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(11/30/93 10:00am)
It's always nice to have friends in high places. For the University, it's especially nice when those friends are in high places on Forbes magazine's annual list of America's wealthiest people – and especially when you're trying to conduct a capital campaign. Many of the University's famous and affluent alumni have been major contributors to the University's ongoing capital campaign. Among them are: ·Walter Annenberg Not exactly a surprise. This ex-Whartonite –Eno one seems too sure whether or not he actually graduated –Ehas donated $40 million during the capital campaign towards the University's new Center for Judaic Studies, the History Department, the Law School and the Dental School. And that's not even counting the $120 million he donated this summer to the University's communications school, which, not coincidentally, bears his name. Despite his donation spree earlier this year, during which he gave the University of Southern California $120 million, his former boarding school $100 million, and $25 million to Harvard University – in addition to his $120 million gift to the University –EForbes figures he may still have another $2.1 billion left in his coffers. ·Ronald Perelman The chief executive officer of Revlon, who took his bachelor's and master's degrees from Wharton in 1964 and 1966, respectively, donated $10 million dollars to the campaign, namely towards funding the proposed new campus center. He has also made other contributions. Forbes estimated his net worth at $3.6 billion. ·Leonard and Ronald Lauder Cosmetics barons and Whartonites both – 1954 and 1965 vintage, respectively – the two have donated $12 million to the campaign. Those funds went, appropriately enough, to the Lauder Institute, the Lauder Career Center, as well as an endowed fellowship fund for the Wharton School. Forbes estimated their family's cosmetics firm is worth at least $3 billion. ·Saul Steinberg Also not much of a surprise – the Wharton undergraduate building bears his name. The 1959 Wharton graduate has donated over $30 million during the capital campaign. Fifteen million of that went to Wharton, $10 million to the School of Arts and Sciences. Forbes estimated his net worth at "at least $360 million." ·Michael Milken The 1970 Wharton M.B.A., who acquired fame as the high-flying king of the high-yield "junk-bond" salesmen, and later shame when he pleaded guilty to six counts of securities law violations, has given $3 million to the campaign. Most of the cash has has gone to community-outreach type programs. Despite having to make a reported $900 million settlement with the government and his creditors, Forbes figures he still has "at least $400 million – and possibly much more." ·Jon Huntsman The CEO of Huntsman Chemical, and a 1959 Wharton graduate, Huntsman has given $4.4 million during the campaign. Forbes figures he has about $550 million left. ·Michael Steinhardt The prominent New York money manager and 1960 Wharton graduate has given to the campaign, but at his request, University officials won't say how much. Forbes estimates his net worth at over $300 million –E"perhaps well over." Of course, just because University alumni are on the Forbes 400 doesn't necessarily mean they share their wealth with their ama mater. Steve Wynn, the owner of the Golden Nugget casinos and a 1963 College graduate, did not make this year's list but is reportedly a good bet for next year's. Still, he hasn't donated to the campaign. And Warren Buffett, who topped the Forbes list this year with an estimated net worth of $8.325 billion and who attended the University for two years, also hasn't donated. On the other hand, just because an alum isn't on the Forbes list does not mean he or she hasn't been a prominent contributor to the campaign. George Weiss, a 1965 Wharton alumnus, has given $8.2 million to the campaign, some of which has gone towards supporting the athletic department and to endowing professors' chairs. And Charles Williams, a 1978 Ph.D. in archaeology, has donated $11 million, part of which has gone to the University Museum and for endowing chairs in the School of Arts and Sciences. While Virginia Clark, vice president for development and alumni relations, said it is nice to have big spenders donate to the University, the success of a campaign depends on the volume of donors. "What has made this campaign work is the number of volunteers and donors who have given to the campaign," she said. "I know this is going to sound hokey, but it's just as important for the squash team and crew team to have support of alumni as it is for us to have major gifts to the building or capital projects."
(11/19/93 10:00am)
They're pouring in. As a result of the University's financial hold policy, record numbers of University students have been flooding the Student Financial Services office to resolve their debts so they can register for next semester. Originally, 2,305 students were placed on financial hold. By late last week, the number had been pared down to about 1,000. The policy has also caused the Financial Services Office to become swamped with students coming in person and calling on the telephone. In the course of a normal day, Financial Services personnel used to see 200 to 300 students in person and speak to another 200 to 300 on the telephone, according to Carol Murphy, Financial Services' senior director of student services. But now, if 300 students come into the Financial Services Office, it seems like a slow day for Murphy's staff. Totals well over 300 students are now commonplace. Last Friday, 633 students came in, Murphy said. Big days are not unusual at Financial Services, Murphy said. Nine hundred and seventy students passed through the doors on the first floor of the Franklin Building on the first day of classes this semester. But it has never been so busy for so long, Murphy said. Other Financial Services employees have noticed the deluge too. Since the Financial Services office was created in 1988, "this is the craziest it's ever been," Financial Services Assistant Dennis Drumm said. The week of November 1, when advance registration opened and students on financial hold found they could not register, was especially tough, he added. "By Wednesday or Thursday, I felt very frustrated and burned out," Drumm said. "By the end of the week, we were pretty happy to see the doors close." "We didn't have a chance to breathe," Financial Services Assistant Ellen Hornig said. "The lines were out the door and the phones were ringing off the hook." Financial Affairs Assistant Sheila Cunningham said she thinks the new financial hold policy is a good one for the long run, as it forces students to pay their bills. For now, however, it's difficult for the Financial Services Staff. The new financial hold policy requires students to keep current in their tuition payments to the University. Students must pay for a semester before they are allowed to register for the next one. Previously, students were allowed to go another semester without paying before facing financial hold. Students on financial hold cannot register for the next semester, receive academic transcripts or receive degrees from the University. The policy was changed because Financial Services officials hoped that by forcing students to either pay or work out a repayment plan with Financial Services earlier, students would not get so far into debt that they could not get out. Under the old policy, the University also found that it was consistently owed more money than any other Ivy League university.
