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(09/14/93 9:00am)
Sparked by 'water buffalo' case The administration has created a three faculty-member Board of Inquiry to examine how University judicial procedures functioned during last semester's controversial "water buffalo" racial harassment case. The board was established by Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson and Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson after they received complaints that University judicial policies were not followed correctly by both sides in the case, Executive Assistant to the Provost Linda Koons said. Mechanical Engineering Professor Jacob Abel, who is heading the board, said the board will talk to everyone involved in the case. Members will also review the language of the judicial policy and racial harassment codes to determine if they are too ambiguous or contributed to problems in the case. "The first thing is to inform ourselves as deeply as possible with the procedures involved and learn a little about what was behind them," Abel said. "We are interested in the intent [behind the judicial policies]." By using a real case to evaluate the judicial system, the board will be be able to determine "whether things work or don't work," Abel said. The board's other members are Medical Professor Emeritus Anna Marie Chirico and Associate Nursing Professor Roslyn Watts. The three faculty members were selected by Lazerson and Morrisson and had not expressed particular interest in the case, Abel said. The "water buffalo" case involved College sophomore Eden Jacobowitz, who was charged last semester with racial harassment under the University judicial code after he called black sorority sisters "water buffalo." By the time the charges against Jacobowitz were dropped by the five women complainants – who claimed the media coverage had deprived them of their right to an impartial panel and a fair hearing – the case had garnered national and international attention. "There is a set of procedures for carrying out [a judicial] investigation," Abel said. "And we are going to look at [the policies] and look at what was done in the [Jacobowitz] matter and then determine if the procedures that were called for were followed." The administration expects the board's report to be completed by October 15. But Abel said the board has not yet met or begun any investigation, and the report probably will not be completed on time. "Everyone is in a great hurry and we would like to have [the report] out as early as possible," he said. "But we want to hear from a lot of people. The target date is too little time." Interim President Claire Fagin's Commission on Strengthening the Community, chaired by University Trustee Gloria Chisum, may use the board's final report as a reference in its own discussions of the University judicial system. "I think the provost and the vice provost are hoping our work could feed into this Commission and give them some added insight for what they are considering," Abel said. The Commission is expected to issue a preliminary report in January and reach final recommendations on March 31. None of the participants in the incident, including Robin Read, the Judicial Inquiry Officer in the case, could be reached for comment yesterday.
(05/14/93 9:00am)
President Sheldon Hackney made over $314,000 in salary and benefits last year but the University's top administrator is not its biggest bread winner, according to a Internal Revenue Service figures for the 1991-92 fiscal year. At least five University professors, all of whom work either at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania or the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania, earned more than $600,000 during that span. Urology Professor Alan Wein, for one, earned more than $1.1 million. But most of this money is the result of the doctors' clinical practices and not salary directly from the University, the IRS figures show. The University only paid Wein and fellow top earners, Neurosurgery Professor Eugene Flamm and Surgery Professor William Norwood, $30,000 in 1991-92. The other two professors, Associate Surgery Professor William Potsic and Assistant Neurosurgery Professor Leslie Sutton earned just $25,000 in salary from the University. All of this information appears on the IRS's 990 tax return form which the University is required to have available for public inspection as the result of a 1987 federal law. The 990 form contains such things as the salary and benefits paid to the institutions' top officials, total contributions of donors who the institution contracts for various services, and the five highest salaries of non-administrative employees. In addition to Hackney's salary, the University's 990 form for the 1990-91 fiscal year shows that Medical School Dean William Kelley earned almost $400,000 in salaries and benefits. Kelley also had a $53,400 expense account in 1990-91, which is almost $50,000 more than any other administrator on the 990 listing. Kelley could not be reached for comment last week. According to a survey of the 990 forms of 190 private colleges and universities conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Hackney's salary and benefits in 1991-92 ranked third among his peers at Ivy League schools. Columbia University President Michael Sovern topped the list of Ivy League presidents, earning almost $410,000 in salary and benefits in 1991-92. Dartmouth College was not included in The Chronicle's survey. The highest paid administrator on the list was Boston University President John Silber who earned $414,715 in salary and benefits. The highest paid employee in the survey was Cornell University Cardiothoracic Surgery Professor Wayne Isom who earned over $1.7 million in 1991-92. The highest paid non-medical professor in the survey was Laurance Hoagland, president of Stanford University's management company, who earned over $660,000 in 1991-92.
(04/22/93 9:00am)
Despite rumors that the Social Planning and Events Committee profited from ticket sales from the canceled Spring Fling concert, SPEC lost money on the rained out event, Fling organizers said yesterday. Some students holding non-refundable tickets to the Living Colour concert said they believed that, since the concert was insured, SPEC had pocketed their money. But the concert was not fully insured and the insurance purchased only covered the difference between the cost of the concert and a Fling Committee estimate of advance ticket sale revenue made prior to the start of ticket sales, Fling financial director Matthew Jacobson said yesterday. "We make a guess of how many tickets we will sell before the event and we fully insure the concert to the extent that we think ticket sales will fall short of the cost of the concert," Jacobson, a College senior, said. "The bands get paid for showing up regardless of if they perform," he added. "We have to protect ourselves, but if we were to fully insure the concert tickets would be outrageously expensive." Jacobson said this year Fling organizers overestimated advance ticket sales by "thousands of dollars," leaving SPEC with a loss for the concert. "There is a perception that we are sitting pretty with a lot of money," said Wharton senior Leila Graham-Willis, one of the Fling Committee's three directors. "People think that 'They have our money and that they have made so much money already,' but its not really true." "We did not make a big profit [from the concert] at all," Jacobson said. "The amount of tickets sold before the show and the insurance which we will collect went to pay the band." But both Jacobson and Graham-Willis said that Fling as whole, which is budgeted to break even, will probably make a small profit this year. "Although we estimated [advanced Living Colour ticket sales] too high and lost some money there, we made it up in other areas," Jacobson said. "Fling as a whole probably made a small profit, but in the area of the concert we didn't." Graham-Willis said that SPEC has already filed their claims with the insurance company. She added that SPEC is still tabulating its financial balance from Fling and should know by early next week whether Fling as a whole made a profit. Jacobson, citing the need to keep financial records confidential, refused to say which insurance company SPEC used, how much their policy was for, how much money was lost on the concert, how much SPEC had to pay Living Colour and how much SPEC might have made on Fling.
