are often more connected with the individual school than they are with an individual person. "I think at the end of the day, donors, particularly alums, give to Penn. They give to Wharton," Harker said. "The dean is very important in articulating what the mission of the place is but I don't think [donors] give to a person. It's not a political campaign." And though most interim deans say they're willing to serve until the end of the search -- regardless of how long that process might take -- many also say they're always ready, even eager, to be relieved of their duties and see the school function under stable, permanent leadership. "I am doing the job because I was asked to do it, but I have never aspired to this kind of work," Havighurst said. "I will be glad to hand it over." And at Penn, Mooney said his "main interest" has always been to return to his scholarly work and writing. "I would be very surprised and very displeased if I had to serve beyond this academic year," Mooney added.
(09/14/99 9:00am)
Charles Mooney wants to keep the Law School moving, but leave soon. But for now at least, Mooney is putting aside his teaching and his scholarly work in order to serve as interim dean of the Penn Law School while the search for the permanent replacement to former Dean Colin Diver continues. Diver officially stepped down last month after 10 years at the helm of the Law School. Currently on sabbatical, Diver is expected to return to teaching next year. Though replacing Diver -- who expanded the school's facilities and academic support services and raised more than $100 million for the school's activities and endowment -- is a formidable task, Mooney said yesterday that he is familiar with the initiatives set forth by his predecessor and is prepared to continue helping the school fulfill its 2 1/2-year-old strategic plan. "Around here, I think we're somewhat unified when it comes to our plan and things we have to accomplish," Mooney said. "If anything, my colleagues have encouraged me not to tread water because that means you're going to go downstream." Mooney said he expects to be occupied with some of Diver's works in progress -- namely, a strategic plan for the Law School that Diver released in 1997 calling for a more broad-based, integrative curriculum, increased student selectivity and an expansion of the standing faculty. "Colin has left us with a plan. We know what we want to do, we know what we need money for, we have targets for the money we need," Mooney said, adding that fundraising initiatives will not be stalled under his leadership. Several Law School professors expressed confidence that Mooney, who is currently in his second year as the school's associate dean of academic affairs, will fill the void capably. Few seemed worried that his appointment would signal a stalemate in advancing the school's agenda. Law School Professor Frank Goodman called Mooney an "extremely able and capable administrator," specifically lauding his strong personal relationships with his colleagues. "He's extremely capable of dealing in a sympathetic way with all members of the faculty," Goodman said. "He's a really straight shooter," Law School Professor Howard Lesnick added. What's not clear at this point is how long Mooney will serve or how long the search for his replacement will take. When Diver announced last October that he would step down July 1, he did so with the hope that his position would be filled by that time. As it became increasingly apparent that the search would continue through the summer, Diver said he would fulfill his administrative duties until the start of the year. "We were not necessarily pleased that [the search] was extended, but given the high standards that the faculty has? I can't say anyone's really shocked," Mooney said of the search process. Law School search committee chairperson Richard Herring said two weeks ago that the search could ideally be concluded this fall. Mooney has said he would likely reject the opportunity to be the permanent dean even if asked. His plans to take a sabbatical next year have not yet changed. "I would be very surprised and very displeased if I had to serve beyond this academic year," Mooney said. Mooney, who specializes in commercial law and bankruptcy, arrived at the Law School in 1986 after serving as a partner at Shearman & Stearling in New York City. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1972. Former Wharton School Dean Thomas Gerrity also announced in October that he would step down this summer. He left office on July 1 to spend more time with his family. Wharton Deputy Dean Patrick Harker was appointed interim dean last month. And former Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington resigned in May 1998, leaving a post that has been filled for more than a year by Interim Dean Eduardo Glandt.
(09/08/99 9:00am)
From Josh Callahan's, "Under Construction," Fall '99 From Josh Callahan's, "Under Construction," Fall '99Help Wanted: Highly regarded university is looking for anyone who can run an efficient search committee. Penn students who expected to return to campus this fall and be greeted by a host of new University leaders are in for a shock: Of the three major dean searches -- for the Wharton, Law and Engineering schools, all underway for at least 10 months -- not one has been completed. When deans Colin Diver of the Law School and Thomas Gerrity of the Wharton School announced plans last fall to step down July 1, both said they hoped their announcements had given the University time to find replacements to immediately step into their vacated positions. Now, there are more empty seats in Gerrity's old office -- one -- than in any of the highly desirable Wharton undergraduate finance classes. With top administrators coming and going with greater frequency -- Diver and Gerrity's decade-long stays were considered lengthy -- there is no sense in spending a year searching for a replacement. Law School search committee chairperson and Wharton undergraduate dean Richard Herring agreed, telling The Daily Pennsylvanian last January, "Everybody wants to do this as quickly as possible." Sorry, quickly was over July 1. So why does it take so damn long to replace any resignation-wielding University administrator? Penn speaks of the need to conduct a comprehensive search because of the importance of the position. "This is the premier law dean opening in the country at this time," committee member and Law Professor Robert Gorman told the DP in January. Premier, maybe. But while some candidates are certainly better than others, no dean under the present musical chairs system of University administration is going to revolutionize the position, so to get nit-picky over the selection seems like a waste of time. In addition, apparently not every potential candidate is sitting by the phone praying to be invited to take a job that involves tedious and perpetual fundraising, among other unglorious tasks. Gary Hack, dean of the Graduate School of Fine Arts and head of the Wharton search, called his initial timetable "overly ambitious" and Herring told the DP over the summer that his committee had interviewed scores of candidates but that some had removed themselves from the search process due to a lack of interest in the job. Thus, Penn may be the victim of a simple lack of interest, although it is difficult to say for sure due to the paucity of information released to the public. Nevertheless, scores of well-qualified candidates who would like the job must remain. And the University isn't flying blind. In addition to having a wealth of experience at searching for candidates, given the continual flow of deans toward the "Exit" sign, the University contracts with head-hunting firms (they prefer the title "executive search firms," but whatever) to help in the "nationwide" and "exhaustive" search processes. The firm of Spencer Stuart is currently working on the Wharton School search. According to Bill Bowen, a vice chairperson at Heidrick & Struggles, which aided the provost search last year, presidential searches at major universities average six months, while dean and provost searches are usually shorter. Penn, to its discredit, went out and showed that it could perform well above standards by lingering a year over the provost decision. Now it is upping its formidable standard once again by lollygagging over not just one, but three, major appointments. Selecting interim deans, as was done by Engineering and Wharton this year and by the University during its provost search, is not a positive step in any manner. It is impossible for an interim dean to establish any vision or program for a school when the position may come to an abrupt end at any moment. Through no fault of their own, the interim deans are basically resigned to being seat warmers and paper pushers. Maybe Penn needs a dean of search committees. The job would entail constantly interviewing qualified administrators from around the country for unspecified positions. Then, when a position opened up at Penn, the better candidates could be plugged into a streamlined process for the specific opening. Given the present rate of turnover, there would certainly be no shortage of work for this dean. Then again, hiring this new dean would require a search committee, so forget I brought it up.