(11/15/93 10:00am)
The University has changed the payroll system for work-study students, officials said Friday. The result for students: a paycheck every week, instead of one every two weeks. The result for Student Employment officials: less administrative hassle. Last Friday was the first time the University's 3,000 work-study students were paid two weeks in a row. Officials decided to merge the work-study payroll with the payroll for regular University employees after a review by a total quality management team last year concluded that the separate payroll system used in the past was unnecessary, Student Employment Manager John Rudolph said. Now, individual departments who hire work-study students will be responsible for making sure those students get paid. The central Student Employment Office will be responsible for monitoring and auditing work-study programs, as well as making sure student employment practices conform to federal guidelines, Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said. Under the federal work-study program, the federal government pays for 75 percent of the funding. The department hiring the student pays the other 25 percent, Claus said. The new system is probably not going to be a big money-saver for the University, Claus said. In fact, it may cost the University a little bit more to make out checks every week. But Claus said he hopes the new system will free the Student Employment Office from "the administrative hassle of doing the student payroll." Apart from being an "administrative hassle," the old system was also slow and error-prone, Claus said. Claus said he hopes that under the new system, the two Student Employment workers whose job it is to process the student payroll will have the opportunity to do other things. He said his "dream goal" is for them to create a database of jobs around the country and display the database on PennNet, so that students can line up summer jobs before they actually go home.
(11/15/93 10:00am)
Health centers across the country prepare for the age of managed care. and JORIE GREEN Preventive health care, it seems, is no longer limited to patients. With managed care likely to be mandated under the Clinton administration's health-care plan, university medical centers are rushing to expand. Administrators claim it is the only way for them to remain academic leaders and financially afloat in these changing times. · Among those leading the charge is the University's Medical Center. Officials there fear that failure to act now could spell disaster down the road. Last month, officials at the Medical Center announced plans to buy out the practices of between 100 and 200 Philadelphia-area primary-care physicians, while bringing another 500 on board as affiliated staffers. Medical Center officials estimate it will cost $60 million to buy the practices, to be paid out of the center's cash reserves. The University's health system will also set up a central administrative office, which will handle appointments and billing for its doctors. The total price tag for the University's move to managed care: $80 million over 10 years, according to Gordon Williams, vice president of the University's health system. Throughout the country, managed care systems group physicians and often hospitals as a way to reduce costs. For example, Health Maintenance Organizations reduce costs by capping payments to physicians. The University's health system may eventually become the health-care provider for as many as 600,000 Delaware Valley residents, said William Kelley, the chief executive officer of the University's health system. The move is necessary because under managed care, primary-care physicians – general internists, pediatricians and obstetricians – supply hospitals with patients. Without a network of primary-care physicians to serve as the feeder for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Medical Center officials worry that HUP might face a serious shortage of patients. Such a shortage would drastically reduce revenues for HUP, Medical Center Vice President Wilbur Pittinger said last month. Even worse, Pittinger said, a shortage of patients would seriously impair the Medical School's capacity to teach. "You can't teach a physician or a nurse-in-training over an empty bed, or in an empty examining room," he said. · Officials at some of the nation's other top academic medical centers echo Pittinger's concerns. Several other medical centers, among them the University of Chicago and George Washington University, have already either bought out or affiliated with large numbers of primary-care physicians in their regions, similar to the University's plan. The point of managed care is to force health-care providers to offer care in the most cost-effective manner possible, said Gerard Anderson, the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Hospital Finance and Management. In a managed care system, providers receive most of their revenue in the form of annual premiums for each patient they are responsible for, said Anderson, who participated in the design of the health-care legislation now before Congress. In this scenario, proponents hope managed care will force providers to treat patients as cost-effectively as possible, because they will no longer make more money as a patient requires more treatment – as has been the case under the traditional fee-for-service practice. One place where managed care has caught on is the University of California-Los Angeles Medical Center. There only 10 percent of patients are seen under the old fee-for-service system, UCLA Medical Center Director Raymond Schultze said. The vast majority of UCLA's patients are seen under contract. Under managed care, the more treatment a patient requires, the worse things get for the health-care provider because it has to bear most of the costs for the treatment. That means providers will emphasize prevention and primary care, since it is much more cost-effective for them to treat patients with regular checkups before patients become seriously ill, than to wait until they must be hospitalized, Anderson said. "[Under managed care] you want to emphasize prevention as opposed to acute care as much as possible," Anderson said. In a managed-care system, primary-care physicians – traditionally accorded less prestige and paid less than their specialist counterparts – are thrust into the spotlight as the demand for services is driven sharply upward. The added stress on primary care has been unpopular with some people, especially medical students, who fear they will earn far less money than many doctors do today. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton found that out recently. She raised the ire of the country's future doctors by proposing that low-interest medical school loans be tied to the students becoming primary-care physicians after graduation. · Outpatient care also figures prominently into the future of university medical centers, now more than ever, because it's far more cost-effective for health-care providers to treat patients on an outpatient basis than it is to hospitalize them. As a consequence, Anderson said, most academic medical centers are planning to increase outpatient facilities and looking to downsize inpatient facilities. The University's Medical Center hopes to build an outpatient-care facility on the northern portion of the property where the Civic Center is currently located. When the new HUP opens on the southern portion of that property, it may very well have fewer hospital beds than the current HUP facility has. The University of Chicago's medical center is also in the midst of an expansion similar to the University's. In September, the University of Chicago's medical center and Meyer Medical Group – a group of 42 primary-care physicians who practice in Chicago's Southside and suburbs – announced they would join forces to create a single health-care provider that can provide a full range of medical services. University of Chicago spokesperson John Easton called the agreement with Meyer Medical "a significant part" of the center's strategy of building a primary care network. Johns Hopkins recently opened a $140 million outpatient-care facility, Anderson said. Hopkins is also currently considering a large-scale integration with Baltimore-area primary-care physicians, he said. If Hopkins goes that route, Anderson estimated, it would have to become the health-care provider for roughly one million Baltimore-area residents to fill its hospital beds. Still, Hopkins might decide to forego expansion and rely principally on referrals for patients. A small number of the nation's most elite hospitals, which perform rare or unusual procedures and do not have serious competition in their immediate areas, may be able to rely on referrals and still