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(07/15/99 9:00am)
The seven LUCY buses run two routes, connecting 30th Street Station with area institutions. It was inspired by the light-hearted spirit of Lucille Ball, the stature of Lucy the Margate Elephant and the spunk of Lucy Van Pelt. But creators would like to see their "Lucy" do more than just achieve stardom. Indeed, they envision a reliable and convenient way for people to get around University City. LUCY, a new transportation system in University City that connects Penn and other area institutions with 30th Street Station by shuttle bus, began service Monday. Free to students, faculty and employees of Penn and other participating institutions, LUCY -- short for the Loop Thru University City -- is operated by SEPTA under a contract from the University City District. At an inaugural ceremony held at 30th Street Station last week, SEPTA and UCD officials unveiled the buses and spoke about the benefits University City will reap from the unique new service. Officials hope that the service, in addition to providing an affordable transportation system for University City students, employees, residents and visitors, will also encourage more commuters to utilize public transportation. "LUCY will help alleviate University City's parking shortage by converting more employees to public transportation," UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke said. LUCY serves several area institutions including Penn, Drexel University, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Presbyterian Medical Center and the VA Medical Center. The seven LUCY buses each seat about 20 people and run from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except during major holidays. Those affiliated with participating institutions need only show valid I.D. to ride the system, while the general public pays a fare of 50 cents per person. The system will also accept SEPTA tokens and passes as fare. Two routes -- the Green Loop and the Gold Loop -- run opposite to each other, connecting 30th Street Station with stops at participating institutions. The system will service Penn students, faculty and staff through stops along 33rd Street, 34th Street and 38th Street. Six buses will run during rush hour, with one bus leaving 30th Street station every 10 minutes, while four buses will run during off-peak hours, beginning a route every 15 to 20 minutes. The seventh LUCY bus will be kept as a spare. University President Judith Rodin, who also spoke at last week's event, said she expects the service to draw more visitors to University City. "LUCY will enable Penn and University City to be more accessible to the rest of Philadelphia," Rodin said, describing University City as "one of Philadelphia's most exciting neighborhoods." West Philadelphia City Council representative Jannie Blackwell echoed Rodin's sentiment. "It is absolutely wonderful for SEPTA to enable us to have a special program like this," Blackwell said. Various institutional and public subsidies as well as farebox revenue will help fund the system, which will have an operating budget of about $500,000 a year, plus marketing expenses. A one-time federal transportation grant of $340,000 funded the purchase of the seven buses. In addition to fabric-covered cushioned seats, the buses are wheelchair accessible. University and community officials expect the service to promote University City as a unique and exciting neighborhood. "It's a significant enhancement to the quality of life here in University City," said PA State Representative Jim Roebuck.
(07/08/99 9:00am)
Next summer's Republican National Convention, expected to bring more than 30,000 visitors to the Philadelphia area, will be held at the First Union Center in South Philadelphia, Republican leaders announced last week. The announcement follows months of analysis of the First Union Center and the Philadelphia Convention Center, the two potential sites for the GOP gathering, according to Republican National Committee Chairperson Jim Nicholson. Although the Convention Center can seat about 3,000 more people for the event, the First Union Center was chosen for its state-of-the-art broadcast facilities which will enable television viewers around the world to watch the week's events. The convention, which will take place from July 29 to August 4, will be based at the First Union Center, although Nicholson said that the Convention Center will likely host committee meetings, delegate gatherings and other events. The event will cost about $35 million but is expected to bring in as much as $300 million in direct and indirect revenue to the city, officials have estimated. At least 6,000 people, including delegates and their families -- in addition to more than 15,000 members of the news media -- are expected to arrive in Philadelphia. Not only will South Philadelphia see some action from the event, but so will the rest of Philadelphia, mostly in the way of hotel revenues. According to Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau President Tom Muldoon, about 17,000 hotel rooms throughout the area will be occupied by convention-goers during the week-long gathering. The soon-to-open Inn at Penn and the University City Sheraton hotel have already booked rooms through the bureau for the convention, according to hotel officials. The Sheraton will see 90 percent of its rooms occupied by Republicans and members of the media, while the Inn has booked almost half. University Spokesperson Ken Wildes said a University committee has held regular meetings to discuss what role, if any, Penn will play in the convention.
(07/08/99 9:00am)
Penn was one of 51 colleges to pledge its commitment to promoting student activism. While the age-old debate about whether television violences is making children more aggressive still rages on, researchers at Penn's Annenberg Public Policy Center say there may be some hope. According to four studies released last month at the APPC's Washington office, the number of children's television in 1999 has increased and these shows are of a higher quality than t.v. shows in previous studies. But despite the increasing care t.v. producers have recently made to make children's shows more educational and less violent, the studies also indicate that both parents and children have a low opinion of children's programming. "The good news is that children's television is getting better. But it's clear that there is still room for improvement," Penn communicatins lectureer and Annenberg researcher Emory Woodard said in a statement. The APPC surveyed 1,269 parents of 2- to 17-year olds and 303 of their children, ages 10 to 17, between April 20 and May 18. According to the nationwide survey, only 13.6 percent of parents and 24.5 percent of children had positive opinions of t.v. programming geared toward younger audiences. The study also found that only 6 percent of prime time programs are geared toward children, even though that is one of the times children are likely to be watching television. The study also looked at the Federal Communication Commision's "Three-Hour Rule," which stipulates that television broadcasters air at least three hours of "educational and informational" television for children each week. "Some of the improvement in children's television may be attributed to the FCC's 'Three-Hour Rule,'" said Amy Jordan, a senior Annenberg researcher and director of the APPC's children's television analysis. The study found that almost all t.v. stations are airing their three hours during times in which children are awake and in the audience and that many of the programs did have educational value. But, according to the study, over 21 percent of programs with the E/I rating contain little or no educational value. "There is still substantial cnfusion about what constitues educational programming," said Annenberg research fellow Kelly Schmitt. The reports were released as part of the APPC's fourth annual Conference on Children and Television. The APPC was founded in 1994, when Penn alumnus Walter Annenberg donated $20 million to the school. The center is based in Washington and at Penn, where it will occupy a portion of the Annenberg Center where the Annenberg School Theater previously held performing arts shows.