(09/08/99 9:00am)
The engineering, Wharton and Law schools all need permanent leadership as soon as possible. We know full well that dean searches take time. But as the academic year opens with interim deans in place at all three schools, the need to hire permanent deans as soon as possible is great. Even the recent success of Interim Engineering Dean Eduardo Glandt only makes us wonder what he -- or some other qualified candidate -- could have accomplished from the stronger position of permanent dean. Don't just take our word for it. Look to the business world, where the penalties for delay and lost opportunity are far more immediate, and the number of companies making due with interim leadership is vanishingly small. Even in this day and age, universities are not subject to all the pressures of corporate America. But schools, too, pay a high cost for the lack of permanent leadership. Only a dean with the credibility of a permanent appointment under his belt is in a position to give potential donors the long-term strategic vision they demand. And the lack of a permanent dean can make it extraordinarily difficult to effect changes, even of the most obvious and necessary kinds. For a recent and relevant example, look no further than Penn's own School of Arts and Sciences. The appointments of SAS Dean Samuel Preston and College Dean Richard Beeman filled holes that had existed for two and one years respectively. Since their appointment in December 1997, Penn has begun to fill long-standing holes in both its Political Science and Chemistry departments -- a testament to the critical role of permanent leadership in solving obvious problems. Beeman's role in the ongoing revamping of the General Requirement is a similar example of a project only possible under the aegis of a permanent dean. To be sure, the deliberate and measured processes leading up to the appointments of Beeman and Preston seem largely justified in retrospect. But the time needed for measured deliberation is not indefinite and the need to move the searches forward is pressing. We trust that all three committees will move quickly to produce lists of finalists. And we trust that the President and Provost will push to put new leadership in place as soon as possible.
(09/03/99 9:00am)
Campus-wide construction, dean searches for three schools and a new alcohol policy are on our minds. All students, both old and new, will see a new campus this fall or, perhaps more aptly, a campus in progress. This is a transitional time for the University -- a time of construction and renovation, a year of dean searches and implementation of the new alcohol policy. And of all the changes underway, none are more noticeable than the construction areas scattered all around campus -- over a dozen separate sites spreading from the Schuylkill to 40th Street. To be sure, there is a frustration in being at Penn now rather than later, when buildings have opened and renovations have been completed. But don't forget that the services and buildings you benefit from were once construction sites -- and then-undergraduates faced the same inconveniences you now face. Changing the campus for the better takes time and it takes space. But there is also a sense of excitement in being here now, in watching change unfold. Of course, current students will reap the benefits of any number of newly finished projects this fall. The rest of Sansom Common will open, adding a hotel, three restaurants and several new stores to the campus. And the reopening of Irvine Auditorium is particularly noteworthy -- it will be the first opportunity for three-quarters of the undergraduate student body to set foot inside the landmark building. Of course, construction isn't the only thing going on at Penn. Perhaps most importantly, there's a new alcohol policy in place. In the main, Penn has attempted to increase the number of dry alternatives available to students, but those who are of age will again be able to drink at registered social events. The University has also promised to crack down on underage drinking, in part through an emphasis on trained monitors and stricter regulations on the availability of alcohol at parties. We will watch the administration's efforts with interest and would again remind all involved of the importance of personal responsibility and the limitations of rules and regulations. The lack of permanent deans for three of Penn's twelve schools -- Law, Wharton and Engineering -- is another important issue. We understand that dean searches are careful and deliberate processes, and rightly so. However, the Engineering School has been without permanent leadership for over a year and the need to find new deans for the Law and Wharton schools has been clear for almost as long. The appointment of interim deans for all three schools is a source of some concern, as well. Put simply, it is that much easier to push off making a final appointment with an interim dean in place. Furthermore, no matter how qualified an interim dean may be, the limitations inherent in the position make it an impossible job to do well. We hope Penn will move expeditiously to find qualified individuals for all three deanships in the immediate future. Other areas likely to be in the headlines include continuing efforts to revive the long-inadequate Political Science Department and to replace a slew of departed professors in the English Department. We will also watch continuing efforts to consolidate Penn's interdisciplinary strengths, and to develop the University's research infrastructure. And, of course, we've got football and basketball teams with Ivy League championships to defend and an exciting variety of other teams to watch. We hope today's issue serves you as an introduction to campus and a catalog of the summer's changes. And we hope you'll continue to turn to us over the course of the academic year for news and opinions on issues that concern you. For our part, we pledge to strive for accuracy in reporting, diligence in news gathering and insight in our coverage. We hope you'll return to page six over the course of the semester for the insights of our columnists and the views of the editorial board, which you'll find in this space throughout the year. Drop by our home on the Web -- http://dailypennsylvanian.com -- and look for our weekly arts and entertainment magazine, 34th Street. And by all means, write us when we do something you like or something you don't. After all, we're your voice.
(09/03/99 9:00am)
The Law and Wharton schools recently joined Engineering in appointing interim deans. Marking the first public announcement of two intensely private endeavors, the University named interim deans for both the Wharton and Law schools early last month, a move that gives both schools at least temporary leadership. Wharton Deputy Dean Patrick Harker will serve as Wharton's interim dean, and Charles Mooney, the Law School's associate dean for academic affairs, will temporarily head the Law School. Harker, who is stepping down from his position as chairperson of the Operations and Information Management Department, said he would not allow Wharton's academic and fundraising initiatives to remain stagnant under temporary leadership. "The one thing I'm committed to do is not to go into a holding pattern," Harker said. "The beauty of the Wharton School is that the dean is important, but most of the initiatives come not from the dean, but from the faculty members." Harker said he is prepared to act as interim dean until a permanent one is appointed. He is not, however, a candidate for the permanent position since he serves on the search committee charged with finding his replacement. Mooney, who has taught at Penn since 1986 and has served on the University Faculty Senate Executive Committee, was out of the country this week and unavailable for comment. The appointment of interim deans means that both schools will begin the academic year without permanent replacements for their respective outgoing leaders, despite searches that have each now lasted approximately nine months. Many have quietly criticized both schools for a search process that has extended beyond the time former Law Dean Colin Diver and former Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity both left office this summer. Though University officials have insisted that none of the outstanding searches are pegged to any schedule, both Diver and Gerrity said last October that they hoped new deans would be appointed by the time their resignations took effect. While there has been talk that the decision to appoint interim deans is a sign of a stalled search process, Provost Robert Barchi said it is beneficial to have knowledgeable people taking the reins for the time being. And according to officials at other top law schools -- some of whom identify with Penn's difficulty in ending these two high-profile searches -- nine months is not abnormally long for a search. Georgetown Law School Associate Dean Peter Byrne, who sat on the search committee that appointed current Law Dean Judith Areen in 1989, said his search lasted for six months before settling on Areen, who taught at the school at the time of her appointment. And at Columbia University Law School, where a new dean was named by the university's president in June 1996, there was a similar 9-month period between the resignation of the former dean, Lance Leidman, and the appointment of the current one, David Leebron. An approximately 7-member search committee there, charged by the president and headed by a Law School professor, ultimately selected an internal candidate, according to John Kelly, the director of public relations at the Columbia Law School. "[In general] it doesn't seem to be a very quick process," Kelly said. In addition to the vacancies at Law and Wharton, the School of Engineering and Applied Science has been without a permanent dean for over a year now, since the departure of Gregory Farrington for Lehigh University's presidency. Eduardo Glandt has been serving as interim dean since last summer. Gerrity and Diver both announced in early October 1998 that they would step down from their posts on July 1. Months later, as the deadline for their resignations neared, Diver said he would remain as dean through the summer but would still step down before the start of the school year. Two search committees charged with finding replacements for both Gerrity and Diver have been meeting since January to screen internal and external candidates. Both were unavailable for comment this week. Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack, who chairs the 12-member Wharton dean search committee, said his committee is still in the process of interviewing a "small number of candidates." The list of candidates, which Hack said has been pared down during the summer, includes academics, businesspeople and "public figures." The actual person selected, said Hack, could include any of the above. "What we've said from the beginning is that we're looking for someone who can be an extraordinary leader," Hack noted, adding that, "We're looking for people who have different shades and blends of both [business and academic] abilities." Though Hack refused to comment on exactly how many candidates are currently being considered, members of the search committee had reported in late April that they were working on reducing a list of six candidates to three or four that could be presented for final consideration to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi. Hack acknowledged that the search has taken longer than he would have liked. He suggested that the committee may have been "overly ambitious" in thinking that the search could be concluded quickly. He did, however, say he hoped to end the search process and present a final list of candidates this fall. In addition, Law School dean search committee chairperson Richard Herring, who is also Wharton's undergraduate dean, said his committee hopes to conclude the search "as soon as possible." "My fervent hope is that [the search] will not take into October," Herring said, though he noted that certain "variables" -- applicants' chemistry with the University and other personal issues, for instance -- make it difficult to predict an official timetable for the search. Herring said the committee, comprised of four faculty members, four Law School professors, two Law School students and one alumnus, met with Rodin and Barchi once this summer to give a progress update, but did not discuss any specific candidates. Herring refused to name any of the candidates and would not say how many people are being considered for the job. He also declined to comment on whether Mooney was a candidate for the Law School position. In late May, Mooney said the committee had interviewed more than 100 candidates since February.
(08/05/99 9:00am)
The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure. The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERSThe University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and Chestnut The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and ChestnutJEERSThe University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and ChestnutJEERS·To the search commitees charged with finding new deans for the Law School and the Wharton School for failing to complete their missions this summer.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and ChestnutJEERS·To the search commitees charged with finding new deans for the Law School and the Wharton School for failing to complete their missions this summer.·To the Engineering School dean searchfor dragging out for over a year, while keeping Eduardo Glandt on as interim dean.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and ChestnutJEERS·To the search commitees charged with finding new deans for the Law School and the Wharton School for failing to complete their missions this summer.·To the Engineering School dean searchfor dragging out for over a year, while keeping Eduardo Glandt on as interim dean.·To the Athletic Department for not keeping the women's lacrosse team informed of it's decision to fire their coach Ann Sage.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and ChestnutJEERS·To the search commitees charged with finding new deans for the Law School and the Wharton School for failing to complete their missions this summer.·To the Engineering School dean searchfor dragging out for over a year, while keeping Eduardo Glandt on as interim dean.·To the Athletic Department for not keeping the women's lacrosse team informed of it's decision to fire their coach Ann Sage.·To the University for committing gender discrimination in 1997 by not interviewing Andrew Medcalf for the position of women's crew coach.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and ChestnutJEERS·To the search commitees charged with finding new deans for the Law School and the Wharton School for failing to complete their missions this summer.·To the Engineering School dean searchfor dragging out for over a year, while keeping Eduardo Glandt on as interim dean.·To the Athletic Department for not keeping the women's lacrosse team informed of it's decision to fire their coach Ann Sage.·To the University for committing gender discrimination in 1997 by not interviewing Andrew Medcalf for the position of women's crew coach.·To the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania for eliminating 1,100 positions, leaving 450 employees jobless.The University has kept busy through the hot summer months - some things we applaud, others we censure.CHEERS·To University President Judith Rodin for approving the recommendations of the Alcohol Task force and ensuring that a clear alcohol policy will be in place when students return in the fall.·To the University City District for creating a new facility that will guarantee an increased security presence on campus.·To the Institute of Contemporary Art for naming the New York-based artist and curator Claudia Gould as the new director.·To the Fels Center of Government for finding renowned criminologist Lawrence Sherman to head the center.·To the School of Arts and Sciences for balancing it's budget, marking the first time in five years the largest of the University's 12 schools will not be in the red.·To English Professor Peter Conn for being named deputy provost, chief advisor to Provost Robert Barchi .·To the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for being on U.S. News and World Report's annual "Honor Roll" of the nation's best hospitals.·To the University for it's continued attempts to change the face of campus, most recently by announcing a new $111 million facility -- providing housing and retail space and parking -- on 34th and ChestnutJEERS·To the search commitees charged with finding new deans for the Law School and the Wharton School for failing to complete their missions this summer.·To the Engineering School dean searchfor dragging out for over a year, while keeping Eduardo Glandt on as interim dean.·To the Athletic Department for not keeping the women's lacrosse team informed of it's decision to fire their coach Ann Sage.·To the University for committing gender discrimination in 1997 by not interviewing Andrew Medcalf for the position of women's crew coach.·To the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania for eliminating 1,100 positions, leaving 450 employees jobless.·To the University for temporarily replacing the 30 year old "We Lost" sculpture on College Green with the brightly colored piece, "LOVE."
(07/29/99 9:00am)
Eduardo Glandt ha held the position of interim dean since last summer. The search continues. It has been nearly a year since former Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington left Penn to become the president of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., and the school still finds itself, as it did last July, in need of a permanent replacement. In November, University President Judith Rodin and then-Interim Provost Michael Wachter charged an 11-member search committee comprised of six professors, one alumnus, Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg School for Communication, two students and Operations and Information Management Professor Morris Cohen, who is the committee's chairperson. "We are still on the same timetable. We'd like to get a new dean as soon as possible," Cohen said Tuesday, adding that the committee has met regularly and has sifted through more than 200 internal and external candidates. Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi, who are responsible for approving the final list of candidates, have been consulting with the the search committee, Cohen said. "There's been quite a bit of progress," said Mechanical Engineering Professor Vijay Kumar, who is a member of the search committee. Still, several sources close to the situation said they doubted that the search committee would make a final appointment before September. The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has been without a permanent dean since last August, when Farrington officially stepped down. The University responded by naming Chemical Engineering Professor Eduardo Glandt to the position of interim dean last July. Glandt, who chaired the Engineering School's elected Faculty Council for several years in the 1980s, had initially been expected to serve for only a year. But now, as the search may continue into the upcoming school year, Glandt said he is prepared to remain as dean until the committee officially names a replacement. "I'm certainly eager to move on, but the most important thing for us is to get the leader that the school needs. That should take precedence," Glandt said. But one member of the Engineering School's faculty, who is not a member of the search committee, said Glandt would be an "outstanding dean," noting that it would not be surprising if Glandt were asked to stay on as Farrington's permanent replacement should the committee not find a more qualified candidate. Another Engineering School professor said there had been "a lot of talk" among professors that Glandt could be named as dean. "His name has always been in consideration for the position," Morris said. Glandt declined to comment on whether or not he was a serious candidate for permanent dean. Chemical Engineering Professor Dan Hammer, who is also not a member of the search committee, said he hoped the committee would find someone with "national status," such as a member of the National Academy of Engineers, a preeminent engineering organization of which Glandt himself is a member. The University is still engaged in two other high-profile searches, as search committees charged with finding new deans for the Wharton and Law schools continue to meet regularly and interview candidates. The Nursing School is also searching for a new undergraduate dean to replace longtime head Mary Naylor, who resigned in December. Penn also ended two publicized searches this summer, naming Lawrence Sherman and Claudia Gould as directors of the Fels Center of Government and the Institute of Contemporary Art, respectively.