stay afloat, Anderson said. He cited Hopkins, Rochester, Minn.'s Mayo Clinic, Dallas's Methodist Hospital and Ohio's Cleveland Clinic as hospitals that might not have to play the managed-care game. But he said that would probably not be an option for the University, because Thomas Jefferson University Hospital – only a few blocks away from HUP at 11th and Walnut streets – can provide most of the services HUP can. Duke University's medical center is also considering affiliating with groups of primary care physicians, but planning at Duke is still in the preliminary stages, said Nancy Jensen, a spokesperson for Duke University Medical Center. One reason is that managed care hasn't caught on in the Southeast as quickly as in the other parts of the country, Jensen said. Located in Durham, N.C., Duke is "insulated from the more competitive [health-care] marketplaces" buying the university time in terms of deciding what course to pursue, she said. · Although planning for managed care is at different stages at different medical centers throughout the country, administrators agree on one thing: They don't want what happened to the University of Minnesota to happen to them. Administrators tell horror stories of a medical center that got muscled out of the health-care market in its region when managed care caught on, causing serious losses in patients and revenues. The University of Minnesota ran into trouble, Anderson said, because it did not ally itself with local primary-care physicians. And, since university hospitals have to absorb the costs of teaching medicine, they have expenses that are naturally higher than those that don't. The University of Minnesota Health System's new strategic plan, recently approved by their Board of Regents, acknowledges their problems with primary care and calls for efforts to join more closely with Minneapolis-St. Paul-area primary-care physicians. What happened in Minneapolis is precisely what the University's health system is trying to avoid. As Medical Center officials plot the center's future course, they are very aware of the risks involved. "To do nothing means that the University is prepared to risk [the Medical Center's] $1 billion in assets," Pittinger said. "To do something is to say we have a chance of protecting these assets."
(11/15/93 10:00am)
More than 1,000 University students remained on financial hold, making them ineligible to register for classes, Assistant Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said last week. Besides being blocked from registration through PARIS, students placed on financial hold cannot receive academic transcripts or degrees from the University. The 1,030 were placed on financial hold because they had failed to pay large debts owed to the University. Claus said last month that he hoped the number of students on financial hold would be pared down to 1,000 or fewer by the advance registration period, which ended last week. Despite a few problems, Financial Services' new financial hold policy was functioning "extremely well," Claus said. Chief among these problems was a lack of coordination between Financial Services and the Residential Living Department, he said. As a consequence, hundreds of University students living on campus received letters this month stating they would be evicted if they did not settle their debts with Financial Services by November 18 – even though most of those students are not really at risk of immediate eviction. This lack of coordination caused a great deal of "unnecessary anxiety for students, and unnecessary aggravation [for University administrators]," Claus said. And some of the warning notices Financial Services sent out could have been timed better, Claus added. Still, he said these problems should not take away from the overall success of the new policy. Under the new financial hold policy, students must pay for the current academic term before registering for the next term. "[The new policy has] helped a lot of students cope with problems a lot earlier than they would have otherwise," Claus said. "That really makes a difference." This semester, the policy is being enforced against students who owe the University more than $1,000. Under the previous policy, students could go another semester without being placed on financial hold
(11/08/93 10:00am)
But organizers try to make the best of bad circumstances Maybe Skimmer Day just wasn't meant to be – at least this year. The Junior Class Board planned to turn the Annenberg Quadrangle into a huge party Friday, in an attempt to resurrect the tradition of Skimmer Day, sort of an autumn version of Spring Fling. It rained. The Board even bought an old beat-up Ford Maverick, painted it Princeton orange-and-black and left it outside Steinberg-Dietrich Hall for University students to take turns smashing with a sledgehammer. It was impounded. Still, despite the bad luck, Junior Class Board officers said yesterday that Skimmer Day went as well as could be expected under the circumstances. "We didn't have the best possible conditions," admitted Mike Graves, the Board's vice president for corporate sponsorship. Still, considering the circumstances, "things went really well," College junior Graves said. Board officers estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 students attended the day-long event which had to be held in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. Junior Class Board Vice President Leigh Molinari said the best thing about Skimmer Day was probably that it set a precedent. The rain, she said, was "kind of disappointing," considering the Junior Class Board had been planning Skimmer Day since last year. Next year, she said, it will be held earlier in the year, when the chance of rain is lower. Other Skimmer Day-related events, such as Tiger Death Fest, a rally held on College Green before the showdown with the Princeton Tigers, and the De La Soul/A Tribe Called Quest concert were successes, she said. Other students who went to Skimmer Day seemed to echo the opinions of class board members. "I thought it was all right," College sophomore Roy Vongtama said. "[The Junior Class Board] planned it really well," he added. "I think more people would have gone if it was outside." College sophomore Eric Tienou said he thought Skimmer Day was "interesting," and it might have been more successful if only Mother Nature had been a little kinder. "It would have been much better if it was a nicer day outside," he said. "People seemed to be interested in it."
(11/01/93 10:00am)
Athletic Department officials defended their price increase for Quaker basketball season tickets, saying the raise was necessary due to increased costs and expenses. And the decision had nothing to do with complaints from University alumni last year that students in the first few rows would stand during the games, obstructing their view of the action, Athletic Director Paul Rubincam said last night. The move, he said, was strictly a financial one. Part of the increase will be used to help finance Palestra renovations, he added. The price for the best seats in the house was raised to $90 for the season. Other reserved seats sold for $40. Last year, all reserved seats cost $25. Fran Connors, assistant athletic director for marketing and public affairs, stressed that the $90 figure only applied to 89 seats sold to students. The vast majority of student ticket-holders would be paying $40 – an increase he called "reasonable." Connors added that major national basketball powerhouses – some of which charge less for season ticket prices – also receive so much revenue from the television rights to their games, that comparing their prices to the University's was like "comparing apples and oranges." Besides, he said, "for every Duke," which charges nothing for season tickets, "there's a Villanova," which charges up to $130. But students who were waiting in line for tickets on Friday afternoon seemed unimpressed with the increased-costs argument. Most said they could have accepted a small increase in price, but called the actual increases excessive. "What rising costs?" asked College and Wharton senior Peter Hirsh. "Are they going to fly the team to away games this year?" Engineering and Wharton junior Jason Jaslow was a bit more direct in his criticism of the increases. "I think it's bullshit," he said. "I could understand a $10 to $15 increase [for chairbacks] for cost reasons. But costs don't increase by 60, 70 bucks." College senior David Herman also said the increase was too large,Eespecially since three games will be held over winter break, and another game is against Division III Haverford. Hirsh had his own theory as to why the Athletic Department raised prices. "They know they can get away with it, so they're doing it," he said. "It sucks, but I'm willing to pay it."