(04/22/93 9:00am)
University officials give President Sheldon Hackney top marks for fiscal leadership during his 12 years at the University, but they say tough challenges lie ahead. "I think he did a very fine job financially and was a major force in helping raise money for the University," the University Trustees' Budget and Finance Committee Chairperson Robert Fox said recently. "I think President Hackney gets high grades for his financial acumen." When Hackney became president in 1981, the University faced several financial problems. The University was severely underendowed for an institution of its size, with an endowment of only $218 million. Harvard University's endowment was $2.5 billion in 1981 and Princeton University's was over $1 billion a decade ago. The University had also just begun to repair the financial damage of five years of operating deficits, totalling $11 million, that the University had incurred during the early to mid-1970s. Another problem was that faculty salaries were below the level of several peer institutions, posing the threat that professors would be drawn away to other schools and the University would have trouble attracting new faculty members. "[But the financial situation] wasn't that bad," Hackney said last week. "The worst thing is that we were terribly underendowed." Hackney said that the University has made "tremendous" improvements in the the endowment through two funding-raising campaigns, Choosing Penn's Future and the $1 billion Campaign for Penn. "We have improved greatly, although we are still somewhat underendowed," Hackney added. "We are 15th in the country in endowment and over the next two to three years we might leap up three or four places in ranking because of our recent capital campaign." Currently the endowment is over $1 billion, almost five times its 1981 level. While Hackney gives credit for the campaign's success to Senior Vice President for Planning and Development Rick Nahm -- who headed the $1 billion capital campaign -- Nahm said this week that much of praise should go to Hackney. During the Choosing Penn's Future campaign, Hackney organized fundraising efforts so that all of the schools' separate fundraising efforts would be coordinated with the central administration's development office, Nahm said. "When we started this last capital campaign we could connect all the schools' efforts together so that everyone gained," he added. "That could never be accomplished without [Hackney's] leadership." Nahm also said Hackney had a vision for two things which were accomplished at the University and nowhere else in the country: the link between institutional planning and fundraising and the coordination of all parts of the University into a single development effort. "By putting those two initiatives together, Penn has raised more money than it could ever be expected to raise had it used any other system," he said. "That is something you will not find anywhere else at the research universities." Other University officials said that the University's ability to balance its budget for 11 of the past 12 years is a testament to Hackney's fiscal abilities. "I think that the test of his financial leadership is the fact that, in the current economic climate, the University has managed to balance the competing needs of all of its various programs and still remain with balanced budgets with the exception of the Vet School," Budget Director Stephen Golding said recently. Golding also said that the University's total operating budget has more than doubled in the last 12 years and now totals more than $1.5 billion. Provost Michael Aiken said that Hackney came up with the idea for the University's development campaign and credited Hackney with having maintained balanced budgets. Aiken also said that Hackney's initiative in beginning a new cost containment process is critical to the University's future. Hackney allowed his subordinates to use their own initiatives while working within a framework of goals he helped establish, Aiken added. "He gave all of his first lieutenants goals to accomplish but gave us the freedom to do it in our own way," Aiken said. He also said that faculty salaries, a source of concern in 1981, now rank sixth in the nation, according to a list compiled by the American Association of Universities. "We've had 11 to 12 years of growth in earning capacities," he added. "You can see that these were rather good years for faculty from that point of view." Hackney said the University has done well financially during his tenure. "The past is quite a spectacular story of success," he said. "We have not only operated with balanced budgets every year, but increased faculty salaries not only in real terms but in terms of our peers as well. And we have added programs, facilities, done renovations, and we have increased the endowment from $218 million to over $1 billion." But Hackney and other University administrators say that many challenges lie ahead. "One of the most important challenges for the University in fundraising is to maintain a sense of institutional purpose and direction that only the president and provost can provide and to be able to maintain that until the a new president and provost are found," Nahm said. The University, which has received millions of dollars from the state in the past, looks as though it may not be receiving large sums of state funding anymore. "The biggest challenges are right now because the actions of the state," Hackney said. "We are runnning the biggest budget deficit we have ever run and we see the need to slim down the administrative structure of the University. "We need to take costs out of the budget and we have a process that is in place that will do that during the next three to five years," he added. "That is the challenge."
(04/13/93 9:00am)
Executive Vice President Janet Hale, the University's new chief financial officer, is adjusting well to University life after a little over a week behind her desk in the Franklin Building. Hale, who comes to the University after 12 years in various posts in the U.S. government, said she has "loved" her introduction to the University. "It's a tremendous institution with terrific faculty and students and staff who've made me feel very welcome," Hale said. "It's a terrific institution, which is something I knew when I interviewed for this job." Hale said it is too soon to tell exactly how much her University post differs from her former jobs in government, but she said there are some similarities. "Some of the issues are the same when you have to deal with student loans and health care and those sort of issues," Hale said. "The same decision-making process goes on in Washington where you have to get good information and touch base with all the various constituencies. In a school this size, that constituency is very diverse and that same diversity exist in government." She added that she has a very strong administrative staff and that many people at the University have tried to make her transition an easy one. "Faculty have introduced themselves and tried to welcome me," she said. "People are clearly interested in the institution and are trying to make me feel welcome." Hale said she finds Philadelphia to be a very different place than her former home in Washington, D.C. "I'm used to Washington which has so many monuments and open space and parks," she said. "[Philadelphia] is much more of a traditional eastern urban center with all the diversity of neighborhoods that entails. It's exciting." Hale said she thinks that the University's long-term financial goals deal with how the institution can better spend its money to support its research and academic missions. She added that she is not sure how her goal can be implemented, but that there are several interesting projects currently being investigated. "There are a number of projects out there that could help the administration do things better," Hale said. "We need to explore ways to cut administrative cost and funnel more tuition dollars back into research and to support the University's academic mission." Hale said she is not worried about the loss of several top University administrators over the next few months, including President Sheldon Hackney, who was named yesterday to head the National Endowment for the Humanities. "Clearly, as administrators leave there will be a loss of those individuals," she said. "But I think that the institution is very forward-looking and it will continue moving ahead. Something that I learned in Washington is that a few individuals do not make the federal government and the same is true at the University." Hale's first official public appearance was last week as she spoke at a Panhellenic Council rally for better safety and housing, two issues she said were very important to her. "If students and faculty don't feel safe walking across campus then this is something we at the University can't afford to neglect," she said. "I think this is an area where we can make an immediate difference." Hale added that she thinks some new lighting has already been installed to increase security. Hale said she thought she had a good sense of the University community even before assuming her new job because the interview process she went through before getting the post allowed her to meet with students, facutly and staff from all facets of the University. "When you go through an interview process like I did before coming here, you have a good chance to meet and to understand people," Hale said. "I wasn't surprised by anything." Hale said that 10 years from now she hopes to "see the University even stronger than today," with "an international student body and with all the strengths it currently has." Hale is currently working with former Acting Executive Vice President John Gould to "learn the ropes" of her position. Gould will return to his previous post as executive director of the president's office in a couple of weeks, Hale said.
(04/13/93 9:00am)
President Sheldon Hackney yesterday named University of Michigan Social Work Professor Ira Schwartz to be the next dean of the University's School of Social Work. The announcement comes after a year and a half search to find a replacement for Dean Michael Austin, who left the University in June 1992 for the University of California at Berkeley. Schwartz, an expert in the study of juvenile justice, child welfare and children's mental health, will become dean of the shool on August 1, Hackney said in a statement yesterday. Schwartz has served as director of the Center for the Study of Youth Policy and a professor of social work at the University of Michigan since 1987. "Ira Schwartz will continue the momentum of research, education and service that has made Penn's School of Social Work among the nation's best," Hackney said in a statement. "Beyond his distinguished reputation and credentials, his commitment to active participation in the evolution of the social work profession made him the right person to become dean of the school." Schwartz could not be reached for comment yesterday but said in a statement released by the University that "it will be a privilege" to work at the school. "Penn's School of Social Work has a wonderful reputation both academically and professionally," Schwartz said. "A very strong foundation already exists and I will be able to build upon the strengths and concentrate on developing research capabilities." Provost Michael Aiken said in the statement that he expects Schwartz to build upon the school's existing resources. "He brings with him outstanding qualities of leadership and vision," Aiken said. "We look to him to build on the School's excellent base, taking it to new heights." Peter Vaughan, acting dean of the school of social work, said yesterday he is glad that a dean has been chosen for the school and will return to his former post as associate dean when Schwartz arrives at the University in August. Vaughan said he has never met Schwartz and was not part of the search committee that recommended Schwartz for the deanship, but that he looks forward to working with him. "I look forward to being as helpful to him as I've always been to [other deans]," Vaughan said yesterday. Vaughan added that he was "never a contender" for the deanship. "I chose not to do that," he said. Schwartz was a senior fellow and director of the Center for the Study of Youth Policy in the Hubert Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota from 1981 to 1987. From 1978 to 1981 Schwartz served as administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquincy Prevention in Washington, D.C. Prior to this, he was executive director of the Washington Council on Crime and Delinquincy in Seatle, Wash. Schwartz has done training and consulting in the areas of juvenile and adult criminal justice for organizations both in the U.S. and abroad. He has also provided consultation to the Ford Foundation, the Lily Endowment, the Kellogg Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Raskob Foundation, the National Center for Youth Law and the Child Welfare League of America. Schwartz has several awards including the Child Advocacy Award of the American Psychological Association.
