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(01/15/98 10:00am)
There was a changing of the guard in the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly last night, as the top two Executive Board positions fell into new hands in an unusual mid-year shake-up. Yesterday's elections, held in Houston Hall's Graduate Student Lounge, resulted from the resignation last month of GAPSA chairperson Victoria Tredinnick. The meeting's minutes indicated that she resigned "to devote sufficient time to her degree." GAPSA's No. 2 officer, Sanjay Udani, won the election for Tredinnick's seat, defeating relative unknown Chris Adams, a first-year Wharton graduate student, 25-3. Udani had served as the body's first vice chair/treasurer and, since December 10, as acting chairperson. GAPSA General Assembly members, who represent the University's 12 graduate schools, as well as the separate Fels Center of Government, voted in the elections. Udani, an Engineering graduate student, said Tredinnick's duties as regional coordinator for the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students and other time commitments led to her resignation. Tredinnick, a Linguistics graduate student, did not return repeated calls for comment this week. When asked by a GAPSA member to identify the current "hot topic" facing the organization, Udani said it was the persistent General Fee issue: graduate students receive less funding per student than undergraduates from the $28 million in annual fee revenue. "Potentially, all the grad students are paying several hundred dollars going to undergrads," he said, adding that he has been working on the issue for most of his 1 1/2 years on GAPSA. Udani and new First Vice-Chair/Treasurer Doug Hagan plan to talk with administrators later this semester about the allocation of General Fee funds to student groups. Graduate student health insurance, the proposed vending ordinance and the shortage of graduate student space in on-campus facilities are Udani's other priorities for this semester. After Udani's election, Adams was nominated to fill Udani's vacated seat, but lost to Hagan, another first-year Wharton graduate student, by an 11-8 margin. Fels graduate student Drae Jones finished third with five votes. Both Udani and Hagan expressed confidence that the mid-year change in GAPSA leadership will not slow the group's agenda. "These are issues that the whole group has been involved in," Hagan said. "GAPSA is very tight-knit." "I think based on the interest shown today, I'm much happier about next year," Udani added. "It hasn't affected the day-to-day operations yet. I don't think it's going to."
(01/13/98 10:00am)
The University of Pennsylvania Press is one of the largest academic publishing houses in the United States. Far from the pages of The New York Times bestseller list, there exists a world where John Grisham and Stephen King are virtual unknowns and book sales are measured in the thousands, not millions. This is the world of academic publishing, in which the University of Pennsylvania Press, the official publishing house of the University, is a major player. The Press "hopes to shape the public image of the University" by publishing works not "mainstream" enough for larger houses, according to its director, Eric Halpern. Incorporated in 1890, the Penn Press is one of the oldest university presses in the country, and its output is among the top third nationwide. In several fields -- particularly Medieval Studies -- the Press provides "the premier list in the country," Halpern said. But the Press still faces a number of challenges to its success. Although its annual output of 75 new books yielded 1997 revenues of about $2 million, the Press is only "close to breaking even," mainly due to a limited market and high production costs, Halpern said. "We're supposed to break even," he added, noting that the Press has in past years shown a small profit. But the Press relies heavily on Penn's ability to support it in the lean years, Halpern said. Like its parent, the Press is non-profit and does not pay taxes. "Academic publishing is always by its nature a form of subsidized industry," he added. "Financially we are a creature of the University." Halpern said he hopes to expand the Press' sales revenue, which currently only meets 80 percent of its expenses. The Press' survival strategy is to target several books of "general appeal" for sale to a more mainstream audience, he said. While some titles may sell as few as 750 copies, one such targeted book, ABC of Architecture by James O'Gorman, sold nearly 10,000 copies in its first month -- becoming the fastest-selling title in Press history. The New York Times praised O'Gorman's book as "the best-written work on the subject in English for lay people." The Press also hopes to reach a large mainstream audience with the Penn Greek Drama Series, a 12-volume set of ancient works in modern translations. Halpern insisted that this increased focus on mainstream publishing will not affect the number or quality of the Press' more scholarly publications. Instead, the Press will expand its number of "broader appeal" books by considering scholarly works for a larger audience. Yet to break even, the Press must seek other revenue sources. Traditionally, the Press sells the rights to translate or reprint Press publications, to make up much of the deficit. Additionally, the Press has agreements with Maryland Public Television and Paramount Pictures to sell the documentary and film rights to Vivien Thomas' Partners of the Heart. The MPT documentary is due to be aired later this year, although plans for a film version are not final. To ensure a continued source of