(10/28/93 9:00am)
and JORIE GREEN The University's Medical Center will be forced to expand in order for the Medical School to remain an academic leader under Clinton's healthcare plan, Center officials said yesterday. Expansion is also necessary for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to remain financially viable. Under President Clinton's healthcare plan, "you become a big player [in regional health-care], or you're probably dead," Medical Center Vice President Gordon Williams said yesterday. "You play, or you're in big trouble." Medical Center Chief Executive Officer William Kelley said he expects the health care systems of other large universities – such as Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, Yale University and the University of California-San Francisco – will emerge as major players in their regions. The University will attempt to become one of the region's major healthcare providers, potentially responsible for the healthcare of up to 600,000 Delaware County residents, Kelley added. In order to take care of that many people, the University is currently in the process of purchasing the practices of primary-care physicians – general internists, pediatricians and obstetricians – throughout the greater Philadelphia area. The University plans to buy out the practices of 100 to 200 primary-care physicians, and may bring another 500, whose practices the University would not own, on board as affiliated staff, Medical Center Vice President Wilbur Pittinger said yesterday. Doctors whose practices are bought by the University would become employees of the University's healthcare system and adjunct Medical School faculty, he said. A central management office would handle billing and scheduling for doctors in the University network. Under the Clinton plan, which will be sent to Congress within the next seven to 10 days, health-care providers will be expected to provide all levels of health-care, from checkups to hospitalization. Currently, the University, through HUP, provides only late-stage care – when a patient becomes so sick or hurt that he or she needs to go to a hospital. In a managed-care environment, which the Clinton plan will mandate, primary-care physicians will serve as the feeder for hospitals. Without primary-care physicians on board to serve as HUP's feeder, the Medical School's capacity to teach will be seriously compromised, Pittinger said. "You can't teach a physician or a nurse-in-training over an empty bed, or in an empty examining room," he said. Williams said that in the Midwest and on the West Coast, where managed-care began to catch on several years ago, university hospitals that did not participate were muscled out of their regional markets. And several of these hospitals have since experienced serious financial problems, because they are treating so many fewer patients. Pittinger said not participating in managed care means risking the Medical Center, which currently has assets of roughly $1 billion. "To do nothing means that the University is prepared to risk $1 billion worth of assets," he said. "To do something is to say that we have a chance of protecting these assets." According to Kelley, the outpatient-care facility the University plans to build on the current site of the Civic Center figures prominently into managed-care. The point of managed care is to force healthcare providers, whose revenue comes in the form of annual premiums payed by insurees or their employers, to provide the most cost-effective care. It is far less costly for hospitals to treat outpatients than to keep patients in the hospital, Kelley said. Under a managed care system, it would be in a healthcare system's best interests to treat as many people as outpatients as possible, keeping patients in the hospital only when absolutely necessary. The University hopes to break ground for the facility in 1995, with an opening date in 1998, Kelley said. And the new HUP might actually have fewer patient beds than the current HUP facility, Kelley said. Nurse practitioners will also be a major part of managed care, because it is more cost effective for a health care provider to have nurse practitioners administer physicals and injections and perform procedures such as stitches than to have doctors perform the same procedures, Williams said. The University plans to have a substantial number of nurse practitioners become part of the primary-care network, although Pittinger said the exact number had not yet been decided.
(10/27/93 9:00am)
Six years ago, a group of three Wharton graduate students decided there was no financial institution in the area which really catered to the needs of University students. Their solution was to found the student-run University of Pennsylvania Student Federal Credit Union. This fall, the credit union passed the $6 million mark in assets – making it by far the largest student credit union in the country, said Francisco Bayron, the credit union's vice president for planning. No other student credit union in the country has even half as much in assets, he said. Steve Feld, one of the credit union's founders –Enow an assistant dean for residence in Hill House – said the credit union's performance has exceeded all expectations. He said he still does all of his banking at the credit union. Roughly half of this year and last year's freshman classes set up accounts with the credit union, Bayron said. Bayron attributed the credit union's success to the fact that the credit union was created with students in mind. The credit union's low account minimums – $400 for checking, $5 for savings – and low fees have helped to make the credit union the financial institution of choice for University students, Bayron said. The credit union's hours – 12 to 6 during the week, 12 to 3 on Saturdays – also tend to conform better to students' schedules than regular banks' 9 to 3, he noted. Feld said he thinks regular banks tend to look at students – who typically have small accounts, make a lot of transactions and turn accounts over relatively quickly – as something of a nuisance. But for the credit union, students and alumni make up all of their business. College junior Mike Ray, the credit union's director of publicity, said part of the credit union's appeal stems from its central location in Houston Hall. "Any student who doesn't walk by Houston Hall is basically not going to class," Ray said. He added that the credit union has space reserved in the Revlon Center, when the new campus center opens in 1996. Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus considers himself one of the credit union's biggest fans. He said that when the credit union opened, he was a bit concerned about a business whose management turns over every year. But, Claus said, the credit union's management has proven to be "superlative." "I think they have surpassed what any of their expectations could have been," Claus said, adding that he considers the credit union "probably the best student-run thing [at the University]."