(03/26/93 10:00am)
The University's Veterinary School will likely receive $3.6 million from the state, despite the defeat earlier this week of a bill that would have given the school $15 million, Commonwealth Relations Director Paul Cribbins said yesterday. Cribbins said that the state agriculture department included the Vet School in its portion of the $136 million request for preferred supplemental appropriations made by Gov. Robert Casey for the current fiscal year. Preferred supplemental appropriations consist primarily of money requested by state departments. The governor's funding request was passed by the House Wednesday and sent to the State Senate for consideration. Representative Joseph Pitts (R.-Talmidge), Republican House Appropriations Chairperson, tried to have an amendment tacked on to the preferred supplemental appropriations package that would have restored $15 million to the Vet School for the current fiscal year. The amendment was defeated 102-96 earlier this week, in what House Appropriations Executive Director Michael Rosenstein said was "a classic split-party vote." Cribbins said that this defeat does not necessarily signify strong opposition to a restoration of state funding for the University. "I think [Wednesday's vote] was the beginning step in a process to negotiate supplemental appropriations," Cribbins said. "I think we are still hopeful of our chances of receiving funding." Cribbins said the amendment was defeated because the Democratically-controlled House wanted to send Casey's request for supplemental appropriations to the Senate without any additions. "I think [the Democrats] wanted to send that bill over [to the Senate] without any amendments," he said. "The Republicans were unsuccessful in passing any amendments to that bill. "Many Democrats stood up on the floor [of the House] and said that there were many good amendments proposed but that they wanted to move it over to [the Senate]" he added. "We're still hopeful the final figures will show support for the University." Cribbins also said that the Senate will have a chance to add items to the bill, but that it "is difficult to predict what will happen." There is still money in non-preferred supplemental appropriations which the state legislature can appropriate at its discretion and which could be used to fund the University. Last month, a bill passed the Senate by unanimous vote that would, if enacted, restore $36.3 million to the University. This bill, part of a 10-bill, $70 million package sponsored by State Senator Vincent Fumo (D-Phila.), is currently awaiting action by the House Appropriations Committee. Fumo spokesperson Jim Hertzler said earlier this week that the bills are essentially "stuck" and that there has been no action on any of them. In addition to the Fumo bill, a few other bills that would restore varying amounts of funding to the University are pending in the House, Cribbins said. "Bills are just vehicles," Cribbins said. "There are a lot of different proposals out there from different caucuses, but once an agreement has been reached I think one of those bills will move forward." Cribbins added that he does not know when action will be taken on University funding, but that it will probably not occur before the legislature's Easter recess at the end of next week.
(03/25/93 10:00am)
A bill to appropriate over $15 million to the Veterinary School for the current fiscal year was defeated yesterday in the State House of Representatives by a vote of 102 to 96. The bill, proposed by House Appropriations Republican Chairman Joseph Pitts (R-Talmidge), would have included funding for the University along with a $136 million supplemental appropriation request made by Gov. Robert Casey. Approximately $70 million in supplemental appropriations are left to the discretion of the legislature. The University would have received part of this sum had yesterday's bill been passed. Pitts' bill was defeated in a vote that split the House along party lines with Republicans voting for the bill and Democrats against it, House Appropriations Executive Director Michael Rosenstein said yesterday. "It was defeated in a classic example of a split-party vote," Rosenstein said. A spokesperson for State Senator Vincent Fumo (D-Phila.) said that while he does not think the University's fight for this year's state funding is over, the odds may not be good. The University is currently running a $16.5 million deficit because of the lack of this year's state funding and is planning at least an $18.5 million deficit for next year because of the absence of state appropriations. The University lost $37 million when the state legislature refused to include the University in its final fiscal year 1992-93 budget. The elimination of state money for the University followed Gov. Robert Casey's February 1992 recommendation that the University receive no state funding. This year, Casey ignored the University again in his proposed budget and in his original supplemental appropriation request for the current fiscal year. The strong party division on the issue of state funding for the University evident in yesterday's vote, as well as the House's Democratic majority, make it unlikely that funding will be restored to the University for the current fiscal year, according to some legislative experts. A similar bill passed unanimously by the State Senate in January would, if enacted, restore $36.3 million to the University for the current fiscal year. The bill, which is part of a 10-bill $70 million package, is currently awaiting action in the House, but no action has been taken or scheduled, the spokesperson for Fumo -- who sponsored the bill -- said yesterday. "The House hasn't moved [the bill] at all," Jim Hertzler said. "There are 10 bills and not one has been acted on." Hertzler said as a result of yesterday's vote, it will be more difficult to secure funding for the University. "I think it is safe to say Senator Fumo still advocates restoring [state funding to the University] to the extent possible," Hertzler said. "It remains to be seen when additional action might be taken." The University has requested over $42 million from the state for next fiscal year. The state legislature will soon begin finalizing the 1993-94 budget soon, Hertzler said. University officials have said previously that the best indicator of how the legislature would vote on next year's appropriation is the vote on the restoration of funding for this year. Paul Cribbins, director of Commonwealth relations for the University, was in Harrisburg and could not be reached for comment yesterday.
(03/22/93 10:00am)
The University's Board of Trustees unanimously approved next year's 5.9 percent undergraduate tuition and fee increase and the appointment of Janet Hale to the post of executive vice president in Friday's stated meeting. The Trustees also approved the appointment of Virginia Clark, the associate vice president for development and alumni relations, to replace Senior Vice President for Development and Planning Rick Nahm. Nahm will step down as the University's chief fundraiser in July to become president of Knox College in Illinois. Hale, who attended both the stated meeting and the Budget and Finance Committee meeting held earlier, said she is eager to get to work. Hale will officially begin her job on March 29 and is expected to be in Philadelphia again later this week. Trustees and administrators welcomed Hale to the University, offering her congragulations and advice. "Here we like to have revenues exceed expenditures," Trustee Chairperson Alvin Shoemaker joked. Hale comes to the University after 12 years in various posts in the federal government including the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 1989, Hale testified before a Congressional subcommittee investigating favoritism and mismanagement at HUD about her role in two HUD scandals, one of which eventually cost the government several million dollars. In other action, the Trustees approved $717,000 to complete exterior renovations to Kings Court Residence Hall, $264,000 to replace furniture in Kings Court and $500,000 for other capital improvements to Kings Court, English House, High Rise South and the parts of the Quadrangle. Trustees also voted to spend over $1 million to renovate the John Morgan Building of the Medical School and to commit an additional $947,000 to further planning and design for the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology building, which is likely to replace Smith Hall on Smith Walk. Budget Director Stephen Golding briefed the Budget and Finance Committee on the proposed University budget for fiscal year 1993-94. Golding assured them that the five schools that have not yet balanced their budgets will do so and that the University will only run an $18.5 million deficit. Currently, there is $25 million out of balance in the University's budget figures. "It will not be easy," Golding said. "There will be a lot of hard work but we will balance those budgets." Trustees asked Golding if the University's increasing dependence on tuition for unrestricted funds -- money which is used by the University for financial aid and wherever else it is most needed -- will be a long-term trend. "For the next couple of years tuition will be an increasingly important part of the budget," Golding responded, adding that there is a committee studying alternative sources for unrestricted funding. Golding said that the lack of unrestricted funds puts the University at "a competitive disadvantage" in offering financial aid packages comparable to those offered by other Ivy League schools. Golding also said that while the University has made gains in offering in competitive salary and benefits packages to faculty, several faculty members may still be lost to other schools. "A number of very interesting offers are being made to a number of our faculty," Golding said. "We are working with the deans of the schools to address those packages."