(07/01/99 9:00am)
You don't necessarily have to be a Penn student to attend classes at the Wharton School -- at least, not during the summer. This summer Wharton is giving a handful of high school seniors an inside peak into the business world through two summer programs geared toward rising seniors interested in business careers. Leadership in the Business World, a brand new summer program developed in part by the Wharton Undergraduate Advisory Board, drew 42 students from across the nation to campus earlier this week for a four-week program. Developed last year by a committee of Wharton students and staff, and based upon an idea created by WUAB years ago, the highly competitive LBW program aims to introduce accomplished seniors to topics concerning leadership in the business world for the 21st century. "[WUAB] had the view that we weren't always reaching the brightest high school students that would actually benefit from and enjoy a business education," said Wharton Undergraduate Dean Richard Herring. Previously, Wharton had hosted only one summer program for high school students, the Leadership, Education and Development program, which also kicked off this week. LEAD, a nation-wide summer program -- established at Wharton in 1980 -- for top under-represented minority high school seniors, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. According to Harold Haskins, LEAD's operations director for the Wharton location, the program's participants are selected for their strength in both academics and leadership roles. "Students are culled from the ranks of the top two percent of under-represented minority high school students nationwide," Haskins said in a statement released last week. "They are the students who have demonstrated leadership ability, a record of academic achievement and a genuine curiosity for exploring careers in business." Wharton officials said that many of the program's alumni go on to pursue successful careers in the business field and hope that a similar success will be found in the new LBW program. LBW Director Anita Gelburd said that, in general, these kinds of summer programs help students with "the decision-making process," adding that "even if the students don't go into business, [the program will] aid students in making good decisions for themselves." Herring said that the LBW students, who arrived on campus this past weekend, represent a "broad range of backgrounds and talents" and have demonstrated "a lot of enthusiasm" for the program. The month-long program includes classes in Marketing, Computers, Entrepreneurship and Accounting and trips to downtown Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C. LBW students are being housed at Bryn Mawr College under the supervision of Julian Krinsky Summer Camps, but taking classes at Wharton's Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Gelburd said that by leaving the recreational and residential aspects of the session to Julian Krinsky, the program's coordinators can instead focus on the academic portion of the program. "We're really in the business of running academic programs," Gelburd said. "We decided to outsource [residential arrangements] to people who do this for a living." Gelburd said that while the students are taking classes taught by Wharton professors, they are not standard undergraduate courses but, instead, are "catered specifically to these students and designed for them." The program costs $4,000 per participant, and Gelburd said that all students who applied for financial aid received the amount of aid they requested.
(07/01/99 9:00am)
Six architecture firms recently submitted their plans for a new design of Hamilton Village, formerly known as Superblock. The six architectural firms that are competing to design the new look of the Hamilton Village area of campus submitted their plans last week to the University for inspection, according to University officials. The project is part of Penn's 10-year, $300 million dormitory and dining overhaul and includes extensive renovations to each of the high rises and low rises. The six firms, based as close as Philadelphia and as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia, visited campus this past April to get a feel for the University's needs before creating and submitting their designs for the project. The renovations will include the addition of 1,000 new beds in Hamilton Village -- formerly known as Superblock -- and each of the high rises will be reconfigured to give them a stronger college house atmosphere. University officials stressed that the final design for the project will likely incorporate different elements from each of the proposals, and officials expect to hire more than one firm to complete the project. According to David Brownlee, director of college houses and academic services, the designs submitted by the firms are all impressive and present many different possibilities for the job. "This is a very exciting demonstration of some of the greatest architectural talent in the world today," Brownlee said. While the University did give the firms a limited number of restrictions, Brownlee said the contest was very much a "brainstorming session" for both the potential architects and Penn officials. "These are very conceptual designs," Brownlee said. "We're really just looking for ideas." The decision to hold the design contest was reached in part by a consultative committee of students, faculty and staff. The same group -- with the addition of community members -- will participate in selecting one or more of the firms. "Personally, I would like to hire more than one of them," Brownlee said. The designs will be made public by the end of the summer so University officials can get feedback from the Penn community and "share the excitement" of the project, Brownlee said. "Our goal is to get perspective," said Larry Moneta, associate vice president for campus services. After they've obtained their share of that perspective, University officials will work with the winning firms to complete the final design of Hamilton Village, which must be approved by the University Trustees before construction can begin. While University officials said they are trying to get as much diversity in the designs as possible by laying few guidelines or restrictions on the firms, they did specifically ask each architect to design one new building and propose renovations for one high rise and one low rise. Penn administrators have not yet determined the extent of the renovations, which depends upon funding, and have not ruled out the possibility of gutting the existing buildings from the inside out. Seven hundred of the new beds will come from a series of low-rise buildings situated throughout the Hamilton Village area. Project coordinators expect to add another 300 beds to the existing residences, which include the three high rises and the Gregory and DuBois college houses. University officials have outlined three clear objectives for the project: to provide additional bed space and upgrade existing facilities; to create a more attractive visual and physical environment; and to integrate Hamilton Village with the surrounding neighborhood. University officials expect the winning firm or firms to complete final designs -- under University supervision -- by early 2000, with groundbreaking scheduled early in the fall of 2000.