(07/15/99 9:00am)
1998 College graduates reported a five percent average salary increase. Few would deny that the study of English, history and political science is good for the mind. But if recent studies are any indication, a liberal arts education may be good for the pocket as well. A survey conducted by the University's Career Services office --formerly known as Career Placement and Planning Services -- shows that students who graduated from the College in 1998 have achieved average starting salaries in their post-college careers of $31,694, an approximately five percent increase from the average salary of $30,112 that members of the Class of 1997 earned upon entering the workforce. Of the 639 College graduates who returned the Career Services surveys, 63 percent, up seven percent from last year's figure, are employed full-time, while 26 percent are involved in graduate studies. A record-low four percent are still searching for employment. The Class of 1998 is the second consecutive graduating class whose average starting salary exceeds the $30,000 mark. Associate Director of Career Services Peggy Curchack polled the 1548 members of the Class of 1998 through a series of mailings but received feedback from only 639 students, or 41 percent of students who received surveys. Curchack attributed the College graduates' continually increasing salaries to the nation's "extraordinarily strong" economy as well as the wider range of career opportunities available to college graduates. Certain data, such as which professions are popular and which courses of study yield higher incomes, have remained largely predictable in the 15 years that the survey has been conducted, Curchack said. The more-business oriented arenas -- consulting and financial services, for instance -- continue to attract many College graduates, as a total of 35 percent of responding students said they were involved in either field and reported an average salary of $37,596 in consulting and $37,730 in financial services. "[Some students feel] that they don't honor the degree if they aren't doing a highly remunerative job," Curchack said, offering one possible explanation for why many College graduates choose to work high-paying jobs. "I tend to believe that that is expressive of something of the culture of Penn," Curchack added. She did note, however, that 13 percent of the most recent respondents currently work in non-profit professions. Curchack also said that different majors continue to earn vastly different salaries. English majors from the Class of 1998, for instance, reported average starting salaries of $30,117, while Economics majors from the same class are making average salaries of $37,728. Curchack said the disparity can be explained in part by the "range of career choices" that English majors and other liberal arts students make, which often encompass varied salaries. There is, however, a significantly lower percentage of College graduates who attend graduate school immediately after completing their undergraduate careers. Of the 166 College graduates currently attending graduate school, 35 percent are enrolled in law school, 25 percent are in medical school and 10 percent are earning their graduate degrees in the social sciences. But although College graduates' salaries remain on the rise, they still pale in comparison to those earned by graduates of the Wharton School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. In separate surveys conducted by Career services, Wharton students made approximately $41,000 a year, while those in Engineering made about $43,000 on average. College Dean Richard Beeman could not be reached for comment this week.
(06/17/99 9:00am)
When a review of Scott McCartney's recently published book ENIAC: The Triumph and Tragedies of the World's First Computer was posted on the Internet, it revived a decades-old argument over who invented the first all-electronic digital computer. While some Philadelphia-area experts attribute the discovery to Penn, other people have made similar claims from as close as Boston to as far away as Germany and England. But according to McCartney, a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal, the ENIAC computer was indeed created by two Penn alumni during their academic careers at Penn's Moore School of Electrical Engineering. McCartney spoke to approximately 20 members of the University community at the University Bookstore on Monday. He signed copies of his book and discussed his investigative reporting of the ENIAC controversy. McCartney explained that although he had been covering the computer industry for The Wall Street Journal, he one day realized that he didn't know who invented the computer. "The inventors of the most important invention of the century remained obscure," McCartney said. In his quest to find the inventors, McCartney discovered John Mauchly and Presper Eckert, two Engineering students who met at the Moore School in 1941. Eckert and Mauchly were funded by the U.S. Army in 1943 to create a mechanism that would quickly compute the course of missiles during World War II. Their solution was ENIAC. McCartney searched through old records, diaries and video tapes stored in the Library of Congress. He found additional books that belonged to Mauchly in the rare book department of Van Pelt Library. ENIAC, unveiled on February 14, 1946, was accompanied by much University fanfare. It weighed 30 tons and occupied 1,800 square feet, McCartney said. The event, which should have been a momentous day for both the inventors and the University, was overshadowed by the patent fight surrounding who should get credit for actually inventing the first computer, McCartney said. "The three-century quest for computing machines melted into a three-decade quest to gain credit for it," he said. The Army gave Mauchly and Eckert permission to apply for patents for the computer technology, but the attempt was prohibited by the University. McCartney said the Moore School gave the two an ultimatum: If they wanted to remain at the University, they would have to give up patent considerations. According to McCartney, the University did not feel that a profit should be made on an invention that was created at an institution of higher learning and expressly intended for public use. Mauchly and Eckert resigned just five weeks after ENIAC was unveiled. Due to the inventors' failure to get a patent on time, other institutions also began producing computers, which led to the patent debate, McCartney said. Mauchly and Eckert went on to found the first computer company, but they could not compete when IBM eventually came onto the market. Their company was later bought out by Remmington-Rand, which is now called Unisys. "They were too far ahead of the game their whole lives," said McCartney. Indeed, McCartney claimed that when Eckert heard about the formation of Intel Corp., he predicted that computers would eventually be cheaper and fit on a desktop. And Mauchly supposedly recognized that computers could eventually be used to monitor weather around the world. Mauchly also worked on creating an Internet and electronic money transfers even before the technology was in place. Others who felt connected to the story of ENIAC attended Monday's book signing. Betty Davis, a graduate of the Class of 1942, retold a story of a conversation that she had with a friend while in college. A friend who knew Eckert had told her that she would eventually be able to use computers to keep track of sales in her department stores. "After all these years, as I saw his predictions come through, I've been waiting for this book and I couldn't stay away," she said. "What would have happened if Penn had played the hand dealt them differently?" McCartney asked his audience. "Philadelphia could have become a center of computing and technology." Presper and Eckert were both eventually given patents on the computer, but both died before ENIAC's 50th birthday celebration in 1996.