(03/19/93 10:00am)
The University Trustees are expected to confirm the appointment of Janet Hale to the post of executive vice president in their stated meeting this afternoon, Secretary Barbara Stevens said yesterday. "We're expecting that she'll be confirmed with no problem," Stevens said. "[The Trustees] are looking forward to her being here." Hale worked in the federal government for over 12 years. Her most recent job was associate director for economics and government at the Office of Management and Budget, which she left in January after almost four years. Prior to working at OMB, Hale had jobs at the Department of Transportation from 1986 to 1989, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1981 to 1986. In 1989, Hale testified before a Congressional subcommittee investigating favoritism and mismanagement at HUD about her role in two HUD controversies. One of these questionable actions, the mismanagement of a HUD-backed housing insurance program, eventually cost the government several hundred million dollars. Stuart Weisberg, staff director and general counsel to the House Government Operations subcommittee on employment and housing, told The Philadelphia Inquirer last month that this program was "one of the most fraud-prone programs and one of the biggest financial disasters for HUD." Weisberg also said that Hale was neither "a hero" or "a villain" in the HUD scandals and that she herself had never been under Congressional investigation. University officials who interviewed Hale for the job, including President Sheldon Hackney, said last month that they had no knowledge of her testimony before Congress with regard to the HUD scandals. Many University administrators said that they had assumed Diversified Search, the executive search firm that the University hired to find candidates for the job, would not have picked Hale as a candidate if they discovered Hale's actions were questionable. But Judy von Seldeneck, a Diversified official who worked on the five-month long Executive Vice President Search, said last month that the firm had not delved into the specifics of Hale's testimony before Congress about HUD. "It didn't seem important to [Hale] or anyone else we spoke to so we thought it wasn't an issue," von Seldeneck said at the time. Von Seldeneck added that top University officials knew that Hale had been at HUD during the time of the HUD scandals. Hackney said last month that he was aware that Hale was at HUD during a period of "some inconsistencies." Hale said last month that she had been "totally forthcoming" about her role at HUD. Von Seldeneck said that Diversified selected Hale as a candidate after she received exemplarly personal recommendations from several former top government officials, including former OMB Director Richard Darman and former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole. She added that these references convinced Diversified that Hale's judgement was sound. Mimi Eckert, the office manager of The Association of Executive Search Consultants, a trade organization to which Diversified belongs, said earlier this month that a "reputable" search firm should have looked into the details of Hale's actions at HUD. Despite reports of Hale's questionable dealings at HUD, faculty members, student leaders and administrators said they are looking forward to Hale's arrival on campus late this month. Hale will replace former Executive Vice President Marna Whittington, who left the University last September, as the University's chief administrative officer. "[Hale] had a basic grasp of student concerns and she seemed open to our ideas," said Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Jeff Lichtman, who also interviewed Hale. "I think we are excited to work with her. Hopefully, she will carry on the tradition of Dr. Whittington in really working with students." Hackney said last month that any worries he might have had about Hale had been "assuaged" and that he was looking forward to her arrival on campus. Hale said she is also eager to come to the University. "I am very excited about coming to the University," she said last month. "It's a great institution with wonderful faculty and students." University officials said earlier this week that Hale would be behind her desk in the Franklin Building by April 1. At OMB Hale oversaw the budgets of the departments of the Treasury, Transportation, Commerce, Justice, and 25 smaller agencies. The combined total of these budgets was over $70 billion. The University's current $1.5 billion budget is about two percent of that figure. Trustees will also vote on the proposed 5.9 percent tuition and fees increases for the next fiscal year. Stevens said they are expected to approve the increase. The Trustee Budget and Finance Executive Committee will meet today at 1:30 p.m. in the Faculty Club. The stated meeting will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the same place.
(03/18/93 10:00am)
The University plans to run a $25 million deficit in the coming fiscal year, making this the second year in a row that the University has budgeted a deficit after 17 years of balanced budgets, University officials announced yesterday. "Things are extremely tight right now," Budget Director Stephen Golding said yesterday. The University is currently running a $19.5 million deficit necessitated by the state legislature's refusal last year to grant the University any funding after it had appropriated more than $37 million the year before. Administrators are hoping that large portions of both deficits can be erased by the restoration of state funding. Otherwise, the University could be faced with a total two-year shortfall of almost $45 million. Nearly 75 percent of next year's proposed deficit -- $18.5 million -- can be attributed to the anticipated lack of state funding for the University's Veterinary School. But Golding said that the remaining $6.5 million of the deficit could be saved if all of the University's schools can balance their budgets by July. Five schools, including three of the University's four undergraduate schools, failed to balance their budgets as of Monday, Golding said. Golding added that he thinks most of the schools will be able to balance their budgets by the end of the current fiscal year and that the final 1993-94 fiscal year budgeted deficit could be reduced to $18.5 million. "At this point it is up to the schools," Provost Michael Aiken said. "It is conceivable that some schools, particularly the undergraduate schools with their large financial aid burdens, may have some trouble." Aiken said that administrators are concerned about continuing to run a deficit but that the only other alternative would be to reduce the Vet School to "a shadow of its current self." Aiken and Golding briefed faculty and staff on the new budget at an open forum in the Lauder-Fisher Hall Amphitheater yesterday. A briefing will be held for students in the amphitheater today at noon. President Sheldon Hackney, who attended a similar budget briefing last year, was not at yesterday's session. The budget seeks to maintain the academic mission of the University, administrators said, by protecting both educational and research initiatives, but they admit it will be a "very tough year." "Putting together the budget for the 1994 fiscal year has the most difficult [budgeting] task since I've been provost," Aiken said yesterday. Undergraduate tuition and fees are budgeted to increase at 5.9 percent, the same rate of increase as last year. This would raise undergraduate tuition and fees by $1,000 to approximately $17,838. The cost of residential living will increase an average of 4.2 percent which includes a $70 charge to support hard wiring of University residences for cable televison and voice and data transmision. Students living in wired rooms will pay an additional $70 beyond this figure to cover installation and service. The University is investing a one-time cost of $8 million in the project to wire the residences and to provide e-mail accounts for all students and faculty. The budget also insures a "competitive" faculty salary structure, with an average faculty and staff salary increase of two and a half percent above inflation. The University has also budgeted $4 million in order to comply with new federal accounting standard on health care benefits for University retirees. The University also will remain committed to need-blind undregraduate admissions by spending $37 million on student aid, an increase of 12 percent over the current fiscal year. Aiken said the University will also try to honor the pact made with Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell to provide 500 Mayor's Scholarships to Philadelphia students despite the ruling on the Mayor's Scholarship case which stated the University is only required to provide 125 scholarships at a given time. The University will continue to devote financial resources and staff to endowment building beyond the end of the ongoing $1 billion capital campaign which is currently at $944 million and is expected to reach the $1 billion goal in June. Nearly 80 percent of the current fiscal year's $19.5 million deficit is the result of the Vet School's loss of $16.5 million, or 40 percent of its operating budget, in state funding cuts. Despite continued lobbying of the state legislature for restoration of this funding, the University has seen no state money thus far. And although the University had requested over $42 million for next fiscal year, last month Gov. Robert Casey recommended that the University receive no money. The University received no funding for the current fiscal year after Casey made a similar recommendation to the legislature in February 1992. The University budget is based on the assumption that the state will not fund the University, Aiken and Golding said. University administrators said they are hopeful that some funding for the current fiscal year will be restored and that the state legislature will then decide to grant all or part of the University's funding request for next fiscal year. A bill that passed the State Senate in late January would, if enacted, restore $36.3 million to the University for the current fiscal year. The bill is currently before the State House of Representatives, and no action is expected on the bill until later this month or early April, House officials said earlier this week. This would relieve much of the funding pressure on the University, administrators said yesterday. The University Trustees will vote on the proposed budget in their annual March meeting on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in the Faculty Club.