(06/24/99 9:00am)
Penn expects to build several facilities in the next several years on the current Civic Center site. The University Trustees last week passed three resolutions supporting the acquisition and development of land formerly occupied by the Philadelphia Civic Center to make way for a parking garage and a state-of-the-art cancer-research and -treatment center. Penn officials have long coveted the enormous property on the southeastern edge of campus. City officials, though, had rejected all of the University's past offers to buy the site. But Philadelphia City Council's December approval of a bill introduced in October by City Council member Jannie Blackwell secured a large portion of the site for use by Penn and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in founding a world-class cancer-research and -treatment center and a 2.2 acre parking garage. This past Friday, the Trustees approved a resolution calling for the creation of the Civic Center Development Corporation, a non-profit corporation led by the University and CHOP. According to the resolution, the CCDC will "oversee, finance, facilitate and govern the development of the parking garage." The garage will occupy an approximately 2.2 acre piece of the former Civic Center site and will supply the University and the University of Pennsylvania Health System with up to 1,000 new parking spaces. The project will cost about $26 million and will be funded equally by the University and CHOP. The land itself will be purchased from the city of Philadelphia for $5 million, of which the University will front $2.5 million through an internal loan to be repaid with the revenues created by the garage. The CCDC will then acquire a $21 million loan on behalf of the University and CHOP to fund the development of the garage. Both institutions will repay the CCDC through the garage's revenues. According to Penn Vice President for Finance Kathy Engebretson, the creation of the CCDC will allow the University to pay its share of the garage's development without incurring debt that may decrease the University's bond rating. "The debt would be in the name of the CCDC, not in the name of the University," Engebretson said. The Trustees also passed a resolution in support of the demolition of two structures on a six-acre portion of the site where the cancer center will likely be built. According to Health System officials, the new site would consolidate Penn's prestigious 25-year-old Cancer Center, currently spread throughout 41 departments in eight University schools, into a single, world-class facility. The University will buy the property for $1 and spend $13.5 million -- funded by another internal loan budgeted by the University and repaid over time through University revenues -- in the demolition of and asbestos removal from the Civic Center's Exhibition Hall and Center Hall. The famed Convention Hall -- where rock legends the Beatles played in the 1960s -- will not be touched. Penn Executive Vice President John Fry said he believes the developments will be extremely successful, with multiple benefits for each party involved. "Everyone was a winner here," Fry said. "We got what we think is a very fair price for the six acres. CHOP gets the parcel it needed and the city has value created where there was no value before. That was sort of the genius behind the whole thing." Exactly what the University plans to do with the six-acre parcel is not yet clear, although administrators did say that the site will likely include the new cancer center. "I think we're still looking at our options relative to what we want to do there," Fry said. CHOP will also secure a 2.5 acre portion of the site, where it plans to build a separate research facility to further its own projects in pediatrics. While more specific details about the cancer center and other possible lands uses are not yet available, University officials estimate that the development of the entire 10.7 acre parcel will cost about $450 million, with the University contributing $350 million and CHOP throwing in the other $100 million. "It's a collaborative model. It takes into account the fact that CHOP needs space, we need space -- the city is still the owner of many of those buildings," Fry said. The University had expressed interest in acquiring at least parts of the Civic Center for nearly a decade, but administrators feel that they have made dramatic breakthroughs throughout this past year. "We went to the city and we said that we really think over time a huge amount of activity could occur, if we could just unlock the first couple parcels," Fry said. The entire project -- including the parking garage and the CHOP research facility -- is slated for completion in five years.
(06/24/99 9:00am)
From former rivals to newfound friends, Democratic mayoral nominee John Street and former contender Marty Weinberg have captured the spotlight of the Philadelphia mayoral race since day one. Continuing that tradition, the two politicians held a news conference last week to announce that Weinberg will support Street in his campaign to become the next mayor of Philadelphia. The endorsement came more than a month after Street cinched the Democratic nomination in the May 18 primary, beating Weinberg by a mere four percentage points of the vote. "I was gratified to receive the enthusiastic endorsement of Marty Weinberg last week," Street said in a statement released yesterday. "Since the primary, it has been my goal to unify the Democratic party and his support is meaningful and significant." In a bitter campaign frequently marred by record levels of negative advertising, Street saw himself as the target of several Weinberg attack commercials. But their former rivalry seems to have been quelled by their drive to defeat Republican opponent Sam Katz in the November 5 election. "I wanted to make sure that John's goal, as mine, was to bring together all the people of the city," Weinberg said at Friday's conference. After winning the May 18 primary, Street offered a would-be olive branch to his opponents, asking them to join him for a "unity lunch" at The Palm restaurant the following day. Only Dwight Evans, who garnered just 4.7 percent of the vote, attended the lunch. But neither Evans nor any of Street's former Democratic rivals have yet followed in Weinberg's footsteps and endorsed Street. According to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, White met privately with a group of 50 supporters last week to discuss the race, but decided to withhold any potential endorsements for the time being. Street said that he and Weinberg were able to "unite together under a common vision for the future of Philadelphia," thanks to the help of U.S. Rep. Robert Brady. With Weinberg's help, Street is now squaring up against Katz, who ran unopposed in May. Katz is looking to become Philadelphia's first Republican mayor since the early 1950s. Katz said earlier this month that he did not feel a united Democratic party will in any way injure his campaign. Reducing crime and improving public education "are the things that people care about, not who's having lunch with whom," Katz said. Katz Campaign Director Director Bob Barnett had echoed Katz' sentiment, saying that "voters are going to have to chose between Sam Katz and John Street -- not the other candidates."
(06/24/99 9:00am)
the University repurchased the Hojoka building at 3025 Walnut Street last week. and Eric Tucker The University last week reacquired the Hojoka building, a 36,000 square-foot property located at 3025 Walnut Street, from the gene-therapy company Genovo for $1.425 million. The purchase of the building, owned by Penn until fall 1996, will serve to further Penn's goal of eastern expansion and officials speculate that the property will become an asset to the University upon the fall 2000 opening of the neighboring General Electric building. Penn had initially sold the building to Genovo -- co-founded by Penn Molecular and Cellular Engineering Professor James Wilson in 1992 -- in the fall of 1996 for $1.45 million, with the hopes that it could supply job opportunities and provide greater scientific research opportunities on campus. Upon purchasing the building several years ago, Genovo officials announced their expectation to create nearly 200 jobs. But the building had since remained vacant, as Genovo quickly found an additional facility in nearby Sharon Hill that ultimately served as its primary headquarters, according to Genovo officials. "We just didn't need two pieces of real estate," said Genovo chief executive officer Eric Aguiar, adding that the "short term need for a second facility" did not warrant the use of the Hojoka building. When Penn sold the facility, it did so with an added stipulation that it could match any external bid placed on the building if and when the company decided to sell Hojoka. Two offers were placed -- though neither the University nor the company could reveal from whom -- and Penn ultimately matched the bid, earning rights to the building once again. "We saw from day one? that if for some reason Genovo was going to leave and move on to bigger headquarters, we would want the opportunity to take the building back," Penn Executive Vice President John Fry said Monday. Although Fry acknowledged that the University was pleased to once again have control of the facility -- especially given its location -- he expressed disappointment that the actual venture did not succeed in the Hojoka building. According to University officials, the company experienced financial difficulties that led to the abandonment of the project in the Hojoka building. "They basically stopped the project and just sort of sat there," Fry said. But Aguiar denied any claims that the company experienced economic trouble. Wilson, who still oversees the research, said the company did not want to reject the "long-term lease and the "very good rate" that the Sharon Hill site offered and therefore intentionally chose not to operate out of the Hojoka building. Located next to the GE building -- the site of a new University-owned luxury apartment building scheduled to open in fall 2000 -- the Hojoka building purchase comes almost on the heels of a University proposal released earlier this month to build new residential, parking and academic facilities in a parking lot at 34th and Chestnut streets. Although University officials say they do not yet have specific plans for the Hojoka site, they believe the property will become a valuable commodity when the 285-unit GE building opens its doors. "The GE there really gives that whole area sort of a new lease on life," Fry said.