funds, Halpern has begun to raise money for a Press endowment. He hopes to raise $5 million in five years. University presses must increasingly adapt to the implications of their own growth. Today, the members of the Chicago-based Association of American University Presses -- including Penn -- publish 8,000 titles a year, up from only 2,300 25 years ago. With more books published, the theory holds that fewer copies of each will be sold. Thus, the presses must concentrate their resources on the most profitable projects. "It's not a matter of whether to specialize, but how to specialize," said Folklore Professor Margaret Mills, a member of the Press' seven-member Faculty Editorial Board. "We cease publication in fields we cannot support [and are] constantly exploring new fields," Halpern said. "There is constant flux at the margins of the program." For instance, the Press recently stopped publishing in Italian studies, but it has added science and medicine to its list of published disciplines and has upgraded its efforts in American history and architecture. "We have more ideas than we can possibly fund," Halpern said. If the current industry trend toward specialization continues, "an awful lot of work is not going to get published," said History Professor Edward Peters. Peters and fellow History Professor Alan Kors co-authored Witchcraft in Europe, which with more than 15,000 copies in print is among the Press' best sellers. The rejection of academic work in currently unprofitable fields may lead to cheaper, technology-driven innovations. The Press is set to release two CD-ROM editions of books. Peters expressed enthusiasm about on-line scholarship. "It's already started but it can't do anything but increase," he said. Halpern, on the other hand, is unsure of the future of academia in cyberspace. "As a publisher, I don't view the electronic medium as particularly promising," he said. "I'd rather not look at it as a last ditch effort." Halpern said the upcoming Press CD-ROM editions of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and James Joyce's Ulysses are two rare examples of a suitable application of technology to academic publishing. "No one's making money [in Internet publishing] right now," he said. "But everyone's interested." Faced with financial insecurity and technological change, Halpern nevertheless sees a promising future for his 108-year-old publishing house. "With fewer and fewer and larger and larger commercial publishers? university presses [will be] more important as a source of quality books," Halpern said, noting that the Penn Press and its contemporaries are already responsible for one out of every seven or eight books published. "Scholarship keeps getting done," Peters said. "University presses have to survive."
(12/05/97 10:00am)
The national news media has enthusiastically proclaimed the rise of a new "black middle class" over the last several years, but according to one sociologist, the economic picture for many African Americans is not so rosy. Nearly 50 community leaders, businesspeople and members of the University community turned out to join Melvin Oliver of the Ford Foundation for two discussions on "Asset Inequality and Social Policy" yesterday at the Faculty Club and the McNeil Building. Oliver, the foundation's vice president for asset building and community development, noted that while minority incomes have been rising, asset accumulation -- in the form of homes and businesses -- has been stagnant, creating financial insecurity and segregated neighborhoods. "Income feeds your stomach, but assets change your mind," he said. "You can't plan for the future the same way you can when you have assets available to you." Oliver blamed the disparity between white and African-American asset levels on a housing market that denies choice and keeps residents of suburbs and cities segregated. "Most people want to live in integrated communities," he noted. "If you unleash choice, you can settle the issue of segregation." History Professor Tom Sugrue took over the discussion where Oliver left off, focusing on the plight of black-owned businesses in Detroit, Philadelphia and other major cities. He noted how Market and South streets in Philadelphia -- formerly thriving homes to barber shops, taverns and bookmakers -- have seen businesses vanish along with infrastructure and urban renewal projects. Oliver said that the solution to this asset inequality lies in government action, though he admitted that it was an uphill battle. "The legal remedies are important, but they've been overwhelmed with the backlash, with affirmative action and all," he said. "They're being assaulted from all sides." Oliver called for further reform of the welfare system -- which "confines the poor to consumption," not "accumulating wealth" -- and of the Internal Revenue Service, which he labeled "discriminatory." Oliver also proposed the creation of an "individual development account," an IRA-style fund to which the government would match poor people's contributions. The funds in the account would go to home buying, business starts and higher education -- all forms of asset accumulation. The Ford Foundation -- the nation's largest grant-making philanthropy -- has pledged $6 million in contributions to test the effectiveness of the program. Before taking his position with Ford, Oliver taught at the University of California at Los Angeles and co-authored Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality in 1995. Oliver noted that his goals comprise more than just tax reform and housing subsidies. People have to start to "think long-term," he said. "They have to use their resources to plan for the future."