(06/03/99 9:00am)
For years, business managers, students and top executives around the world have turned to hard copy journals to access the latest research from academia. But if Wharton School officials have their way, they will soon be logging on to the Knowledge@Wharton website -- a free, interactive clearinghouse for cutting-edge insight, commentary and information coming out of the University's elite business school -- located at http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu. "Knowledge@Wharton is a way for executives, students and the outside world to access the incredible range of knowledge that our faculty can cover," said Wharton Director of Public Affairs Chris Hardwick. "There are a lot of sites where you can get where the Dow is at, or when a merger will take place, but this site offers the knowledge behind the news." Launched last Wednesday, has already had a global reach. According to Mukul Pandya, the web-page creator and member of Wharton's public affairs division, nearly 2,000 people from 39 countries -- including Australia, Japan, Sweden and Russia -- have already registered to access the website and receive a bi-weekly e-mail newsletter. Knowledge@Wharton's "unique layered approach" and comprehensive search engine allows users to research perspectives on a wide range of management issues, including finance, marketing, human resources and business ethics -- with links to relevant sites, information and news stories. For example, a short summary of Operations and Information Management Professors' Eric Bradlow and David Schmittlein's research about commonly-used Internet search engines appears on the site's front page. Interested users can then follow a link to an article which puts the complex study into everyday terms. And users who want even more detail can access the underlying research, as a copy of Bradlow and Schmittlein's working paper is available on the site. Other links will connect users to the search engines themselves. By next year, officials anticipate users will have access to more than 2,000 working papers via the site. "It fits into Wharton's educational mission to maximize the impact of research," said Pandya. "In the past it was difficult to do because academic research was limited to academic publications. By creating Knowledge@Wharton, we are now then able to communicate the results [to the general public]." However, the website also serves as a promotional newsletter for the business school -- a mechanism to reach the more than 70,000 Wharton alumni worldwide and to market the school's image as a leader in business education and research. Other stories include interviews with leading Wharton faculty -- complete with links to Amazon.com to purchase their books -- summaries of recent campus speeches and faculty members' commentary on current business trends. Currently, the site features Finance Professor Jeremy Siegel's analysis of the current stock market craze, while another article highlights Warren Buffett's remarks to the University community in April. According to Pandya, the idea for the newsletter developed when he joined public affairs division last February to produce a general newsletter for the business school. But after exploring various options, he decided that going on-line was the right approach. "Wharton already had 30 newsletters, and the knowledge base [of research] was too broad," Pandya said. "People had talked about a centralized research depository for many years, and Knowledge@Wharton gave us a compelling reason." Pandya then teamed up with two technology firms -- ISB Interactive and Fesco Consulting -- to design the site and its search engine. Its content will be updated bi-weekly by Pandya and other members of Wharton's public affairs division.
(06/01/99 9:00am)
Radnor High School '97 Radnor, Pa. Come September, the incoming Class of 2003 may not be the only ones trying to find their way around campus -- a few fresh faces should be joining the University administration as well. And with three search committees conducting rigorous searches since last November, the University hopes to have the three new deans in place by this fall. The committees -- composed of administrators, faculty and students -- have been advertising the positions nationally and seeking out possible candidates at peer institutions. After reviewing and interviewing the candidates, committee members will present a list of the top three to five to University President Judith Rodin and Provost Robert Barchi, Penn's chief academic officer. After five months, the search committee to find a new Wharton dean is currently at work trying to narrow the current pool of six candidates down to three or four. Committee Chairperson and Dean of the Graduate School of Fine Arts Gary Hack said the position will hopefully be filled by the time outgoing Dean Thomas Gerrity steps down from his position on July 1. Hack noted that the role demands a leader with a background in both business and academia. Under Gerrity's leadership, new academic programs were developed and Wharton's endowment tripled to almost $300 million. But after nine years on the job, the 57-year-old Gerrity decided to take on the role of a Management professor, which will enable him to spend more time with his family. Law Dean Colin Diver -- who has held the position for 10 years -- will also step down in July. The search committee charged with finding Diver's replacement is currently narrowing down a "very short list" of candidates to the requisite three to five, according to committee chairperson and Wharton Undergraduate Dean Richard Herring. Herring said that "with luck" the University may be able to acquire a new dean by the time Diver leaves. During his tenure, Diver, 54, has increased the faculty by one third, expanded facilities and support services and raised over $100 million for the school's activities and endowment. He plans to remain at Penn as a professor and researcher in the Law School. Former Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington announced his resignation in May 1998 in order to assume the presidency of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Chemical Engineering Professor Eduardo Glandt has been serving as interim dean since last July. A search committee has been seeking out a permanent replacement for Farrington since last November. While officials said the committee would like to fill the position quickly, they do not have a set deadline. Under Farrington, who had taught at Penn since 1979 and then served as dean beginning in 1990, applications to the school increased by 60 percent, four new master's programs were created and the size of the endowment tripled. Penn has a history of long searches for top academic appointments. It took more than a year for Barchi to be appointed after the resignation of his predecessor, Stanley Chodorow, in October 1997. And in December 1997, Samuel Preston was appointed dean of the School of Arts and Sciences after a nearly 1 1/2-year search.
(05/27/99 9:00am)
The Law School Search Committee needs to move quickly as the date of Diver's departure approaches. And with the July 1 departure of outgoing Penn Law School Dean Colin Diver looming closer and closer, the chance that a successor for his position will be named immediately now appears slight. The search committee has been working since last November in their effort to find qualified candidates to lead Penn's Law School into the 21st century. But Committee Chairperson Richard Herring, undergraduate dean of the Wharton School, now admits that nothing short of a "miracle" could enable the committee to meet the upcoming July 1 deadline. The number of candidates currently up for review is unclear and administrators remain vague about whether they are looking for people internally or externally. So it seems that the role -- once touted by members of the administration as the premier Law School opening in the country -- may soon fall into a state of flux. The Law School may be forced to follow the path set by the School of Engineering and Applied Science and appoint an interim dean while the search drags on. An interim leader could potentially place the school in a static position -- unable to move ahead and significantly improve its national status. Admittedly, the committee claims it will do everything possible to complete its daunting task in a timely manner. To date, it has worked with a national search firm to locate options, has compiled a list of possible candidates and it has been conducting various interviews throughout the past few month. But it has yet to successfully narrow down the pool of candidates to the requisite final three to five requested by University President Judith Rodin, making the possibility that Diver's office will be occupied come July doubtful. It will prove difficult to find a successor to Diver, who -- over the past 10 years -- has vastly improved the school both academically and financially, and will be sorely missed by faculty and students. But we hope the University moves quickly to overcome the difficulties surrounding the search process and pinpoints appropriate candidates for the job. Penn cannot afford to leave one of its most prominent schools without an adept leader.