(06/24/99 9:00am)
University Police earlier this month arrested a Philadelphia man in connection with at least 10 burglaries of off-campus houses primarily occupied by Penn students, according to Penn Police Detective Supervisor Bill Danks. Casey Brunson, a resident of the 300 block of Sloan Street, confessed to burglarizing homes on 41st Street between mid-May and his arrest on June 9, according to police officials. While the University Police have connected him to at least 19 burglaries concentrated around the area of 41st Street between Spruce Street and Baltimore Avenue, Danks said that only enough evidence exists to charge Brunson on 10 of the burglaries. Brunson, 29, either entered houses through open second floor windows or during student parties where he moved around the house unnoticed and removed possessions ranging from money and jewelry to computers, televisions and bicycles, Danks said. All of the burglaries occurred after dark. "We don't even know if the people realized that things were taken," Danks said, referring to the instances in which Brunson entered the residences during student parties. Brunson, who is on probation after spending approximately 11 months in prison for a robbery in committed in the area last year, confessed to many of the burglaries after police apprehended him, Danks said. Danks said that when Penn police noticed the rash of burglaries -- almost one a night and almost all on 41st Street -- they teamed up with Philadelphia Police to form a plan for apprehending the culprit. "We saw that there was a pattern," Danks said. "We got together with the 18th District and we put plainclothes police out there in the middle of the night." Brunson was apprehended by two plainclothes Penn police officers early in the morning of July 9 while he was in the process of removing a television from a house in the area, Danks said. Police officials believe Brunson likely sold the items he removed from the homes he burglarized. "I think the most telling thing is that since June 9, there have been no burglaries on 41st Street," Danks said. Philadelphia Police Lt. Gerard McShea applauded the cooperation of the two police forces and the hard work of Penn police in making an arrest. Brunson is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in a few weeks.
(06/24/99 9:00am)
In an effort to maximize safety and security on and around campus, the University City District announced last week the formation of a community-based task force charged with discussing public safety issues and developing coordinated responses to area security problems. The University City Community Public Safety Task Force -- a collaboration between the UCD's safety ambassadors, the Philadelphia Police Department and local town watch organizations -- is "charged with reviewing crime patterns, identifying problem areas and developing coordinated responses," UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke said Monday. Through monthly or bi-monthly meetings, the task force will put University City's seven town watch organizations -- the eyes and ears of area neighborhoods -- in formal communication with public safety and security officials so that the two entities can pool information to help reduce and prevent crime, Steinke said. "The task force is a way to engage the town watches in planning and implementation of improved public safety programs," Steinke said. The group will likely be composed of 12 to 20 representatives from the town watches, the UCD, the Penn Police and the Philadelphia Police, as well as SpectraGuard, Drexel University, Amtrak and other area institutions. According to Philadelphia Police Lt. Gerard McShea, one of the group's chairpersons, the police will "try to direct the local town watches in the areas they should be concerned with" and "make them feel a little more empowered" in the fight against crime. While the idea behind the task force has been in the works for some time, its formation was facilitated by the recent partnership between the UCD and the Philadelphia Police manifest in last week's opening of the new UCD operations center. The operations center, located at 3940-42 Chestnut Street, will house the UCD's 40 safety ambassadors -- unarmed officers who patrol University City and assist pedestrians -- as well as a police substation where 25 officers from the 16th and 18th Districts will report. "It's really an opportunity to put all the different elements of crime fighting on the same page," task force co-chairperson Marty Cabry said. "Every player that comes to the table brings something to it and adds strength to it." Cabry, who heads University City's seven town watch organizations, said that in addition to patrolling the areas in which they live, town watch members also specialize in educating area residents on ways to protect themselves and their homes against crime. "I think [the task force] makes town watch members feel they're really part of things now," Cabry said. Steinke cited recent statistics released by the Penn Police that show a 32 percent decrease in crime as a reason for more -- not less -- community involvement and cooperation. "Clearly all the efforts to improve public safety have succeeded," Steinke said, stressing that more cooperation can only result in even larger decreases in crime. And UCD Operations Director John Conlow, who supervises the UCD's 40 safety ambassadors, said the town watch organizations often assist public safety officials by providing information about crime patterns they have observed near their homes. "People who know the neighborhood best are people who live here every day," Conlow said. "They have the biggest stake in the neighborhood because they're all homeowners," McShea added.