(11/20/97 10:00am)
Last year, corporate giant Nike Inc. called on college students across the country to "Participate in the Lives of America's Youth" -- and students at the University have risen to meet that challenge. More than 20 Penn students are members of the Nike PLAY Corps program -- a "Peace Corps for sports," according to Eric Gabrielson, coordinator of the national PLAY Corps program. Corps members coach sports programs in underprivileged neighborhoods for "minority kids who don't have access to good coaches or facilities," he said. The Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation places Corps volunteers at recreation centers in the West Philadelphia area to coach youth sports programs. "We're lucky to find these coaches," said Kevin Cush, director of the Lee Cultural Center at 44th Street and Haverford Avenue. More than 40 children from the area serviced by the center participate in a soccer program coached by PLAY Corps volunteers from Penn. Students receive a stipend and equipment from Nike in exchange for their service, but if you ask them, the rewards are far more intangible. College junior Benjamin Dillon focused on his interaction with the children he coaches, saying that participation in the program "takes you away from the Penn environment and brings you closer to their home." And for Penn students who formerly played competitive sports, volunteering in the Corps provides a way to see their sports from a coach's point of view. "This is a new experience," said College sophomore Mindy Spire, who coaches girls' basketball. "I can still be active on the court, the field [and] the track." But dealing with children from such diverse backgrounds is not all play for the student-coaches. "It was hard getting adjusted to the kids," Dillon said. "Some take longer to break out of their shells." As a result, discipline is a necessary addition to the game-playing, skill-training and sportsmanship lessons of the practices. But the children do not seem to mind their coaches' attempts to keep order. "They're cool," was the common sentiment of 10-year-olds such as Wayne Thompson and Dominic Bostich, both of West Philadelphia, who regularly play soccer in the program. Nationally, more than 200 students on 45 campuses in 20 cities take part in the program, Gabrielson said. He added that Philadelphia is "our strongest chapter of PLAY Corps coaches in the nation." Though Corps members can also be found at Temple and Villanova universities, according to Spire, the large number of Penn students makes up the core of the Philadelphia chapter. And their ranks only seem to be growing. At the PLAY Corps table on Locust Walk yesterday -- adorned with the traditional Nike "swoosh" symbol -- more than 60 would-be Corps members picked up applications. "There's proof for you," College junior Scott Hoffman said. Even with the initiative's success on the local level, the coaches realize they are only there to serve a real need in the community. "The kids need it," Spire said. "[They] need someone to give them some special attention they may not be getting at home or at school."
(10/29/97 10:00am)
Bronze Age artifacts enthralled modern Philadelphia Friday night as the University Museum hosted "A Celebration of Thailand's Ancient Cultural Heritage." Along with a reception for several hundred patrons and members of the University community, the museum exhibited artifacts from the prehistoric site of Ban Chiang, Thailand. The clay, stone and metal pieces on loan from the Thai government included tools, jewelry and an animal figurine. The event also included speeches from Nitya Pibulsonggram, the Thai ambassador to the United States, and University President Judith Rodin, among others. Researchers from the museum and the Thai government's Fine Arts Department have excavated Ban Chiang and several other sites in northern Thailand over the last three decades. The societies that flourished there between 20,000 and 5,000 years ago produced burial pottery and advanced metal products. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognized Ban Chiang as a "World Heritage" site in 1992 for its "universal interest and importance to humanity," and Friday's program was held to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the proclamation. University Museum Director Jeremy Sabloff said he was "exceedingly pleased" with the research done to "preserve evidence of the global human past for future generations." He also announced an anonymous $100,000 challenge grant to the museum that, if met, would yield $300,000 toward archaeological research at the University. In his speech, Pibulsonggram called Ban Chiang "without question, the most important prehistoric settlement found in Southeast Asia." The 30-year partnership between Thailand and the University is a "reflection of the overall relationship between our two countries," he added. Ban Chiang Project Director Joyce White -- the "leading expert" on the site, according to Sabloff -- opened her remarks with an arousing bilingual greeting. Her slide-show presentation focused on the antiquity of the site -- where bronze artifacts have been found to be 1,500 years older than previously thought -- and the modern scientific practices used in its excavation. "Some sites challenge our preconceptions so provocatively," said White. The site is a "rich manuscript by which we can explore the past" and is a great stimulus for controversy, she added. Rodin, meanwhile, lauded the work at Ban Chiang as a "model of the approach to learning that we value throughout the University." She was impressed by the ancient society -- in which war-making and hierarchy were rare -- and cited the "pursuit of beauty," not war, as its cause of growth and innovation. After the welcoming remarks, guests dined on Thai food and enjoyed the music of a traditional Thai ensemble. "We hope to move forward to a new plateau of partnership? as it enriches us all," Pibulsonggram said.