(03/17/93 10:00am)
Administrators will brief faculty and staff on the University's proposed budget for next fiscal year and their plan to deal with the possibility of a second year without state funding at noon today. President Sheldon Hackney would not reveal details of the budget plan but said yesterday that it will be "pretty stringent." "We've seen this year coming for some time and thought it would be tough and as we put [the budget] together we found that prediction to be true." Hackney added that the University is running behind the normal budgeting schedule for this year and attributed the delay to new federal accounting rules and the problems with state funding for the University. "We're not quite as put together as we like to be at this time of the year," Hackney said. Among the items to be announced at tomorrow's briefing is next year's tuition and fees increase. Last year, tuition and fees rose 5.9 percent, or $944, to a total of $16,838. This was the lowest tuition increase since 1974 and followed a recent trend of decreasing rates of tuition increases. A briefing for students will be held at noon in the Lauder-Fisher Hall Amphitheater on Thursday. The University Trustees will then vote on the tuition increase and budget proposal in their annual March meeting on Friday at 2 p.m. in the Faculty Club. This year, the University grappled with a $19.5 million deficit made necessary by the state legislature's refusal to provide a requested $41 million in funding to the University. The University's Veterinary School was hit especially hard by the loss of state funding, losing 40 percent of its operating budget. The University remains committed to keeping the school open until members of its 1997 graduating class complete their education at the school. The Vet School is budgeted to carry a deficit again in the upcoming fiscal year, Hackney said. The University has continued to lobby the state throughout the year for restoration of this funding, but so far it has seen no state money. "I think that the governor and the legislature will eventually recognize the need for the Vet School," Hackney said. "We hope for state funding beyond the Vet School, but it is difficult to tell at this point what will happen." A bill that would, if enacted, restore $36.3 million to the University passed the State Senate in January and is currently awaiting action in the House. "There have been no budget discussions to date on the [governor's] supplemental appropriations or the aid to private higher education," a House appropriations official said yesterday. Officials in both the House and Senate said yesterday that Gov. Robert Casey must come to the legislature with his request for supplemental funding for the current fiscal year by the time of the legislature's Easter recess. Some University funding might be restored as part of that supplemental package, legislative aides said. The University has also requested over $42 million from the state for the upcoming 1993-94 fiscal year. Casey recommended last month that the University receive none of this money. It was similar action by Casey in February 1992 that preceeded the state legislature's decision to deny the University's request for funding in the current fiscal year. On Friday, the Trustees will also vote on whether to confirm the appointment of Janet Hale as new executive vice president, the University's chief financial officer. Today's budget announcement will take place in the Lauder-Fisher Hall Amphitheater. All faculty and staff are invited to attend.
(03/05/93 10:00am)
The search firm which recommended newly-named Executive Vice President Janet Hale to the University should have researched the details of Hale's record at HUD, officials at a national organization of search firms said yesterday. The Association of Executive Search Consultants is a trade organization of over 80 executive search firms including Diversified Search -- the local firm used by the University. Members of the association must meet strict membership requirements and follow a stringent code of professional conduct and ethics, according to association officials. Association spokesperson Mimi Eckert said that a "reputable" search firm should have looked into the details of Hale's conduct and that she would be "surprised" if any of their member firms had failed to do so. "Any one of our member firms would have looked into this matter [at HUD] and presented all the information to their clients," Eckert said yesterday. Hale was questioned by Congress in 1989 about her role in two U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development controversies including the mismanagement of a HUD-backed insurance program that eventually cost the government several hundred million dollars. University officials said last month that they were unaware of the specifics of Hale's role at HUD and did not know the content of her testimony before Congress. Many also said they assumed that the search firm would have found anything questionable in Hale's background if it existed. But employees at Diversified Search said last week that they did not check the specifics of Hale's actions at HUD after Hale received exemplary recommendations from top government officials. These officials included former Office of Management and Budget Director Richard Darman and American Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole. Hale worked with Dole from 1986 to 1989 when Dole was Secretary of Transportation and she worked under Darman at OMB from 1989 until January. Judy von Seldeneck, a Diversified Search official, said yesterday that key University officials were told that Hale worked at HUD and worked under Secretary Samuel Pierce, a leading figure in the HUD scandals. But von Seldeneck said last week that Diversified Search had not researched news clippings and congressional records of Hale's testimony on the HUD scandals. "It didn't seem important to her or anyone else we spoke to so we thought it wasn't an issue and I'm still not sure why it is an issue," she said last week. She added that Diversified does not usually check newspaper reports and relies primarily on extensive referencing. Eckert said that "very thorough" reference checks should be the first step of any search and that this referencing should "carry the most weight in evaluating any candidate." She also said that news clippings should rarely be used as primary source in a search because their accuracy depends too heavily on the quality of the reporting involved. But Eckert added that if there was an issue of questionable dealings or even reason to suspect that there might be controversial actions, then news reports might be used for background and the firm should investigate the specifics of the case in detail. "The firm could very well [look at news reports] if there was an issue," Eckert said. "I would imagine that they would definitely do that." Eckert also said that a good search firm should present a balanced portrait of any candidate they present to a potential employer. "A reputable search firm will present information that is not complimentary to the candidate," she said. "They may or may not give an opinion of what that information means but they will present it."
(02/26/93 10:00am)
Officials at the search firm that recommended newly-named Executive Vice President Janet Hale to the University as a candidate for the post said yesterday they did not fully investigate the details of Hale's role at HUD. Judy Vanselnik, a Diversified Search employee who worked to fill the University's executive vice president vacancy, said the firm did not check on the specifics of Hale's involvement in controversies at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because the firm received exemplary personal recommendations from key government administrators. Hale, who served at HUD from 1981 to 1986, was a witness in the 1989 congressional investigation into mismanagement and favoritism at that department. She was questioned about her role in two HUD controversies, one which eventually cost the government several hundred million dollars. Earlier this week, many University officials including President Sheldon Hackney said they had no knowledge of Hale's HUD dealings or had only "a vague awareness" of it. And many said they simply had assumed that the search firm would not have recommended Hale if the questions surrounding her role at HUD had been substantive. Vanselnik said that American Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole personally recommended Hale for the job. Dole was Secretary of Transportation when Hale worked in the department from 1986 to 1989. Hale also received "the highest possible personal recommendation" from Richard Darman, the former director of the Office and Management and Budget under President Bush, she added. Hale was an associate director at OMB from 1989 until December. Both Dole and Darman were unavailable for comment yesterday. Vanselnik said key University officials were given a background summary that included a description of Hale's position under former-HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce. Hale was HUD's assistant deputy secretary for nine months in 1985 and 1986. "I think the people who needed to know knew that she had been at HUD and were aware that there had been some issues," Vanselnik said. Hale said yesterday that she told the firm of her dealings at HUD and her testimony before the congressional subcommittee investigating the HUD scandal. "I told [Diversified Search] that I had testified in front of Congress and that I was cooperating fully with the special prosecutor," Hale said. "You have to remember, I was a witness, not a target." Vanselnik said that Hackney spoke about Hale "extensively" with Dole and Darman prior to selecting her for the job. Vanselnik added that after Hale received such high recommendations from top government officials, the company assumed there was nothing questionable in her record. "It didn't seem important to her or anyone else we spoke to so we thought it wasn't an issue and I'm still not sure why it is an issue," she said. "We did not go get the news clippings," she added. "Many of the people we were talking to for this job were high level people who testified [before Congress] throughout their careers. It would be ridiculous to go back and look at their testimony in every single case." Vanselnik said searching through news reports and congressional records would be "a mammoth thing" and that Diversified Search relies mostly on extensive referencing in all of their searches. Vanselnik said she had never heard of the NEXIS database -- the reference resource The Daily Pennsylvanian used to find information on Hale's dealings throughout her career. She added that Diversified Search would never present a candidate whose reputation was "in a cloud" and said the firm disqualified some candidates because they were deemed too controversial. "I don't know where we went wrong here if we did go wrong here," she said. "The point is she didn't try to hide anything from anybody." Vanselnik also said that her firm assumed it could trust people who had worked so closely with the President's office and had "security clearance and all that." Hale said yesterday that it was "a pleasure" to have worked with both Dole and Darman when she worked at the Department of Transportation from 1986 to 1989 and at the Office of Management and Budget from 1989 to 1992. "Elizabeth Dole is one of the finest adminstrators I have ever worked for," Hale said. "And Dick Darman is wonderfully intelligent, able to manage complex issues and has a strong sense of public service. He is just a tremendous individual. I am honored that those individuals have such confidence in me and my abilities."