(06/24/99 9:00am)
A new Dental School dormitory located on the 4200 block of Osage Avenue will not be ready for its scheduled fall move-in after a fire broke out in the west wing of the building early Tuesday morning. The Dental House, a University-owned property set to become the nation's first dental school housing option designed to integrate teaching and learning, has been undergoing renovations to prepare for about 44 students scheduled to move in this August. The fire, discovered at about 3 a.m. by a resident of the street, was ruled accidental by the Philadelphia Fire Marshall, although the exact cause of the fire is not readily apparent. According to Lt. John Hartnett of the Philadelphia Fire Marshall's office, officials speculate that the blaze may have been caused by sparks from a welding torch or similar tool operated by one of the workers conducting renovations that went unnoticed and later developed into a full-blown fire. Hartnett said the fire originated on the second floor of the building's west wing, eventually spreading up the walls to the third and fourth floors and the roof area. While the fire did not leave the front part of the wing, Hartnett said that the areas the fire hit incurred "some structural damage," including damage to "the walls and ceilings and wood joists that supported the floors and the roof." "Some [joists] were badly damaged," Hartnett added. The Philadelphia Fire Department received the call at 2:58 a.m. and dispatched six fire engines to the scene. The blaze was placed under control by fire fighters by 3:47 a.m. According to Dental School spokesperson Lorraine Boehmcke, the property is slated to open this fall as a dormitory for up to 44 Dental School students of all years. The facility will also include academic space and will be headed by a residential faculty member who will create in-house programming for the residence's occupants. Boehmcke said the facility is "intended to be a lot more than a dorm," adding that "it was being designed to have dental labs for students to practice procedures on models." Thirty of the 44 spots in the residence have already been reserved, Boehmcke said, and those students will now be offered "comparable temporary housing in the vicinity of Dental House." While the extent of the damage has not yet been determined, Boehmcke said she could confirm that the facility will not "be ready for move-in in August as was originally scheduled." Boehmcke said that while the fire was an unfortunate setback for the project, Dental School officials are optimistic that the damage can be readily repaired and the facility open with as little delay as possible. "This is likely to discourage some students, but we know that this is going to be a valuable experience for them and we're hoping that temporary arrangements will be satisfactory," Boehmcke said. Osage Street resident David Vann, who discovered and reported the fire, said he was inside his home next to the property early Tuesday morning when he heard the sound of shattering glass coming from outside a second-floor window. Vann said he looked out the window and first saw sparks falling out of a garbage shoot protruding from one of the building's second-floor window. "I looked further up my window and saw flames," Vann said. Vann said that while he was only slightly concerned that the fire might spread to his neighboring home, he considered the fire rather severe. "I would say 12 to 15 foot flames were shooting out of the windows," Vann said. "It was a big fire in that room."
(06/17/99 9:00am)
Penn Physics Professor Eugene Beier is one of many scientists now looking beneath the Earth's surface for answers to questions about the sky above. Beier, 59, is one of the creators of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory -- a Canada-based observatory dedicated to collecting information about subatomic particles called neutrinos -- that began collecting its first data last week. Electron neutrinos are emitted by the Sun during nuclear fusion and provide clues about the composition of our solar system's only star. The unique observatory is intended to detect neutrinos created in the Sun and the Earth's atmosphere in an effort to better understand the workings of the Sun and the universe in general, Beier said yesterday. SNO -- located 2,000 meters below the Earth's surface in a nickel mine in Sudbury, Ontario -- was created through the joint efforts of nearly 100 scientists from 11 universities and laboratories in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, according to a statement released last week. "How neutrinos behave? determines how heavy elements are produced in the galaxy," Beier said. "And that tells us something about the chemical evolution of the galaxy." Neutrinos created in the Sun travel to Earth, where they can be observed through their interactions with water. Although neutrino telescopes traditionally use purified water to study the particles, the SNO observatory is the first in the world to use heavy water instead, Beier said. According to Beier, the use of heavy water will allow scientists to distinguish between the several different types of neutrinos, only one of which comes from the Sun to the Earth. "What we're trying to do is understand the way the Sun loses its energy," Beier said. Beier worked on a similar project in Japan ten years ago that did not use heavy water. Beier said that distinguishing between different types of neutrinos is an important step in determining exactly what happens to the particles on their way from the Sun. "Neutrinos may be able to change into other types of neutrinos as they propagate through space," Beier said. Beier explained that, in the past, scientists have detected fewer neutrinos than they had predicted. "The neutrino emission by the sun as measured on Earth seems to be much smaller than what stellar evolution models predict," Beier said. But the new observatory should help scientists understand if those small numbers are due to the changing of neutrinos in space, Beier said. The project's creators have been developing the observatory since 1984. Construction began on the telescope in 1990, Beier said. "This is tremendously exciting," SNO Institute Director Art McDonald said in a statement released last week. "It is 15 years since the starts of the SNO project, and to see such clear examples of neutrino interactions within days of finally turning on was a real triumph for the entire SNO team." Beier, who has been a Penn professor since 1967, said that he has been interested in the interactions of neutrinos for his entire career. "Starting in the late '60s, all the most interesting questions were in studying neutrinos, at least as far as I was concerned," Beier said. Beier said past research indicates that "neutrinos contribute at least as much as stars or approximately as much as stars" to the mass of the universe. "So it's one of the steps in trying to understand what's in the universe," Beier said.
(06/17/99 9:00am)
University City District safety ambassadors will be able to work more closely with city police from their new home. Although they may wear differently colored shirts, the University City District's yellow-coated Safety Ambassadors and the blue-uniformed officers of the Philadelphia Police Department are now working together towards a common goal. The two agencies jointly occupy the new UCD operations center, which was dedicated Tuesday at a ceremony that united city leaders, Penn officials and community residents in celebration of the new facility and the partnership between the UCD and the Police Department. In addition to housing UCD headquarters and the organization's 40 safety ambassadors -- unarmed officers who patrol University City and assist pedestrians -- the building will also be home to a police substation where 25 officers from the 16th and 18th Districts will report. The UCD is a two-year old organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in University City. The $1.7 million building has rooms for administrative offices, lockers, roll call, police operations and the safety ambassadors. The roll call room will allow the officers and safety ambassadors to meet together twice a day, which is significantly more often than the two groups' former bi-weekly meetings. "Seeing these extra uniformed officers out there -- regardless of whether the uniform's yellow or blue -- makes a big, big difference," said Mayor Ed Rendell, one of the ceremony's speakers. UCD Executive Director Paul Steinke echoed Rendell's sentiments, explaining that the organizations' new partnership underscores the UCD's credo: "Making it Better, Working Together." "Our collaborations with the Philadelphia Police represents another in a series of collaborations designed to improve the quality of life in University City," Steinke said. Steinke said that the police and safety ambassadors can now "share information on crime patterns, develop coordinated deployment strategies and strengthen a rapport that will translate into continued improvement in public safety in University City." The ceremony was moderated by University Executive Vice President John Fry, who is also chairperson of the UCD Board of Directors. Praising University City as the "best kept secret in the city of Philadelphia," Fry lauded the UCD's accomplishments and thanked those who contributed to the planning and construction of the new facility. "University City is cleaner, University City is safer, University City is hot," Fry said. Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney also addressed the several hundred University administrators, local politicians and West Philadelphia community members in attendance at Tuesday's ceremony. Timoney praised the collaborative effort, stressing the importance of "police and the community service officers actually work[ing] together and turn[ing] out together at roll call." The center, located at 3940-42 Chestnut Street, is a combination of a one-story renovated building -- formerly occupied by a Horn & Hardart restaurant -- and a new, single-story addition. The building covers a total of 10,000 square feet. The building cost $1.3 million to construct, while another $400,000 was put towards furnishing and supplying the center. The construction was funded through a no-interest loan by the University. The UCD will pay the building's operational costs and will repay the University through corporate and foundation funding. The UCD is currently fundraising for the money to repay that loan, and many contributors -- including Aramark, Bell Atlantic Corporations, Mellon Bank and the William Penn Foundation -- have already contributed funds. Rendell said Tuesday that the city of Philadelphia will also help cover the costs of construction. In addition, all of the members of the project team, including the architects, engineers and construction managers, discounted or donated services to the planning and construction of the new building, Steinke said. The center's groundbreaking took place last October and the UCD's offices moved into the facility earlier this month. The University owns the former restaurant's building and will rent it to the UCD for $1 each year.