(04/28/99 9:00am)
and Molly Selzer With finals upon them and the first two semesters of their college careers all but over, the freshmen of Hill College House's Love suite took a look back on their experiences and reflected on their finals, the changes to the University's alcohol policy and the soon-to-be memories of a year gone by. En route to winning the Franklin Shield plaque -- an award given to the suite that earns the most points in a variety of house competitions -- the Love suite certainly found ways to bond under the new college house system. But the suite's graduate associate, second-year History graduate student Kyle Farley, nevertheless said he wasn't too happy when the well-deserved shield was stolen from its home. "Ha ha? very funny, can we have our shield back now?" Farley joked, addressing the unknown culprits. Fittingly, it's not all fun and games in the Love suite this week. Bring On the Cramming As the campus speeds into a studying frenzy during finals, at least one freshman won't be spending nights in Van Pelt Library. College freshman and Wilmington, Del., native Tom Housley has decided to focus his time elsewhere. "I personally have bigger things in my life [to worry about] to be perfectly honest," Housley said, citing bills he has to pay and the job he has to find. As classes become more selective with every incoming batch of freshmen, students like Housley, who are accustomed to breezing through their high school classes, have found that old habits are hard to break. Housley remembered how he and friends spent minimal time studying in high school. Now after his first year at Penn, he's found that his high school study habits are serving him well. "I really wish I was scared as hell [about finals]," he said. "But I'm just not scared. I didn't exactly work the hardest in high school and it's rubbed off in college." Despite his conspicuous absence from finals hot spots such as the Van Pelt and Fisher Fine Arts libraries, Housley still thinks he'll be able to maintain decent grades. So far, his tactics have pulled him through at least one semester with minimal stress. "I know I'll come out all right," he said. "It's nothing anyone here can't handle." A Dry Fling? However, not all suitemates are as lucky as Housley. Engineering freshman Hilary White said even the festivities of Penn's annual Spring Fling couldn't tear her away from two group projects in Systems 140. And though she sat at her desk and confessed, "I'm not really a drinker," she did express concern for suitemates and friends who were more affected by the University's recent changes to the alcohol policy. "What concerns me about the alcohol policy is that people will be hiding it more," White said. Growing up in the college town of Ann Arbor, Mich., stories of student binge drinking are not new to White. She said she has heard of several alcohol-related incidents this year at the University of Michigan, where her father is a professor. "I know people have made references to the prohibition in regards to the alcohol policy and that's what came to my mind," she said, citing dangers involved when students take risks without supervision and the restrictive atmosphere she's felt in recent weeks. Down the hall in Wharton freshman Mike O'Leary's room, a similar sentiment was aired. O'Leary, sweaty from a long bike ride to and from South Street -- where he'd been on an unsuccessful shoe-searching expedition -- expressed frustration with South Street retailers and University administrators alike. "I think the policy is pretty lame," he said. O'Leary also noted that even though his personal policy is generally not to drink, the crackdown on alcohol at parties has affected him nonetheless. He described the weekend prior to Fling as "the Twilight Zone," commenting that Locust Walk seemed eerie and deserted. Housley added that he was worried the policies would make students find more dangerous alternatives. "There's going to be big orgies all over campus," he quipped. Looking Back Through it all, the freshmen of the Love suite have remained close. White, who came to the hall early second semester, felt that despite her newcomer status, she was able to establish strong ties with her suitemates. "I'm really glad that I moved up here," White said after frowning about her previous semester that was plagued by "major roommate problems." And College freshman Adam Ockman said he couldn't have been more satisfied with his first-year living arrangements, crediting much of his happiness to the suite. "A lot of it is either this house or this suite -- it's been very welcoming and personal," Ockman said. Housley, who also found companionship in his hall and fraternity, looks back with a mix of relief at the close of a big year and excitement for what's still to come. "I definitely had a good time but I can't wait to go home," he said. "I'm going to sleep." As the time approaches for Housley to move out of the Love suite -- where every door still bears the red hearts and colorful remnants of Valentine's Day and the lounge is still lit by a loopy string of holiday lights that proclaims "love" -- he feels that while the year has been a challenge, he has reveled in the college experience. And the attached Farley summed up the Love suite's mentality by describing the warmth and genuine affection the suitemates have developed for one another. "I'm really addicted to my suite," he said. "By the end of the year, I don't really think of them as my students, but as my friends."
(04/28/99 9:00am)
It is common for Engineering students to share their technological know-how with schools and businesses throughout Philadelphia. But last Saturday, in collaboration with the Urban Technology Project -- a School District of Philadelphia service-learning initiative -- they worked to bring their expertise a little farther off campus -- to Quito, Ecuador. Engineering School students began working with the UrbanTech program just a few months ago in a special partnership called "Formando Un Puente"-- Spanish for "Building a Bridge." Through the program, the students are refurbishing computers which they will ultimately bring in August to Escuela Fiscal Zoila Ugarte de Landivar, a public elementary school in Quito. A group of 10 students -- three from Penn who have not yet been chosen; one each from Edison Ferrara, Simon Gratz and Olney high schools in North Philadelphia; and four from University City New School -- will make the trip to Ecuador. Several constituencies will fund the trip, including UrbanTech and local corporations, though organizers said they will also ask Civic House and campus Latino groups to aid in the sponsoring. During their two-week stay, the Philadelphia and Penn students will connect the school's lab to the Internet and train local teachers and students to use and maintain the computers. "There is a growing digital gap? and in education, it is important to have access to technology," said UrbanTech Director Edison Freire, a teacher with the Philadelphia School District. "Low-income communities are left behind, especially in Ecuador, where public schools don't have access to the Internet." Ecuador recently suffered an economic tailspin during which public schools closed for 51 days and funds for the computer lab being built in Escuela Fiscal Zoila Ugarte de Landivar dried up. However, Freire, who spent two weeks in Ecuador last month, was able to convince an Ecuadorian congressman to search for additional funding. "Penn students are aware of [the digital gap] from the perspective of privilege [and] Philadelphia students from another perspective," Freire said. "[The project] gives people something to rally around as a city," he added. "[It] brings together Penn and the immediate community? to bridge the gap that exists across class, ethnicity, culture and language using technology as a tool." Elementary school students at the New School in West Philadelphia have been corresponding with the students at the Quito school via e-mail. Vu Tran, a junior at Edison High School who has been working with UrbanTech for nearly eight months, said, "I hope that I can bring some of what technology today is like and how it is used for educational purposes." "We're trying to go into business, but we're mostly trying to help out the community," Edison senior Ramon Diaz added. "Hispanics make up a large part of the population [in Northern Philadelphia]. They are behind in technology [and] we want to make it easier for them to access technology." And Engineering freshman Pranav Gupta said "the mentoring program with the students is very motivating" and that helping the high school students to select technology books for their personal libraries is uplifting. But "Formando Un Puente" is "a lot more than a technology outreach project," according to first-year Graduate School of Education student Oufreez Argenta, the program coordinator for the Engineering School. "At an even higher level, it's a service-learning project that crosses international boundaries and a mentoring project across cultures and ages," he said.