(02/25/93 10:00am)
University Trustees and administrators said yesterday they did not know that newly-named Executive Vice President Janet Hale was close to the scandals that occurred at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the 1980s. And those officials who interviewed Hale prior to her selection, including President Sheldon Hackney, said there was little on Hale's actions at HUD in the background provided by the search firm hired to find candidates for the job. Many said they interpreted the absence of this information to mean that Hale's actions at HUD were never an important issue. Vice President for Finance Selimo Rael said yesterday he does not know exactly what the search firm knew about Hale's HUD activities. "[Knowlege of her role at HUD] would not have changed my view of her assuming the search firm had investigated it thoroughly," Rael said. "I don't know that they did or didn't do that." Hale worked at HUD from 1981 to 1986, serving as assistant deputy secretary of the department during her last year there. Hale was questioned by a congressional subcommittee in 1989 about her part in two cases of HUD favoritism and mismanagement, including poor underwriting practices at a government backed co-insurance program that eventually cost the federal government more than $500 million. Susan Catherwood, secretary of the University's Board of Trustees, was one of the many who interviewed Hale prior to her selection as the University's next chief financial officer. Catherwood said earlier this week that she finds Hale to be "a wonderful successor" to former Executive Vice President Marna Whittington, who left the University last September. Catherwood said she had no knowledge of Hale's role at HUD. "I don't believe [Hale had] any role in those scandals," she said. "I have totally no knowledge about it." Trustee Stephen Heyman said he had not heard that Hale had testified before a congressional subcommittee investigating HUD, but said he is interested in finding out more. "I have not had an opportunity to call the friend in Washington I wanted to talk to," Heyman said yesterday. "But I want to say that a lot of people who went to work for HUD were implicated in these scandals and were actually innocent of anything." In an unlikely twist, Trustee Emeritus Arlin Adams -- the indepedent counsel investigating criminal wrongdoing in HUD mismanagement -- said yesterday that he was unaware that Hale had been chosen to be executive vice president. Adams said he could not legally comment on whether Hale is or has ever been under investigation by his office, but he added that grand jury proceedings and prosecutions in the HUD affair are ongoing. "I personally did not have any dealings with Janet Hale," Adams said. Hale said earlier this week that she is "cooperating fully" with the independent counsel and has been in contact with Adams' office on several occasions. Adams confirmed that a federal case against Hale's immediate superior at HUD, Deborah Gore Dean, would be coming to trial soon, but said he could not comment on whether Hale would be called as a witness. "I'm not handling that prosecution personally," Adams said. Rick Nahm, senior vice president for planning and development, said he interviewed Hale and found that she is "very sensitive to the Penn culture." He added he did not know about Hale's specific involvement with HUD. "I was not aware of any [involvement with HUD scandals] from talking to her or from background material," Nahm said. "I had no knowledge then nor do I have any knowledge now of [Hale's] role in any scandal," Provost Michael Aiken said earlier this week. Aiken also interviewed Hale.
(02/24/93 10:00am)
Newly-named Executive Vice President Janet Hale was close to a series of scandals that shook the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the late 1980s, according to newspaper accounts and congressional records. Hale served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Housing at HUD from 1985 to 1986 and as an associate director of the White House Office of Management and Budget from 1989 to 1992. She also served three years in the Department of Transportation. Hale testified before Congress during the summer of 1989 about her role in two HUD controversies -- the funding of a Durham, N.C., housing project and the management of a housing-loan insurance program, according to transcripts of her testimony. President Sheldon Hackney said yesterday that he continues to be confident in Hale's abilities. "She's really quite an able individual and I trust fully in her judgement and abilities," Hackney said. He said that while he was interviewing Hale he knew she had worked for HUD, but was unaware of her role in the investigations of the HUD scandals. "It occurred to me that she was at HUD when some inconsistencies happened there," he said. "But it was my understanding she came forward and that she has performed in such an exemplary manner since then. All my worries were assuaged." Hackney said that "in hindsight it might have been better if some of these things had come to light earlier." According to news accounts, Hale approved a key rent-ceiling waiver for an $11 million HUD project in Durham, despite objections from HUD staffers who said that there was environmental waste buried near the site and that the city's mayor was a friend of then-HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce. Hale told Congress that she signed off on the project -- despite her own objections -- after a HUD official told her the waste was cleaned up and Pierce ordered her to sign the document, according to transcripts of Hale's congressional testimony. Hale said yesterday that she was in "a very tough situation" at the time. "I thought about leaving [HUD]," Hale said. "But I looked at the range of activities I was involved in and decided I could do a better job by staying." Hale's predecessor at HUD, Shirley Wiseman, left because of the same issue. Hale also said that at the time she was not aware of the friendship between Pierce and Markham, the Durham mayor. "This project was a cornerstone of urban revitalization for the city of Durham," she said. "All I knew was that [Markham] was an elected official. Elected officials call federal agencies all of the time." Hale added that she "made sure there was nothing illegal" before signing the waiver. The congressional subcomittee headed by Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) that investigated the HUD scandals also questioned Hale about her rejection of a 1985 report by HUD Inspector General Paul Adams. The report recommended suspension of a HUD-backed co-insurance program run through the DRG Funding Corporation, according to a story which appeared in The Boston Globe in 1989. Adams testified that Hale had called the report "premature, unjustified and unfair," according to transcripts of Adams' testimony. Hale said yesterday that she did not recall saying that. According to Adams' testimony, DRG's poor underwriting practices were first cited in his 1985 report and later contributed to a 29-percent default rate for co-insured loans. This cost the government over $500 million, according to news reports. DRG was still operating when Hale left HUD, but went out of business shortly after her departure, Hale said yesterday. "I thought the DRG issues were very important," Hale said. "When we set up the co-insurance program I said that it had to be managed and had to be supervised properly. I thought there had to be competent and qualified staff overseeing it." But Hale said that some of the problems resulted because HUD was having "a hard time staffing the office." She also said that while she knew there was an inspector general's report, she did not sign the document. "I didn't sign that report," Hale said. "The housing staff [of HUD] that reviewed the report found problems with it and if I had read and signed that report, I would have changed the tone of it. But I did not [sign it]. One of my assistants signed that report on my behalf." She also said she had never been under congressional investigation and that Congress made no allegations against her. But congressional officials claimed that Pierce allowed DRG to escape normal regulation without clearance from HUD. "This was done right before I became Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary," Hale added. "DRG was using very lax underwriting standards and taking risks we didn't agree with." Prior to testifying before Congress, Hale -- who was then in charge of a part of OMB that oversees HUD funding -- said she told then-Budget Director Richard Darman that she would resign rather than risk accusations of conflict of interest that might embarrass the President or the OMB. Hale said she and Darman eventually agreed that she should remove herself from any OMB business relating to the HUD scandal. But according to news reports in both The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Boston Globe, Darman ordered Hale to remove herself from issues pertaining to the HUD scandal. The papers also stated that Hale continued to work on HUD matters not directly connected with the developing scandal. Lantos aide Stuart Weisberg said yesterday that all reports of the congressional investigation of HUD have been turned over to independent counsel Arlin Adams. A legal aide to Adams -- who is a University Trustee Emeritus -- said she could not comment on any ongoing grand jury investigations pertaining to the HUD scandal. Hale said she is "cooperating fully" with Adams and that to her knowlege she is not under investigation by his office. Several federal cases are still pending against Hale's former superiors at HUD. Hale said she is pleased that Congress has passed legislation reforming HUD practices in recent years. "I think [HUD] is changing, and I think it needs to change," Hale said. "A lot of reforms are making a difference." Other University officials said they had no knowledge of any questionable actions in Hale's past or were only "vaguely aware" of any issues related to the HUD scandals. And many said they are very excited about Hale and her appointment. One said he liked her "impeccable credentials and demeanor." Hale said she is looking forward to getting to work behind her Franklin Building desk in March. "I am very excited about coming to the University," Hale said. "It's a great institution with wonderful faculty and students."