(06/17/99 9:00am)
Republican Sam Katz is out to prove that the City of Brotherly Love can love a Republican, too. The Philadelphia summer may be hot -- but not too hot to stop GOP mayoral contender Sam Katz from hitting the streets in a relentless campaign to make himself known among voters of all party affiliations. Katz, who ran unopposed this past May, is looking to become Philadelphia's first Republican mayor since the early 1950s. He will face off against Democratic nominee John Street in this fall's general election. Katz said Tuesday that the thrust of his campaign this summer and fall is making himself known to Philadelphia's voters. "We're focused on getting out to the neighborhoods and being extremely visible in community events," he said. For Katz, in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of more than three to one, conquering traditional party lines could be the key to a successful campaign. And so far, the response from a diverse pool of voters has not only been positive but has successfully transcended simple party lines, according to Katz Campaign Director Bob Barnett. Still, Katz is looking to persuade more than just the man in the street. In a letter sent last week to Philadelphia Democratic Committee members, Katz offered his hand in friendship to his traditional partisan enemies. Barnett said yesterday that many of those members have called or written back in support of Katz. "The party lines are not what's relevant [in this race]," Barnett said. "People are much more concerned about what's going on in their neighborhood." Street's power, however, lies not only in his affiliation with Philadelphia's large Democratic party, but also in his extensive experience as City Council president and his endorsement from popular Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. Street garnered 35.4 percent of the vote during May's Democratic primary, edging out lifelong politico Marty Weinberg by a mere four percentage points. Street was unavailable for comment this week. During the last few weeks of the primary campaign, Katz released a series of negative television commercials aimed at Weinberg and Democrat John White, an almost unheard of move that many political experts claimed was Katz's attempt at picking Street as an opponent in the general election. But Katz said that he has never preferred to run against any one candidate and he would face any opponent with the same competitive drive. Earlier this week Street met with Weinberg for the first time since the primary election, a sign of a possible future alliance between the Democrats. But whether Weinberg will give his support to Street is not yet clear. "I've always assumed that the Democrats would be together," Katz said. "I have no other expectation." Katz rejected the notion that the possible alliance would hurt his campaign, stressing that voters are more concerned with issues that affect their neighborhoods, such as "public crime [and] poor performing schools," than with the party affiliations of each candidate. "Those are the things that people care about, not who's having lunch with whom," Katz said. Barnett echoed Katz's sentiment, explaining that "voters are going to have to chose between Sam Katz and John Street -- not the other candidates." Katz said he expects his campaign to raise and spend about $5 million and, so far, he says, the fundraising is right on target. "The response since the primary has been fantastic," he added. Barnett said that much of the campaign's funds will be used on media advertising, including radio and television ads, although he acknowledged that it was still too early for more detailed plans. "We will run an aggressive campaign that will hopefully be persuasive to the voters," Katz said. Katz has been making the rounds in Philadelphia ever since he began campaigning, but he said that the current race is "particularly intensive because its just two people."
(06/10/99 9:00am)
College freshmen living in dormitories are at least six times more likely to contract meningococcal disease -- a cause of meningitis -- than are college students overall, according to new data from a nationwide study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and the American College Health Association. In a statement released last week, the ACHA reported that while the college student population as a whole is not at increased risk for meningococcal disease, subgroups -- such as freshmen living in dorms -- are at higher risk than other students. Meningococcal meningitis is a potentially fatal bacterial infection passed fairly easily from one person to another. Death occurs in about 10 percent of cases, or approximately 300 Americans annually. Meningococcal disease can also lead to septicemia, a blood infection manifested by blood clotting. The study collected data from 89 cases of meningococcal disease in 48 states, six of which were fatal. "People with this illness can go from being well to being dead in 24 hours -- in spite of antibiotics," Penn Director of Student Health MarJeanne Collins said Tuesday. And another study, published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, states that college students living on campus are three times more likely to develop meningococcal disease than students living off campus. "These data indicate the need for public health professionals to continue to educate college students of the signs and symptoms of the disease and to seek medical attention immediately if they experience these symptoms," CDC medical epidemiologist Nancy Rosenstein said in an ACHA press release. A vaccine for meningococcal infection that covers four strains of the disease is available to the public and is 85 percent effective, Collins said. Penn students had the opportunity to receive the vaccine -- at a cost of $65 -- earlier this year. Collins said that certain behaviors, such as "active [and] passive smoking, bar patronage and independent excessive alcohol intake" may lead to a higher risk of contracting the disease. Collins is the principle investigator of a different study -- currently underway by the ACHA and the CDC --examining these kinds of behavioral factors to determine if they increase the risk of meningococcal disease among college students. Fears of a meningitis outbreak hit Penn this past semester when a female University freshman fell ill with the disease while vacationing in the Bahamas during spring break. While it was unclear whether the student contracted the illness on campus or while in the Bahamas, no new cases were reported and she has since recovered. Collins said that although there is no official public health recommendation that incoming college students receive the meningococcal vaccine, the ACHA does encourage students to consider the vaccine.