(10/25/93 9:00am)
Phillies fans are crushed. One day after the Phillies' season ended with a World Series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, Phillies fans across the University were still feeling the pain of their favorite team's tough loss. "It was the low point of the last 10 years as a fan for me," said College sophomore Adam Forsted, who watched the sixth and final Series game with his family. "And it was as devastating for them as it was for me." Fellow Phils fans Jerry Greenberg, Dan Rowan and Stacey Loke also recounted their heartbreak. Engineering junior Rowan said he never lost faith in the Phillies, hoping Philadelphia would hold on to their ninth inning lead and force a seventh and final game. Forsted wasn't so optimistic. "I did not write them off," he said, "until Mitch Williams entered in the ninth inning." "That's when I knew all hope was gone." Williams, nicknamed "Wild Thing," was the Phillies' ace reliever throughout the regular season, notching over 40 saves, despite a habit of turning his games into wild adventures. Williams had been hit hard in the postseason. In Game Four, he was unable to protect a 14-9 Phillies lead and the Phillies went on to lose, 15-14. In Game Six, he was brought in at the bottom of the ninth inning, with the Phillies leading 6-5. Four batters later, Toronto rightfielder Joe Carter drove a Williams pitch into the left field seats to end the game and the Series. Fans were split in their opinions of Phillies' Manager Jim Fregosi's decision to put in the Wild Thing with the game and the Series on the line. College sophomore Greenberg said he had "complete confidence" in Williams' ability, although he admitted he now takes Pepto-Bismol every time the Wild Thing enters a game. He said he thought Fregosi made the right decision. Although College sophomore Norm Hetrick wouldn't have brought Williams in, he praised Fregosi for not tampering with the strategy that got them to the Series to begin with. Others weren't nearly as charitable in their opinions of Fregosi or Williams. "I would fine [Fregosi,] I would suspend him without pay, indefinitely, forever," Forsted said. "I think it was a disgraceful move." Even before Carter's home run, he said he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen. "I figured [Carter] was due," he said. "He did nothing all Series, and I figured he was too good a player to do nothing." "[Fregosi] should have learned his lesson," College sophomore Loke said. "[Larry] Andersen was pitching fine; they never should have taken him out." Loke, who went to all of the Phillies' home games during the playoffs and Series, and who had tickets for Game Seven in Toronto, holds Williams responsible for the Phillies' Series loss. "If you took the two games he lost, and turned them into wins, there'd be a different World Series champion right now," she said. But all agreed, despite their disappointment, they are still proud of their worst-to-first Phillies. This year was the first time Philadelphia won their division since 1983. "I'm proud of them that they got here," Loke said. "I've been waiting for 10 years."
(10/22/93 9:00am)
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania generated a surplus of over $24.7 million for the months of July and August, Medical Center officials said yesterday. Medical Center officials had budgeted a surplus of $11.7 million, but HUP's profits exceeded projections by $13.1 million, said John Wynne, HUP's chief financial officer. Of that $13.1 million, $11.7 million came in the form of third-party settlements – payments from Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross, Wynne said. These settlements, which he compared to tax refunds received by private citizens, cannot be planned for. The remaining $1.4 million is "not what we would call significant" for an organization of HUP's size, Wynne said. In addition, HUP made another $3 million during the same period in the form of returns on its investment portfolio. Medical Center officials, though, downplayed HUP's performance. Wynne said that if the payments from Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross were not counted, HUP would have a $13 million surplus. HUP generated a $19 million surplus for the same period last year, he said. Medical Center spokesperson Lori Doyle added that HUP's surplus would not have looked nearly as impressive if HUP used the same accounting system as the rest of the University. "If we used the same accounting system as the rest of the University we would actually be losing money," Medical Center spokesperson Lori Doyle said, adding that, unlike the rest of the University, HUP doesn't include capital expenditures with the rest of its expenses. "If we weren't making that much we would be in deep trouble." In addition to HUP's ambitious expansion plans, which include buying the Civic Center site across 34th Street from the hospital and converting it first into an out-patient care facility, then into a new HUP, the hospital is in the midst of an eight-year, $241 million campaign to improve its current facility. HUP's surplus funds will be used to help fund capital projects – including the improvement campaign and the construction of the swingspace building behind the Medical School, HUP Executive Director Wilbur Pittinger said.
(10/21/93 9:00am)
Financial Services officials alarmed by the high number put on hold An estimated 2,305 current University students were placed on financial hold for not paying their fall tuition bill by the October 15 deadline, Student Financial Services officials said yesterday. Students on financial hold cannot register for the next academic term, receive transcripts or receive degrees from the University. Under a new Financial Services policy, students must pay for the current semester before they are permitted to register for the next semester. This semester, the policy is only being enforced against students who owe the University more than $1,000. Under the old policy, students were able to go another semester without paying before they faced financial hold. Financial Services officials said they hoped the new policy would force students to either pay their bills or work out a repayment plan with Financial Services, before their debt becomes even larger. Also, by making students come in earlier to take care of their debt, students could also be made aware of possible scholarships. Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said that in the past, he had seen students who would have been eligible for federal grants and loans – but who missed the deadlines for applying. Another problem for the University under the old policy was that it took a long time for the University to collect on back payments. Other Ivy League schools, some of which impose harsh penalties if tuition is not paid promptly, don't have this problem to nearly the extent the University does, Claus said. Earlier this month, the University was owed $22 million in back payments. Claus said he hoped the new policy would reduce that amount to between $10 million and $12 million. D.L. Wormley, Student Financial Services' director of product development and marketing, said while the 2,305 figure is "alarming," it is still better for students to take care of their debt now rather than later. She said it is still too early to tell how successful the new policy will be, but she said Financial Services system of warning students who risked financial hold was largely successful. At the beginning of the month, an estimated 3,300 to 3,400 students received letters warning them they would be placed on financial hold if they did not pay up or come to Financial Services to work out a repayment plan by October 15.