(02/18/93 10:00am)
Many think that after four years and $100,000 they have paid their dues to the University. But as the student callers who have been volunteering for the Penn Fund for the last six days reminded alumni, they are not off the hook yet. The Penn Fund consists of unrestricted annual gifts given by alumni to the University. The University uses this money wherever it is most needed, often helping to provide financial aid, campus maintenance, innovative teaching support and enhancements to student life. The Penn Fund solicits money from undergraduate alumni with a past history of annual giving twice a year -- once in the fall when other alumni call, and once in the spring when students make the calls, Penn Fund Officer Wendy Larossa said yesterday. "We call everybody from the class of '92 all the way back to the class of '31 with the exception of reunion classes," Larossa said. She said that during the six days of student calling, which concluded yesterday, students averaged over 3,000 calls a night and often spoke with over 1,000 alumni. The Penn Fund received over $160,000 in donations during the six day phonathon, Larossa said. The yearly goal for annual giving is $300,000. This money is counted toward the University's $1 billion capital fund campaign, but is only used for unrestricted purposes, she added. "We try to start off by asking for either 25 or 50 percent more than the person gave the year before," Larossa said. "We work our way down from there. The usual donations range from $25 to several hundred dollars." She added that the totals per night ranged from $15,000 to $53,000. She also said that 1954 Wharton alumnus Leonard Lauder had set up a program called "The Young Alumni Challenge" and has agreed to match every donation given by those who have graduated in the past decade with a $25 gift of his own. He has also agreed to match every donation over the $300,000 goal dollar for dollar. Student callers consist of 30 to 40 volunteers each night, Larossa said. They come from fraternities, sororities and campus organizations which Larossa asks to donate time to the Penn Fund, Larossa said. In exchange for their time, callers receive a free dinner at the Faculty Club and the top callers each night receive prizes donated by local businesses. There is a grand prize for the top caller overall and the top three organizations receive $100 each. Most student callers last night said they enjoyed working for the Penn Fund, although alumni were occassionally rude to them on the phone. "I think it's fun to call people," College freshman Lindsey Kaser. "I like selling things and I like trying to get people to give money." Kaser said most alumni were receptive but one said that he had "given too much to this damn school already." Many said they think their work helps their organizations and the University. "I think the Penn Fund is a great idea for having the Greeks come together to keep alumni involved in supporting the University," College freshman Pamela Bierman said. Other callers said they were frustrated by the number of alumni they were unable to reach. "It's kind of disappointing," College freshman Greg Buck said. "This is more time-consuming than exciting." Larossa said that the final totals for the spring phonathon will be available within the next few days.
(02/16/93 10:00am)
With news of another top University administrator leaving for greener pastures and President Sheldon Hackney's own future in question, a lot of aquatic analogies have been floating around campus this week. "The University is a very liquid institution," a student leader declared. "It's the natural ebb and flow of things," a faculty member said. "It's a lot like a supertanker," one University administrator explained. "It doesn't always matter who's on the bridge shouting 'full right rudder' because the ship doesn't respond for another 80 miles. It has momentum." And momentum is what most University officials said they are counting on to keep the University from foundering as it steers through the potentially choppy sea of transition ahead. · When Senior Vice President of Planning and Development Rick Nahm was named president of Knox College last week, he joined Provost Michael Aiken and former Executive Vice President Marna Whittington to become the third major University official to leave since September. And rumors of enticing government positions continue to circulate around Hackney, who has been at the University for 12 years -- longer than any other current Ivy League president. But Hackney said yesterday he is committed to the University and he is sure that the administrative changes will go smoothly. "I will do nothing that would damage the University," Hackney said. "I've put too much of my heart and soul into the place to allow that to happen." Hackney added that he is aware of pressure to "restaff" the University quickly and said that the search for Whittington's replacement is nearing completion. "It's a matter of being able to change leadership without losing any momentum," Hackney said. "I am confident that we are not going to suffer from a lack of leadership." Aiken said yesterday that his departure will have no long-term effect on University. "Leadership changes in institutions all the time," Aiken said. "This University is full of talented people and I'm sure a very successful set of people will succeed us. Changeover always creates uncertainty, but I don't think Penn will miss a beat." Faculty Senate Chairperson David Hildebrand said he thinks the University's depth of talent will see it through any transition. "In the short term, there will no doubt be some scrambling around," Hildebrand said. "But long term, the visible leadership parts of the University are a long way from the whole story and a lot of important decisions will continue to be made no matter what happens." Emeritus Microbiology Profesor Robert Davies put a historical perspective on the changes. "Well, it's certainly not as bad as when in 1790 or so the provost and all the faculty were fired," Davies said yesterday. "More recently, when [former Provost Vartan] Gregorian left there was a period of time when the University took some time to settle down from that traumatic situation." Davies added that it remains to be seen whether the transition will hurt the University or help it by infusing it with fresh people and ideas. "It really all depends on who goes and who comes," he said. "It also depends entirely on the results of the search process. I'm sure the University will survive. It may be awkward for a while, but that just means the [the search] committees will have to work harder." Undergraduate Assembly leaders said they are prepared to meet with "the new administration." "Obviously it is a setback to the University to see people we've been able to build a relationship with leave," UA member David Rose said yesterday. "This sort of change is expected . . . this is just a new opportunity to get a new perspective, new actions and a new outlook." University officials downplayed any similarity between what is happening at the University and events that recently occurred at Yale University. Last year, former Yale President Benno Schmidt left for a postion in private secondary education following a slew of key administrative resignations. "There is a big difference in how they left at Yale," Acting Executive Vice President John Gould said. "People resigned there because they did not like the direction the president was taking the University. [Schmidt] saw the handwriting on the wall and decided to take a convenient opportunity to jump ship and join Whittle [a private education consulting firm]." Gould said this is not the case at the University. "Here, people are simply following career goals," he said. "It has nothing to do with any internal conflict over the direction of the University. The fact that other schools are looking to people from Penn is really a compliment to the institution." Hackney said that Yale was going through "a period of turbulence" while the University is "well-positioned and in very good shape." University officials also downplayed any suggestions that recent resignations may make it harder for Hackney to decide to leave the University. "[Hackney has] done his indentured servitude and I believe he can legitimately do as he wishes," Hildebrand said. "He's important to the University, but not all-important. And while I'd be glad if he'd stay for a while, he's served the University honorably and he ought to feel free to leave whenever he wishes." Davies and Gould also said they would prefer it if Hackney stayed at the University, but that he should not feel compelled to do so. "[His departure] would certainly not make it any easier," Davies said. "But I'm sure he realizes that he has served rather longer than the mold and I'm sure he's looking for a way out. I think if he gets an offer [to leave] he would be wise to take it." "I wish that [Hackney] would stay as long as he could or wanted to stay," Gould said. "But he's been here since 1981 and he has done a great job for the University. He should feel free to take any opportunity that comes along."