(06/10/99 9:00am)
A small fire broke out in a 21st-floor Hamilton College House apartment yesterday morning when a toaster perched on a stove top caught on fire. All four of the apartment's residents were home at the time and used a fire extinguisher to put out most of the blaze before firefighters arrived, according to Penn Director of Fire and Occupational Safety Harry Cusick. There were no reported injuries and officials have ruled the fire accidental, Cusick said. Around 60 evacuated students and staff members gathered outside the building around 10 a.m. while officials inspected the scene. Re-entry to the residence was granted at about 10:35 a.m. The fire began when a plastic-covered toaster began smoldering while sitting on a lit oven burner, according to fire officials. The fire did not spread further than the kitchen in which it originated, leaving the rest of the apartment and floor unscathed. "It was a small fire in dollar value, but it could have been very serious," Cusick said, citing "poor storage of materials near a heat source" as a careless act that could result in harm. "They put it out just in time," Firefighter Mark Travin said. "Thank God for extinguishers in the rooms." The residents of the apartment were temporarily relocated to another floor for at least a few days while the kitchen is repaired, Cusick said. Cusick noted that the stove and surrounding cabinets and wiring incurred some damage, but that overall, the blaze was small and damages minimal. The fire was the third to hit Hamilton House this year. During this year's Spring Fling festivities, a fire caused by an overheated computer monitor gutted the bedroom of an 11th floor apartment. And this past fall, another small fire -- this time caused by a lit cigarette in a trash can -- broke out in a sixth floor Hamilton apartment. A series of false alarms -- due to faults in the system -- has also plagued the facility this year, possibly contributing to student apathy in responding to alarms. But while Penn officials criticized many students for failing to evacuate the building during the Spring Fling blaze, Cusick lauded the residents and staff as very responsive during yesterday's incident. "They did a good job," Cusick said. "The people who were around did leave properly."
(06/10/99 9:00am)
A female student was attacked in her home at 46th and Spruce streets. Penn students living off campus recently said that they feel less safe in the wake of the attempted sexual assault of a Drexel University student in her University City apartment last week. The young woman, a Drexel graduate student, was alone in her apartment on the 4600 block of Spruce Street at about 1:45 a.m. Thursday morning when an intruder attacked her as she exited the shower, according to Special Victims Unit Lt. Michael Boyle. "She exited the shower and she noted at that time that there was an intruder in her room," Boyle said. Boyle said Tuesday that the intruder knocked her to the floor with what may have been a walkman and unsuccessfully attempted to sexually assault her. "He threatened to hurt her, to kill her," Boyle said. The intruder appeared to be a black male in his mid-to-late teens, about 6'2" and 130 lbs, although Boyle said the student did not get a good look at him. The woman was able to kick him and get back on her feet, Boyle said. She ran into the building's common hallway, where she sought help from neighbors. According to Boyle, the intruder then exited the building, probably in the same manner in which he entered, which was through an unlocked second-floor balcony door. The woman was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and released that morning, but was not seriously injured. Boyle said that the important thing is that "she was able to fight him off successfully and he fled." He also noted that the Philadelphia Police Department, although investigating the matter, has "nothing that would lead [it] at this time to an apprehension." The division then called homicide investigators to examine the scene for evidence of a connection to the still-unsolved May 1998 murder of Wharton doctoral student Shannon Schieber. Boyle said that while the two cases share some similarities -- specifically that the attack was focused on a student and entry was made through an unlocked second-floor balcony -- the dissimilarities between the two cases outweigh any potential connections. "It appears at this time that they're unrelated," Boyle said. Penn students living off campus were shocked to hear that the assault occurred nearby and many said that while they generally felt safe, an incident like this strikes particularly close to home. Oliver Carley, a second-year City Planning graduate student and resident of the 4200 block of Walnut Street, said the attempted assault did make him feel more nervous living off campus. "It's a little more disturbing that it happened inside of someone's house," Carley added. College senior Mary Mitchell, a resident of the 4300 block of Spruce Street agreed, saying "when anything happens that's negative, and it happens in you're home, it's a little bit more scary." And Shawna Spears, a first-year Nursing graduate student also on the 4300 block of Spruce Street, said the news was shocking because it happened only three blocks from her apartment. "I'm not fearful; cautious is probably a better word for it," she said.
(06/03/99 9:00am)
The plans include new residential, academic, retail and parking facilities. and Eric Tucker University officials announced plans last Thursday to build two new facilities at 34th and Chestnut streets as part of a $111 million project expected to provide more housing, classroom space, retail and restaurants on the eastern end of campus. While the project is still in its preliminary stages, the proposal calls for a 19-story, 250-room residential building, a five-story academic facility -- which will include classrooms and research space -- and a 786-car parking garage. An additional 28,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, to be located on the ground floor of the residential tower, is also slated for the project. Penn recently bid $8.2 million on the 2.6-acre site, which is owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and currently used as a parking lot. The buildings are tentatively expected to be completed in five years, but administrators have not yet set a date for construction to begin. The proposal must still undergo city approval before Penn purchases the land. According to Executive Vice President John Fry, the new development fulfills three important University priorities -- to extend "academic space" on campus, to increase residential and retail options and to provide more campus-area parking -- in one "crucial piece of property." And Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official, said the new facilities "will add to the vitality of the University more than a giant, empty parking lot [would]." Fry said yesterday that the proposed residential space will primarily accommodate those with temporary housing needs, including graduate students and faculty members who need to stay on campus for only one semester. "From a residential standpoint, one of the concepts we've been toying with is an 'extended stay'? which is not a residence nor is it a typical hotel," Fry said. The building is not intended as a freshmen dormitory and is not part of the University's 10-year, $300 million dorm and dining overhaul renovation project released in November, Fry added. The five-story building will provide additional classrooms and laboratories, a constant goal of University administrators. "We're always looking at ways in which we can expand the academic space [on campus]," Fry said. Fulfilling another long-term University goal, the new facilities will allow for more retail and restaurant options. "Putting retail on a street tends to then make the street feel more humane, more friendly to the pedestrian," Fry said. The project is also expected to significantly reduce the University's current parking crunch. The proposed 786-car parking garage will offer more than twice as many spaces as does the existing parking lot. According to Jack Shannon, the University's top economic development official, the new parking garage will not only increase available parking spaces, but will also represent "better management of the demand for parking on campus." The parking garage's revenues and rents collected from the residential and retail space will pay for the facilities' construction, while the University will raise its own money to fund the academic facilities. Although much of the University's expansion this year has been focused on the western end of campus -- including Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas, an 800-car parking garage and a specialty food market in the 40th Street area -- the new development is the second major indication of eastward expansion in the past five months. In early February, Penn announced its intention to convert the former General Electric building at 31st and Walnut streets -- now a vacant, worn-down building -- into a $54 million, 285-unit apartment complex. "I definitely [think] there are strong trends towards east expansion," Fry said. "We're not at all interested in expanding to the west other than finishing our Hamilton Square project and finishing our K-8 school project." But Fry acknowledged that the University has expanded significantly throughout its existence and will continue to do so long after the deal has been completed. "We started with College Hall 100 years ago, and here we sit 225 acres later, and I fully expect Penn to be around for the next couple hundred years," Fry said. The University will present its proposal to the city Planning Commission today. Penn first requires City Council approval before it can finalize the sale and construction. According to Laura Kern, the Project Manager for the Redevelopment Authority, Penn's proposal was "compliant" with various regulations and the RDA is now working to "transfer the site to Penn."