(10/07/93 9:00am)
The number of currently-enrolled University students who face being blocked from using PARIS for not paying their debts to the University has dropped by 400 in the past week, University officials said yesterday. This leaves roughly 3,100 students who still owe over $1,000 from the current term, and will be placed on financial hold if they do not pay by October 15. Students on financial hold cannot register for the next academic term, order transcripts or receive degrees from the University. Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said the number of students coming to the Franklin Building to pay off their bursar bills "has picked up" since Student Financial Services sent a warning notice to students in danger of being barred from using the Penn Automated Registration Information System. "We're busy, but we're not panicked yet," Claus said, adding that he expects the 3,100 figure to dwindle to 1,000 over the next month. The Financial Services office is implementing a new policy under which students must pay off the current semester – which was billed over the summer – before they will be allowed to register for the next semester. Several students, though, have complained they were not given adequate notice that they were in danger of being barred from registration. "I have never even gotten a note," Wharton sophomore Brian Jordan said. "I had to find out from The Daily Pennsylvanian." Jordan said he didn't even receive a bill over the summer and his most recent bill already had late charges tacked on. He said he called Financial Services, but the person he spoke to "started blaming me for not having paid my bill." "I never even got a bill," he said. And a Nursing freshman, who asked that her name not be used, said her only notification came in the form of a letter this week. "It was kind of a shock," she said. She said her balance was just over the $1,000 line that Financial Services is using this semester. Students whose debt is less than $1,000 will not be blocked from PARIS. Claus said enclosures have been sent with every student's bursar bill since the summer warning that if they did not pay their bill promptly, they risked being placed on financial hold. He said he understood how students might have mistaken the enclosures for junk mail and ignored them. That, he said, was why Financial Services sent letters last week to each of the students who risked being blocked – almost a month and a half before PARIS opens for spring term registration. After the October 15 deadline, Financial Services will send out another notice informing students who have still not paid their fall 1993 bill that they have been placed on financial hold, and must pay the bill or meet with Financial Services to work out a payment plan, Claus said. Claus said students who were billed over the summer should have paid by now. "When you get to September and October and you haven't paid a bill that was due in August," Claus said, "that's pretty serious." If someone went three months without making a mortgage payment, he said, "you wouldn't have a house."
(10/05/93 9:00am)
Students have til Oct. 15 Students who owe the University more than $1,000 will be barred from using PARIS to register for spring semester classes, Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said yesterday. Claus said Student Financial Services mailed approximately 4,000 letters last week, warning that if the recipients do not pay their balances by October 15 – or contact Student Financial Services to work out a payment plan – they will be placed on financial hold. Students placed on financial hold cannot register for the next academic term, receive academic transcripts or receive degrees from the University. Claus estimated that between 3,300 and 3,400 of the people who received letters are current University students. Among the others are students who are on leave or are inactive. The University is owed about $22 million in back payments on bursar bills. Claus said the new policy should reduce that to between $10 million and $12 million. Under a new policy, students will be required to pay off their balances for the current semester before they will be allowed to register for a subsequent semester. The new policy will force students to stay current with their payments to the University. For example, a junior in his or her fifth semester at the University must now pay for the fifth semester, which was billed over the summer, before he or she can register for the sixth semester. The financial hold only applies to students who have large outstanding balances – this semester, over $1,000. Students who owe less money, for items such as old Penntrex bills, will not be barred from using the Penn Automated Registration and Information System, Claus said. Claus said the policy was changed because letting the students go the extra semester without paying caused students to accumulate large debts – in some cases, more than $30,000. By forcing students to confront their debt earlier, Claus said, it will be easier for the financial aid office to help work out a repayment plan, before the debt gets too large. Another problem with the previous policy was that students who waited too long to settle their debt were missing deadlines for Stafford and other loan programs that they would would have been eligible for. Claus said the goal of the new policy is to help students who owe the University money to stay in school, before they get into a debt situation they can't get out of. He added that any students who run the risk of being blocked from PARIS had received at least six letters warning them of the possibility before last week's notice. The new policy will bring the University's procedures for collecting on debt closer into line with those of other Ivy League universities, although the University's will still be more lenient. At Brown, Columbia and Cornell universities and Dartmouth College, the balance that triggers a financial hold is much lower than the University's $1,000. At those universities, financial hold also means a near-total cut-off of university services. At Brown, Columbia and Dartmouth, students lose their health services while they are on financial hold, and at all four of the schools, students on financial hold lose their library privileges. Claus said University students, even on financial hold, will not lose these services.
(09/22/93 9:00am)
City seems likely to sell The University is currently negotiating with the city of Philadelphia for the purchase of the nearby Philadelphia Civic Center, Executive Vice President Janet Hale said last night. Hale would not disclose any sale prices being discussed by the two parties. In 1991, Medical Center officials began looking across 34th Street towards the Civic Center for a potential expansion site. Currently, the Medical Center plans to turn the Civic Center site into an outpatient-care facility. Eventually, the rest of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania would move there. Although the University doesn't own the Civic Center, that's not likely to be too big a problem. Now that the city's downtown Convention Center is open for business, the city no longer needs the Civic Center, which was losing money even without the Convention Center's competition. City officials could not be reached for comment last night. In the fall of 1992, a report by City Controller Jonathan Saidel said the Civic Center lost $6 million during the 1991 fiscal year. The report called for the city – which had drastically cut the amount of money it was spending to maintain the Civic Center – either to renovate the facility before it "deteriorates to the point of becoming an eyesore," or sell it. "[The city] cannot afford to subsidize continued losses," the report stated. Several current factors suggest that HUP may be about to embark on a major expansion push in the near future. First, the University has been considering a master trust indenture, a legal instrument that would allow the University and HUP to issue debt separately. This would insulate the University from the implications of new HUP debt. Second, the master trust indenture would also raise the total amount of money the University is capable of borrowing. Third, HUP is now two years into an eight-year, $241 million plan to renovate HUP's current facilities. Fourth, the same low interest rates that are leading homeowners across the country to refinance their mortgages are also making it a very good time for business to take on debt. Add it all up and HUP may have found a relatively inexpensive way to pay for a substantial part of its expansion, as well as for part of its renovation. HUP Executive Director Wilbur Pittinger said yesterday that debt is one of the ways HUP could use to pay for part of its outpatient care facility and for HUP's current renovations.