(02/15/93 10:00am)
Senior Vice President for Planning and Development Rick Nahm will leave the University in late June to become president of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, Nahm said yesterday. Nahm, who came to the University in 1986, has been instrumental in organizing and managing the University's $1 billon capital capaign, President Sheldon Hackney said yesterday. "He has contributed mightily to the University of Pennsylvania," Hackney said. "He has built a very good organization in development and alumni relations." Nahm will be the third top University administrator to leave the University in the last year. Nahm said that he has always wanted to be a college president. "This is an opportunity to become president of one of the finest small colleges in the country," Nahm said. "We've had a great experience at Penn, but this is a goal I've had for a long time." Both Nahm and Hackney said the capital campaign, which has raised over $928 million to date, will not be affected by Nahm's departure. "The campaign is moving along nicely and that momentum will not slow down," Nahm said. "We have many committed volunteers. [The campaign] is much bigger than any one person." Unlike other recently vacated posts, there will be no national search to find a replacement for Nahm. Hackney said that Nahm will be replaced by Virginia Clark, associate vice president for development and alumni relations. "Virginia Clark is there and already working with development and alumni relations," Hackney said. "She will just step up and take over. We're abolishing his position and changing her title." Nahm said the departure of other top administrators had nothing to do with his own decision to leave the University. "It's simply a situation where I wanted to be a college president and the job was offered at this point," Nahm said. Nahm's appointment was officially confirmed by the Knox College Trustees on Saturday. Knox is a small liberal arts school founded in 1837. It has a total enrollment of 940 students. Nahm replaces Knox College President John McCall, who announced last April that he was retiring from an active role in higher education after 11 years at the school, Knox College Director of Communication David Amore said last week. Amore said Nahm was selected from an initial pool of over 200 applicants in a nation-wide search conducted by the consulting firm of Henrich and Struggles. "[Nahm] was selected for his particular strengths in the areas of fundraising and strategic planning," Amore added. "He also had a depth of knowledge with regards to small liberal arts colleges, was committed to the goals of liberal education and understands the Midwest. He also possesses great personal dynamism." Knox College officials said they are hoping Nahm will move forward to strengthen the college and continue its commitment to diversity and a solid liberal arts education, according to Amore. Nahm said it is premature to discuss his goals for Knox College. He added that working at the University has been one of the best experiences of his career. "It's been the most professionally satisfying experience that I've ever had," Nahm said. "I've been working with the best group of faculty and administrators that I believe exist in higher education as well as with with some very committed alumni and trustees." Nahm said the favorite part of his job has been "being involved with Penn students." Hackney said he is happy for Nahm. "The one thing in the world he wanted to do other than be the vice president of development and planning was to be a college president," Hackney said. Hackney added he is not concerned by the number of administrators leaving the University around June 30. "This is a natural sort of thing and we have a lot of other officers here at the University," Hackney said.
(02/10/93 10:00am)
HARRISBURG -- Gov. Robert Casey recommended to the state legislature for a second year in a row yesterday that the University receive no state funding next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The legislature, which is still considering restoration of some state funding to the University for the current fiscal year, will have until the end of June to decide whether or not to act on Casey's proposal. Casey, speaking during his annual budget address, dubbed his proposal "a good budget for Pennsylvania," but administrators said it is a bad budget for the University, which stands to lose critical funding again for financial aid and the Veterinary School. The University had requested over $42 million from the state. Last year, the University requested $41.2 million from the state but, like this year, Casey recommended the University get no funding and the legislature passed a budget last summer without any funding for the University. During yesterday's budget address, Casey failed to mention the University's funding request at all. Paul Cribbins, director of commonwealth relations for the University, said yesterday that Casey's decision was expected. "This is consistent with the position he took last year and that position is, unfortunately, that we should not get commonwealth money," Cribbins said. Casey's speech met with laughter and applause from lawmakers when he said "no more state money will be used to subsidize courses in basket-weaving, bridge and beers of the world" at public community colleges. But after his address, legislators seemed less amused with Casey's position. Many questioned the sincerity of his claim that he wants "an educated Pennsylvania." State Representative Matt Ryan (R-Phila.), speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives, said that Casey's failure to fund the University's Medical School and the Vet School, despite their importance to the state, demonstrates the governor's lack of commitment to higher education in the state. Casey did propose spending $1.3 billion for higher education, allocating $137.8 million to Temple University and $9.9 million to Lincoln University. Some legislators attacked Casey's oversights, as he talked about tourism while neglecting to mention agriculture, which is the state's leading industry. "The [University's] Veterinary School is very important to agriculture in this state," said State Senator Patrick Stapleton (D-Indiana), chair of the senate agriculture committee. "I am disappointed that [Casey] did not fund the school." Stapleton is part of a coalition dedicated to saving the Vet School. Stapleton aide Bob Quigley said there is strong support in the Senate for the Vet School. He cited last month's unanimous passage of a bill sponsored by State Senator Vincent Fumo (D-Phila.) that would, if enacted, restore $36.3 million to the University for the current fiscal year as evidence of that support. The bill is currently awaiting action by the House. Fumo said yesterday he is not surprised by Casey's position and he will continue to push for both a restoration of University funding for the current fiscal year and the 1993-94 fiscal year. "The governor has not changed his position so we still need to keep the pressure on him," Fumo said. "Unless we put more pressure on him, he is unlikely to change his mind." Fumo also said he will stand by his funding proposal, which would restore 96.5 percent of the University's 1991-92 fiscal year request to the University for the current fiscal year. "We have to wait until the we get into session [with the House] and negotiate about the bill," Fumo said. "Until then, I'm sticking with the 96.5 percent figure." Fumo added that he expects a long, hard fight over funding for the University. "I'm willing to negotiate, but it may require taking a tough stand and playing hard ball politics to get that money back," he said. If Fumo's bill is enacted, the University would receive funding from over $200 million in unappropriated supplemental funding currently available to the state. Cribbins said that he thinks there is strong support for University funding in the House. "We are encouraged by Representative Ryan's feeling that Penn and the other schools will be included in the [1993-94] final budget," Cribbins said. "The Vet School is especially important to the agricultural constiuencies of the state and the agricultural committees of both houses are firmly behind the school." He also said the University will have a better indication of whether it will get money for next fiscal year after the legislature decides if it will restore money for the current fiscal year some time in March or April. Lucy Gnazzo, a legislative aide to Ryan, said Ryan is attempting to firm up support for private higher education in the House, but it is too early to determine the outcome. "Ryan's been arguing that the governor is not really as committed to education as he says he is," Gnazzo said. "Even with state-aided universities, he reneged on promises to provide tuition assistance two years ago." State Representative Dwight Evans (D-Phila.) said he is not sure if funding for the University should be a priority. "It all depends on the amount of money available," Evans said. "The priority is with the state-owned, state-related and state-aided institutions first." Evans aide Allan Ferguson said the House has not had a chance to discuss Fumo's bill or the governor's recommendations yet, but he thinks state funding for the University will meet strong opposition. "We have not talked about any of this yet," Ferguson said. "But based on our previous action, [the House Democrats] will go along with the governor's recommendation." Last year, Evans opposed state money for the University and was part of a delegation of Philadelphia representatives that threatened to block state funding for the University unless more area high school students were awarded Mayor's Scholarships. Evans denied ever linking the two issues yesterday. "No, I did not think there was any linkage," Evans said. "But it is all tied in to how much money is available and what we want to do with it."