(06/03/99 9:00am)
Artist and curator Claudia Gould was named the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Art last week. Claudia Gould, head of a New York City-based arts organization and exhibition space, has been appointed the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, the University announced last Thursday. In a statement announcing the appointment, University Provost Robert Barchi described Gould as "enormously creative, energetic and articulate," explaining that her "keen insight and a deep background into the contemporary art scene" caught the attention of both the ICA and the University. "It is her unique blend of creative and management expertise that made her the perfect choice for the ICA," Barchi said. The search for a new director had lasted seven months, beginning when former director Patrick Murphy stepped down in mid-November. Murphy served as director for eight years and announced his resignation last September. Judith Tannenbaum, the ICA's associate director and curator, has served as interim director since Murphy's departure. Gould will take the reigns September 7, at which time Tannenbaum will return to her former post. She also held the position nine years ago before Murphy took over as director. Gould, 42, said yesterday that she is excited to join the ICA and hopes to "get different facets of the University involved" in the institute. "I really like working with emerging artists and students and people that are learning and completely open to learning," Gould said. During Gould's five-year tenure at Artists Space, she has worked to repair the organization financially -- including increasing the space's funding, eliminating a deficit and creating an endowment fund. With the aid of Management Consultants for the Arts, a professional search firm, the committee in charge of meeting candidates -- comprised of three representatives each from the ICA and the University -- originally identified nine candidates for the job. After the first round of interviews, the committee then pared the list down to three contenders, which they submitted to Barchi and University President Judith Rodin, who then selected Gould. The search committee had maintained that it would find a new director by July 1. According to Graduate School of Fine Arts Dean Gary Hack, who headed the search committee, Gould's leadership experience at Artists Space, coupled with her personal work in the arts, made her a perfect candidate for the job. "She's going to be a marvelous director," Hack said. "She brings spirit and energy into the ICA." And Tannenbaum -- who was not interested in contending for the permanent job -- said that Gould has "done a really good job" at Artists Space, adding that working within the University "should be an interesting challenge" for her. "There's a lot of interest in being more integral to the University," Tannenbaum. "We want to have people both in the University and the community know that the ICA is here." As the new ICA director, Gould will supervise all operations -- including financial and personnel management, fundraising, exhibitions and interacting with the University -- as well as determine the center's overall artistic direction. Gould said that she hopes to "forge better ties with the University" and the surrounding Philadelphia area and plans to ensure that the ICA's message is uniform. Gould has a B.A. in Art History from Boston College and a masters in Museum Studies from New York University. The ICA, located at 36th and Sansom streets and overseen by the provost's office, has long featured avant-garde exhibits of contemporary art. It was the ICA, for example, that first exhibited the work of then-unknown artist Andy Warhol and became the first public space to show his work.
(06/03/99 9:00am)
The company has hired seven of the 11 Dining employees who applied for jobs under the new management structure. At least seven of the 20 Dining Services employees whose positions were eliminated during last month's outsourcing of Dining to Bon Appetit Management Co. have been offered positions within the new management structure -- and Bon Appetit officials are still reviewing several applications, the company's Chief Executive Officer Fedele Bauccio said yesterday. The 20 Dining officials left unemployed by the outsourcing -- which officially starts July 1 -- had the opportunity to apply to Bon Appetit for positions similar to their current jobs. But surprisingly, only 11 of the 20 displaced Dining employees applied for new positions with Bon Appetit, Bauccio said. "We thought we would have more people apply," Bauccio said. According to Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta, "the important factor is that most of the people who applied were offered positions." Although 20 managers had their jobs eliminated, other Dining employees -- in areas such as food preparation and presentation -- will continue to be employed by the University. Only three dining services managers -- Managing Director of Campus Dining Peg Lacey, her executive assistant Pam Lampitt and Meal Contract Coordinator Adam Sherr -- were assured of keeping their jobs. Officials have said the decision was prompted solely by a desire to improve the quality of food, not to cut costs. After the final hiring of Dining employees has been completed, Bon Appetit will then search from within its own company -- as well as outside the business -- to fill the remaining managerial positions, Bauccio said. The move is the latest major outsourcing deal that the University has made in the past two years. In 1997, Penn announced plans to outsource most of its facilities management operation to the Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co., a highly controversial decision that affected about 160 employees, about 120 of whom were rehired. That deal was estimated to save the University about $15 million a year in facilities' management costs. The University has also recently outsourced the Faculty Club and part of its benefits administration department. While Moneta said that he could not compare the Dining outsourcing to the Trammell Crow deal, he did say that the Bon Appetit transition has so far been "relatively smooth." "Given how difficult outsourcing arrangements are, we handled this as best we could," Moneta said. "Generally, I think the outcome has been very positive." Bon Appetit will provide tuition and benefits packages to all Dining employees similar to what they have received from the University, Moneta said. Those packages include extending tuition benefits to the former Penn employees for 10 years as well as standard benefits such as medical, dental, vision and life insurance -- which should be roughly comparable to what they had received while working at Penn. Bauccio said that Bon Appetit aims to provide Dining with a "very customized approach, a very seasonal approach, with hopefully very fresh tasting food." Bon Appetit signed on last March to serve as the University's primary caterer and to advise Penn on Dining restructuring. The company also signed a deal to operate all food service facilities in the Perelman Quadrangle, the $69 million student center -- located in the heart of campus --scheduled to debut next year.