(09/14/93 9:00am)
For University students tired of squirrelling away quarters to feed washing machines, dryers and vending machines, the end may be near. But for students who hope the University's identification card, the PENNcard, might eventually become a debit card, as at Duke University and several other schools across the country, it may be a while – or never at all. At Duke, students or their parents can deposit money on their school identification cards. Students can then use their cards for everything from books at the school bookstore to pizza delivery at their dorms. The amount of each purchase is automatically deducted from the student's card balance, similar to the method used by stores that accept MAC cards for payment. Frank Neithammer, the director of the PENNcard Center, said yesterday that students might be able to use their PENNcards instead of change for laundry machines and vending machines as soon as next fall. Students would either add value to their PENNcards in the same way that value is added to photocopier cards in University libraries, or students might be billed on their bursar bills – which is how some students used their PENNcards to buy their books this fall. The University has not decided which method to use. The University has been investigating the feasibility of eventually becoming a "cashless campus," with nearly all campus area purchases paid for by the PENNcard, Associate Vice President for Finance Frank Claus said. Claus said the University is interested in the concept because it would be convenient for students and because it would largely eliminate the need for students to carry cash. He said one roadblock to the plan is that Pennsylvania law only allows banks to hold deposits. For the University to offer a debit card, a bank would have to come in and actually handle the banking transactions. He said the University has been discussing the issue with several area banks, including the University's Student Federal Credit Union, but no definite commitments have been made and no timetables have been set. Wharton senior Francisco Bayron, the Credit Union's vice president for planning, said no official agreements with the University have been reached. He said that neither the Credit Union or the University is rushing to implement the plan. "If it's going to be done, it's got to be done right," Bayron said. He added that before the plan goes forward, the Credit Union and the University want to make sure they will not lose money on the plan. A debit card would also raise new security concerns, Neithammer said. If the PENNcard becomes widely used instead of cash, he said, "do we make the card worth stealing?" Neithammer said he does not think creating a debit card is a top priority. "I think [the University would] like to do it," Neithammer said, "And if they could do it without cost to the University, fine." He said he also doesn't want students to be charged for the service. "The school doesn't come to its knees if we don't do this," Claus said.
(04/20/93 9:00am)
Legal experts from around the country yesterday gave divided opinions of the legality of last week's theft of nearly 14,000 copies of The Daily Pennsylvanian by a group of students. While there was agreement that the theft would not qualify as constitutionally-protected free expression if it was a crime, there was a marked difference of opinion as to whether the confiscation was actually criminal. A statement released yesterday by "Members of The Black Community" -- which claimed responsibility for the confiscation -- maintained that the "decision to help ourselves to free copies of The Daily Pennsylvanian was in no way an illegal or criminal act." The statement also said the act was protected by the First Amendment, "which protects legitimate speech or conduct intended to convey a specific message." Abbe Smith, deputy director of the Criminal Justice Inistitute at Harvard University, defined theft as "taking something that has value without permission, with the intent of permanently depriving the rightful owner." Smith, also a lecturer in law at Harvard, said that since copies of the DP are made available for students to take, it is impossible to say that the students who took the papers were not the "rightful owners" of the copies. She said she thinks it is irrelevant that the students threw the copies into dumpsters. "What's the difference between someone who reads the paper and throws it in the dumpster, and someone who doesn't read it and throws it in the dumpster?" she said. But Bill Greenhalgh, director of the Georgetown Law Center's Criminal Justice Clinic, said he thinks the confiscation was a crime because the paper has value. "Even the paper upon which [the DP is] printed costs money," he said. Michael McConnell, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago, said the students who took the papers cannot successfully argue that their protest was legal by citing First Amendment protection. "It is true that criminal acts may not be punished because of the message that they convey," he said. "But that does not mean that people can commit crimes with impunity because they are conveying a message. "People are being arrested and jailed every day in front of abortion clinics because of that issue," he added.
(04/13/93 9:00am)
During his 12-year tenure as the University's president, Sheldon Hackney has acquired a reputation as a steady and solid, if not inspirational, leader. While at the University, Hackney has become known for trying to build consensus on most issues confronting the University, rarely taking controversial stands himself. Yesterday, Hackney admitted that he tends to seek consensus and compromise -- except when it comes to things "at the absolute core of the University's mission," such as open expression, academic freedom and academic integrity. "It's true that I do not think that compromise is a dirty word," he said. After University Council voted in 1991 to kick the Reserve Officer Training Corps off campus, Hackney said he would rather see ROTC stay -- but he lobbied to change the Defense Department's policy stating that homosexuality is inconsistent with military service. Few were probably happier than Hackney when Bill Clinton promised that, as president, he would reverse the military's ban on gays, because it meant that the White House would take Hackney off the hook. "Now I don't have to decide between the two good sides of that question," Hackney said last night. Another telling episode occurred in 1990 after protesters on Hackney's lawn urged the University to post bail for then-Wharton student Christopher Clemente, who had been arrested on drugs and weapons possession charges in New York. Hackney stuck to the University's policy of not posting bail for students who have been arrested, but Hackney, who was concerned about Clemente's safety in prison, made a personal contribution to his bail fund. And when Hackney created a Diversity on the Walk Committee in September 1990, he immediately issued specific instructions to the committee not to recommend removing fraternities. In many ways, it was a typical Hackney decision -- change is necessary, but nothing too radical. Emeritus Finance Professor Morris Mendelson said he disagreed with Hackney's stance on ROTC, and that he thinks Hackney is moving too slowly on the walk diversity issue. But he added that Hackney's position as president forces him to look at the big picture and weigh all the possible effects of his actions and statements. "[Hackney] was worried about [ROTC] students losing scholarships," Mendelson said. Former Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Jeff Lichtman also said he disagreed with Hackney's stance on ROTC, but added that there were "times when it was in his best interest and in the best interest of the University to act as a compromiser and facilitator." Former United Minorities Council President You-Lee Kim, while criticizing Hackney for not taking bolder stands on issues, praised him for "keeping the school together on divisive issues." She said that while she feels Hackney may have "passed up a lot of opportunities to be a daring leader" and opted to play it safe, "it isn't necessarily the worst thing to do." Faculty Senate Chairperson David Hildebrand said he does not think a university president is obligated to -- or should -- take vocal stands on every issue. "I don't think a university president, as a representative of a very complicated group of people, should be taking simple-minded stands on every political issue that comes down the pike," Hildebrand said. Hackney, he said, "recognized complexity a lot better than many of his critics did," although Hildebrand added that he has not always agreed with Hackney's positions. "Did I always agree with his stands?" he said. "Ha!" Hildebrand said he believes that Hackney has been an integral part of promoting civil discourse on campus. "[Hackney has been] a very important part of keeping this place a campus of learning as opposed to one of political sloganeering," Hildebrand said. Hildebrand added that he thinks Hackney's unique style is simply a part of him. "Would Hackney have been better off with a different style?" Hildebrand asked. "If frogs had wings, could they catch flies better? He is what he is."