(04/20/99 9:00am)
A marked increase in academic innovation has been a hallmark of President Judith Rodin's term. When Judith Rodin was tapped by a search committee to assume the role of University president in December 1993, she thought the position would be the perfect outlet for her "passion" for Penn and her desire to improve and develop the institution from which she graduated. "I had a vision for [Penn's] future," said Rodin, adding that she had "an enthusiasm as a leader willing to pull the institution further and further up." And now, five years later, the first permanent female president in the Ivy League has left her mark on Penn in -- among other fields -- the area of academic and strategic planning. This week, The Daily Pennsylvanian examines Rodin's first five years at the helm of the University, focusing on the status of her key initiatives and efforts as well as the woman behind the presidency. In 1995, Rodin launched the Agenda for Excellence, an ambitious strategic plan outlining nine goals and six academic priorities for academic enrichment and campus development, which University officials say has greatly benefitted Penn over the past four years. The plan -- which calls for Penn to be ranked among the top universities of the nation -- seeks to improve funded research opportunities, examine programs of continuing education and increase the use of technology at Penn. Additionally, the Agenda outlines a need for greater integration between Penn and the surrounding community and plans to secure funding in support of the many strategic goals. Four years later, officials point out the tangible changes made under Rodin's agenda -- which is set to expire in early 2001 -- including the development of new interdisciplinary programming, an increase in funded research projects and the creation of the college house system. Additionally, Rodin's fundraising efforts, as a result of the plan, have pushed the endowment to a new high of over $3 billion dollars. Few would dispute that the academic developments Rodin has implemented in her almost five years at the University have enhanced Penn's prestige throughout the nation. Penn has risen to No. 6 on the U.S. News & World Report ranking, and the Class of 2003 accepted just 26.6 percent of applicants, an all-time low. Provost Robert Barchi stressed that while Rodin may not be personally involved in each individual project on campus, she is the driving force behind all the academic and programmatic developments. "She's like a lithium battery backing up a computer," Barchi said. "It may not do all the thinking, but if it isn't there [the computer] doesn't work." Barchi said Rodin has provided Penn students with increased opportunities to pursue nontraditional learning and to "think outside the box" through the development of interdisciplinary study at Penn. Among the eight joint degree programs at Penn is the Management and Technology program, which offers degrees from both the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Wharton School, as well as the Nursing and Health Care Management program, which involves degrees from Wharton and the Nursing School. And prospective students this year will receive a brand new admissions booklet touting the vast array of joint- and dual-degree programs, sub-matriculation programs and cross-disciplinary programs that allow students to experience many facets of Penn's 12 graduate and undergraduate schools. "We do it best," Rodin asserted. "We're the only Ivy that has all of our schools and centers together on one campus [and] we really can create a strategic niche for ourselves that no one else can imitate." Under the Agenda, the University has also increased the number of cross-disciplinary majors, such as Digital Media Design and Molecular Life Sciences. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman said that through Rodin's promotion of interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary study, she has "fostered an educational environment of cooperation." Wharton Undergraduate Dean Richard Herring added that Rodin's efforts have led to "a feeling, which is luckily contagious, that this is an institution going places." The commitment to academic development under the Agenda has spawned various new projects over the past few years, including the recently implemented Penn Humanities Forum -- a research center focusing on the humanities -- and the upcoming creation of a new $15 million computer science facility. Rodin has also pushed for academic development beyond the classroom in the creation of the college house system, which divided University residences this year into 12 integrated houses with increased staffing and support services. Director of College Houses and Academic Services David Brownlee praised the creation of the college house system, adding that Rodin's "chief academic contribution has been to improve the environment in which the intellectual work of the University takes place." Rodin says she spends very little time looking back over her career; instead, she said she focuses on the future of the educational system at Penn. And she can point out several areas of concern on the immediate horizon. One is the future of the School of Arts and Sciences. Rodin says she she is pleased with the new SAS strategic plan -- which will build several core departments -- and she wants to ensure that "resources are found to develop areas more fully." "There's a strong feeling that we could be even more interesting and exciting and cutting edge with what we're doing in the College," Rodin said. Another focus will be the use of technology at Penn, Rodin explained. Wharton and the College of General Studies have signed on to satellite learning programs that offer degrees from computer stations across the country. "The question of what we do on campus and what we offer off campus is, as never before, a really compelling question," Rodin said. Tomorrow: The woman behind the University presidency.
(04/20/99 9:00am)
Vice Dean Bruce Allen and Deputy Dean Janice Bellace will step down. With just three months left until Dean Thomas Gerrity steps down as head of the Wharton School, business school officials announced yesterday another changing of the administrative guard. Deputy Dean Janice Bellace -- who served for five years in that capacity and four years as vice dean and director of Wharton's undergraduate division -- announced that she will step down as Wharton's chief academic officer to return to teaching and research, effective June 30. And in another announcement, Wharton Vice Dean and Graduate Division Director Bruce Allen formally announced yesterday that he would step down June 30 as head of the MBA program, where he served for four years, also to teach both undergraduates and graduates in his position as a Public Policy and Management professor. "You don't want to get stale at a job," Bellace said. "It was time to renew myself and for someone else to take over." And on his own resignation, Allen noted, "I always envisioned that I would serve as vice dean and then return to be a faculty member full time. I enjoyed what I was doing but I now look forward to getting back to teaching and research." The dual resignations make both Bellace and Allen viable candidates for Gerrity's position as Wharton dean. Allen said he would not actively seek out the deanship and Bellace refused to comment on the issue. Bellace will be replaced by current Operations and Information Management Department Chairperson Patrick Harker, a renowned scholar of the service sector and noted faculty leader who was named a White House Fellow by President George Bush in 1991. "Patrick Harker is an outstanding and deeply respected faculty leader," Gerrity said. "He has particular strengths in technology and entrepreneurship and experience? that are particularly critical if Wharton is to lead the way in technological innovation." During his 15 years on the Penn faculty, Harker has served on numerous committees, including the current group charged to select Wharton's next dean. He previously served as chairperson of the Systems Department in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and recently established a new MBA major in technological innovation. And like Bellace, he is an alumnus of both the Penn undergraduate and graduate programs. Harker said that he will use his familiarity with Penn and his technical background in his new position. "Penn is a unique place in terms of the linkages between schools," he said. "And technology is going to be the strategic thrust of the program." Gerrity, Bellace and Harker are now working together to select a new vice dean for the graduate division -- a search which Gerrity said he expects to be wrapped up within a few weeks. According to Gerrity, both Bellace and Allen had thought about stepping down from their positions last year. "We had conversations along the way about how long they stayed on," Gerrity said, noting that he asked both faculty members to remain in their positions until the school had finished its capital campaign for the new Huntsman Hall business education complex. "The dean knew he would be out on the road raising money and he wanted to make sure things were taken care of [on campus]," said Allen. Now, with plans for Huntsman Hall completed and the building fundraising plan underway, Bellace and Allen said they were ready to move on. But Gerrity and other officials say their replacements will certainly have big shoes to fill. Under Bellace's leadership, Wharton developed a new undergraduate curriculum with a global focus and foreign language requirement, established new ties with business schools around the world and helped strengthen the departments across the school by retaining key faculty and hiring rising scholars. And during Allen's tenure, the MBA curriculum was integrated across business disciplines and the graduate program's administrative model of "co-production" -- which incorporates both students and faculty in the academic decision-making process -- was initiated. "The Wharton School owes a great deal of gratitude to both Janice and Bruce," Gerrity said. Gerrity announced his own resignation last October, effective this summer. A replacement has not yet been named.