(10/22/97 9:00am)
Slides of caterpillars, snakes and exotic landscapes awed a packed lecture hall yesterday as Biology Professor Dan Janzen gave a special preview of his Kyoto Memorial Lecture. Janzen addressed the topic of the "gardenification of wildland nature and how to absorb the human footprint" in his lecture, the full version of which will be presented in Japan early next month. In September, Janzen received the Kyoto Prize in Basic Science -- a "Japanese Nobel Prize" awarded every three years -- for "extraordinary lifetime achievement" in the field of conservation biology. In his address, Janzen was quick to recognize the importance of the award to his controversial field. It "legitimizes conservation of tropical wildlands" as a field of biological study, he said, adding that conservation biologists have been unfairly maligned as a "fringe group" of "greenies and tree-huggers." Janzen also focused on how the environment can survive human domination. "As a society, we have beaten nature," he said. "We can turn it into any piece of garbage we want." To preserve nature, he said it must be transformed into "a garden" for human use, not left to itself to be overrun. With environmentally friendly human management, nature will remain diverse, he added. Janzen described many ways humans can use nature productively without destroying the environment. A "wildlife garden" can filter greenhouse gases, provide high crop yields and serve as a site for tourism, research and education in a self-sustaining system, he said. More than 200 professors and students attended yesterday's lecture at Leidy Laboratories, and many said they were impressed by Janzen and his performance. In his introductory remarks, Biology Department Chairperson Andrew Binns described Janzen as an "intriguing character" and joked about his own son's experiences working for Janzen. He noted that "we have in our midst a very special individual." Referring to Janzen's Kyoto Prize -- which recognized his fieldwork in Costa Rica -- College junior Mollie Parsons added that she "can see why he won the prize." Janzen spends half of each year away from the University to manage the Guanacaste conservation reserve in northwestern Costa Rica, a tropical environment roughly the size of the greater Philadelphia area. Janzen, who thanked the University for allowing him to travel for "good chunks of the year," plans to use the $430,000 Kyoto Prize to set up an endowment for the reserve. During his slide presentation, Janzen noted that the entrance to Guanacaste contains the mantra of his work. Translated from the Spanish, the gate's inscription reads, "The forest is a fountain of life."
(10/17/97 9:00am)
Any first-year students grappling with the woes of the "Freshman 15" can find hope in the work of Psychology Professor Paul Rozin. Rozin's research into cultural biology and sociobiology has produced noted studies of human food preferences. His current work is aimed at "improving the way Americans think about food" and reducing the stress most Americans feel with respect to eating so that "pleasure [is] not compromised," he said. In recognition of Rozin's more than three decades of research and teaching at the University, the School of Arts and Sciences recently named him the inaugural recipient of the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professorship for Faculty Excellence. The award is not the first time Rozin -- the former chairperson of the Psychology Department and ex-director of the Benjamin Franklin Scholars/General Honors Program -- has been singled out for teaching excellence. He received the Ira Abrams Teaching Award, the most prestigious SAS teaching award, in 1995. Rozin's students also give him high marks for his teaching. "He certainly has a passion for the subject," College freshman Jamison Stricker said. "He conveys it to us every day." Rozin's classroom style is "funny, very entertaining," while his small Psychology 1 Honors section is "a refreshing foil to the impersonal lecture," according to College sophomore George Blaustein. Stricker added that Rozin's courses are always in high demand. "His classes are impossible to get into," he said, adding that "you do [the work] because you want to do it." Rozin, meanwhile, is modest about his success. "I love to teach, and I think that comes across," he said, adding that he tries to "create a bond" by teaching larger concepts such as violence and sexual behavior through issues of interest to his students. Although Rozin has spent all but two of his post-doctoral years teaching at Penn, he continues teaching introductory undergraduate courses because he likes "the idea of being the first person to teach [students] what this field is about." And after 34 years, Rozin has still not grown tired of Penn, noting that the school's "spirit" and "dedication to teaching as well as research" are the primary reasons he has made the Philadelphia area his home. In addition to the cultural aspects of food, Rozin's research has yielded well-known studies on a variety of topics including cultural notions of disgust, the magical belief in contagion and common conceptions of the risk of infection and toxic effects of food. The Kahn Chair was created through a bequest of Louise Kahn, a Smith College alumna whose husband, a 1925 Wharton graduate, made his living in the oil and natural gas industry. Rozin will hold the chair through 2002. Rozin continues to serve as an inspiration to his students. "He challenges the student to drive himself," Engineering sophomore Benjamin Fleischer said. "He challenges himself."