(04/13/93 9:00am)
An attorney for former Wharton student Christopher Clemente said yesterday that he is appealing Clemente's 1991 convictions on nine counts of drugs and weapons possession. In the appeal, the defense admits that the Harlem apartment where police found Clemente on January 9, 1990 contained rock and powder cocaine, 214 crack vials and a loaded nine millimeter pistol, as well as a drug ledger with the name "Christopher Clemente" written in it. The defense also concedes that "numerous crack vials and bags of crack, as well as another 9 mm. pistol" were found outside the apartment. But the defense contends that the drugs and guns did not belong to Clemente, the signatures in the ledger were not Clemente's and the evidence in the apartment was seized illegally, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. At the trial, the defense maintained that Clemente was in the apartment for "purely innocent reasons." The defense suggested that he had gone to the apartment "for a tryst" with a woman named Leah Bundy. Bundy was convicted along with Clemente and sentenced to life imprisonment. According to Ronald Kuby, one of Clemente's attorneys, police originally went to the apartment next door to the one Clemente was found in to respond to a 911 call reporting a shooting. Kuby said the police then ordered Clemente to open the door to the apartment where he was. Clemente panicked, breaking a window and throwing some of the contraband out before opening the door, Kuby added. According to the appeal, the police overstepped their bounds by making an "extensive and intensive search for evidence" in the apartment, despite the fact that police did not have a search warrant. "[The police] conducted a room-by-room search, which they are absolutely not entitled to do," Kuby said. According to the appeal, any evidence seized in the apartment should be ruled inadmissable and suppressed. The appeal also takes issue with the judge's ruling that Clemente could be cross-examined about the details of two prior convictions involving crack possession. Judge Richard Lowe ruled at the trial that the underlying facts of Clemente's prior convictions -- while not normally admissable -- would be relevant on cross examination "in terms of Mr. Clemente's credibility" because the defense was claiming Clemente's was an "innocent presence" and that he did not own any of the drugs in the apartment. Kuby said this ruling was the reason that Clemente did not testify in his defense. The final argument in the appeal claims that the trial court should not have been allowed to ask Clemente's character witnesses about his prior offenses as if they were facts. The appeal claims the prosecution should have had to ask witnesses "if they had heard reports of the incidents, not whether they had heard of the offenses themselves." Kuby had harsh words for Lowe yesterday, calling the judge "an absolute disgrace." He criticized Lowe both for his handling of Clemente's and other trials, saying he thought Lowe's "extremely pro-police" bias prejudiced Clemente's case. Kuby said the defense maintains that Clemente was in the wrong place at the wrong time. "We've been saying that from the beginning," he said. "The tragedy is that he's spending 16 years to life in prison, which means it will be 16 years before he's even eligible for parole." New York City Assistant District Attorney Maxwell Wiley, who prosecuted Clemente, said he has not yet received a copy of the appeal and declined to comment on the case citing office policy. Clemente is currently serving his term at Greenhaven Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
(04/08/93 9:00am)
The Wistar Institute and former Wistar Director Hilary Koprowski have settled an age discrimination suit Koprowski filed last year, current Wistar Director Giovanni Rovera said last night. Rovera declined to disclose the terms of the settlement, but said, "Everybody is satisfied. I think it is a fair settlement." Koprowski also said the settlement was "satisfactory to both parties," although he also declined to discuss the settlement's terms. Wistar President Robert Fox and Koprowski both said last night that Koprowski will continue to work with Wistar, but they declined to discuss specifics. The lawsuit, originally filed in February 1992, maintained that Koprowski -- who served as Wistar's director from 1957 to 1991 -- was removed from that position and relieved of many of his research responsibilities solely because of his age. Koprowski was 74 years old at the time. The suit also claimed that Rovera and Fox had subjected Koprowski to "continuing discrimination, harassment and retaliation" after Koprowski filed complaints with a state civil rights board and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September 1991. According to the suit, Wistar responded to Koprowski's complaints by firing members of his staff, preventing him from ordering office supplies and mischaracterizing a routine federal audit of government grants as focusing on Koprowski's expenditures. In the suit, Koprowski asked the court to restore him to his former position as Wistar director, as well as to his other research responsibilities at Wistar, and asked for damages. Wistar's response said Koprowski was not entitled to make an age discrimination claim because he was an executive over the age of 65. Wistar also claimed that even though the suit against Wistar claimed the institute caused Koprowski to suffer "humiliation, mental anguish, and harm to his career," other factors may have contributed to damaging Koprowski's reputation. Koprowski is currently suing Rolling Stone magazine and the Associated Press for printing a story which suggested that Koprowski's research in developing a polio vaccine may have accidentally introduced AIDS into the human population. Wistar claims that this suit -- in which Koprowski alleges that the magazine and the AP harmed his career and reputation -- must have been at least partially the cause of "any humilation, mental anguish, and harm to career" Koprowski suffered. Despite the suit, Rovera said last night that Wistar was "looking forward to cooperating [with Koprowski] in the future."