(04/19/99 9:00am)
LCE, weather fail to keep students from 'Fling'ing. Neither rain nor clouds nor a high rise fire could keep Penn students from enjoying their seasonal rite: Spring Fling. Despite being marred by adverse natural conditions and the heated controversy surrounding the University's more stringent alcohol policy, the festive atmosphere of the 27th annual Fling let itself loose on campus Saturday with a vengeance. Friday, however, was a different story, with many saying it was the cold and stormy weather which caused students to remain at home. Still, the usual Fling Friday afternoon rush of students -- retreating from their classes to the Quadrangle -- instead merely trickled through the gauntlet of yellow-jacketed security guards. And the normally bustling halls of Butcher and Speakman were quieter than during a vacation period. Nursing junior Lindsay Steele added that "it's a lot more quiet than last year. It doesn't seem like everyone is coming out." Yet those responsible for the event chalked it up to tradition. "Every Friday during Spring Fling has to suck," said Social Planning and Events Committee Spring Fling Tri-Director Bryan Grossman, a College junior. "It has rained the passed few years." "God is sending an omen that Penn is not supposed to be dry," added College freshman Alexandra Schopf, as the storm clouds thundered in late Friday afternoon. However, despite the rain -- which caused most people to leave early and some musical acts to be canceled -- the majority who did attend said they had a good time. Some back-flipped onto a velcro-padded wall, sparred with their friends wearing over-sized, inflated boxing gloves or got "high" on a bungie apparatus. Others created their own fun by slip-and-sliding on the Lower Quad green as the rain poured down. "Penn is definitely not dry," College freshman Raluca Ioanid said. "I am obviously piss drunk and soaking wet." And when the sun pierced through on Saturday afternoon, large groups of students flocked to the muddy Quad to take in an a cappella concert or listen to the wide variety of bands that hit the stages in upper and lower Quad. Alcohol -- or the lack thereof -- certainly played a role in this year's festivities. Fling organizers said they were trying to encourage "responsible flinging" through the theme of this year's event, "Do the Right Fling." In the Quad, like the rest of campus, officials tried to deter students from drinking, with security guards searching students for alcohol-filled containers at the gates. Guards also searched students' backpacks and packages throughout the end of the week, but many freshmen and some upperclassmen managed to smuggle in alcoholic beverages early last week. And while police officers and agents from the state's Liquor Control Enforcement bureau wandered throughout campus, they handed out just 16 citations. One student called Penn a "police state," noting how police were busting up parties on Baltimore Avenue and Pine Street. But College freshman Rob Levy said, "The whole alcohol thing was a joke. The cops were around, but they were not busting people." Still, most agreed that the alcohol issue did change Fling's atmosphere."The whole alcohol policy has everyone scared," College junior Benjamin Grinberg noted. In the past, "people walked around drunk and with bottles. Here, you can't do that." Incoming Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and College junior Michael Silver added that the administration's threat of strict enforcement of the alcohol policies led some to remain sober but caused others to drink at off-campus houses later in the day. SPEC Spring Fling Tri-Director Adam Tritt agreed. "I don't think it affected the official parts of Fling," the Engineering senior said. "But it did impact where people went and what they did afterwards." Still, SPEC Spring Fling Evening Entertainment Coordinator Marci Belen, a College senior, said dry events sponsored by the University were well attended. She estimated that more than 1,000 students stopped by various activity tents Saturday night in Hamilton Village -- before the event was broken up by an unexpected fire on the 11th floor of Hamilton House. A post-concert barbeque on College Green, organized by the Tangible Change Committee, was so well attended that students had to shove their way to the front of the line in order to get food. And while a smaller number of students stopped by Gimbel Gymnasium for free equipment use, organizers said they came out in larger numbers for the late-night pancake breakfast at the Class of 1920 Commons.
(04/14/99 9:00am)
The talk looked at the rights of students who police find with alcohol. When it comes to being stopped by police officers, American Civil Liberties Union representative Stefan Presser has one major suggestion -- never "dis" them. Presser, legal director of the Pennsylvania branch of the ACLU, spoke to over 100 students yesterday about their rights as citizens when confronted by law enforcement officials. Presser said that above all, students should remember common courtesy when dealing with police officers -- "don't get smart with them, don't furnish anything more than's been asked? [and] don't argue," he said. The presentation focused on the theme of what civil rights students will have during Spring Fling -- a topic that has worried many students since the University implemented a stricter version of its alcohol policy almost three weeks ago. The policy singles out Spring Fling, saying that University Police officers will be actively combatting underage drinking during the annual party-filled weekend. Yesterday's event, which lasted an hour, was sponsored by the Philomathean Society. While Presser said he could not tell students how they could ensure their "entitlement to imbibe [alcohol] and be free from police search," he did explain their rights as citizens and the extent of power law enforcement agencies have over them. Presser began his presentation with a brief overview of citizens' rights over time -- from before the American Revolution up through recent Supreme Court cases -- outlining the major changes over the past two centuries. He spoke in detail about the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution -- which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government -- because of its relevance to students' Fling concerns. He did emphasize, however, that the Constitution does not govern the University's rules and regulations since it is a private entity. "This University owes you no Fourth Amendment rights," Presser said. "Unless you organize to change the rules? you must comply. That's the long and short of it." Presser stressed that "24 hours a day, 365 days a year, until you graduate, you are members of this academic community [so the University] can penalize you whether [an incident] happens on or off campus." But other law enforcement agencies, like the Philadelphia Police and the state police's Liquor Control Enforcement agency -- both of which have been invited to campus during previous Spring Flings -- still have the ability to enforce state laws on campus, Presser said. Addressing questions raised during the presentation, Presser said police cannot legally enter a residence that the University does not own without having either a warrant or there being some sort of emergency, like the pursuit of a suspect. He warned students that if police knock on the doors of private houses and they "can see people who look like they're 14 years old and? alcohol," they have the right to enter the building and give citations because of an exception in the law. The doctrine, called the plain view exception, states that police officers do not need a warrant to search anything questionable that is clearly visible. Although Presser did not know whether a minor could be forced to take a Breathalyzer test, he warned that anyone who refuses can be taken to the police station for further questioning if police have reason to believe the law has been broken. As a precaution, Presser suggested that students being cited should note the officer's badge number if they feel they were treated unfairly. College sophomore Stacey Rubin said that though she thought Presser's suggestions were helpful, she found "his distinction of this University as a private institution? disappointing and enlightening." Some students said Presser was unable to answer their questions regarding Fling. "He wasn't adequately prepared to answer those questions concerning the rights of students on campus being stopped during Spring Fling," Engineering sophomore Hai Ton said. Philo member and College junior Peter Martelli said that Presser answered the questions "as best as he could" but that many of the questions dealt with issues of criminality with which Presser -- who focuses on civil liberties -- is not as familiar.
