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(11/12/97 10:00am)
Decreases in funding have forced center officials to revise program offerings. Speakers venturing to campus this semester for the Middle East Center's lecture series are advised to bring bagged lunches. The center is currently engaged in a struggle for survival, amidst mounting financial burdens coupled with minimal support from the deficit-ridden School of Arts and Sciences. And the fallout has been widespread. "We can't even treat our speakers to lunch anymore," Middle East Center Assistant Director Mary Martin said. The center, which coordinates lectures, courses and study abroad for dozens of departments, has received federal Title VI subsidies since its creation in 1965. But last spring, the U.S. Department of Education denied the center a Title VI grant of approximately $160,000, amounting to 50 percent of the center's income. The government also eliminated the funding for all foreign language graduate fellowships, which may deter prospective graduate students from studying in the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Department, Martin said. Although SAS pledged to contribute additional money to make up 5 percent of the lost Title VI grant, Martin said insufficient funding has forced the center to reduce staff and abort a number of workshops and conferences scheduled for this semester. She added that although the center is in the process of organizing a trip to Lebanon, student participants may be asked to contribute some of their own funds this year. Center Director and Arabic and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Professor Everett Rowson said he must "prioritize on a day-to-day basis." "We retained our lecture series because of its high visibility," he said, adding that the center will enlist local professors to avoid paying honoraria. Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Professor and center affiliate Roger Allen called the government's decision "shortsighted," adding that while the Education Department ranked the center as the best Middle East department in the early 1980s, it plummeted sharply last year. Allen, who studies Arabic, attributed the center's decline to the dwindling number of Middle East specialists at the University. He added that many state universities offer a more broad-based approach to Middle Eastern studies, integrating politics, economics, business and law into their curriculums. The Education Department awards grants to a limited number of centers every three years, evaluating faculty, outreach programs and university commitment. But Allen suspects that raw data tell only half the story. "People in Washington want to spread the wealth around and give fresh programs a chance," he said. Following the initial shock of losing funding, various faculty members met with Interim SAS Dean Walter Wales in an attempt to salvage the center. Wales assured faculty that SAS would maintain the center as an "entity with an office" under a "residual budget," which would permit operations at a minimal level, Allen said. In response to the center's financial difficulties, Wales appointed a task force last month to review the center's programs and University priorities. Additional funds will not be allocated until after the Task Force releases its recommendations. Allen, a member of the Task Force, said he hopes the group will complete its list of recommendations by early next year. He added that the center will not apply for Education Department funding in the year 2000 unless the University shifts its priorities. "It's time for the University to take a fresh look at what Middle Eastern studies means to Penn," he said. While SAS is busy "beefing up" programs in the Centers of African Studies and East Asian Studies, the Middle East Center in a "holding pattern" and has temporarily been placed in limbo, Allen said. But he said he is looking to the future, hoping to create more interdisciplinary courses in Middle Eastern Studies and eventually a master's program in Middle Eastern Environmental Studies. "The Middle East can't be cancelled," he said.
(11/06/97 10:00am)
The rapidly spreading "interim effect" within the University administration could be likened to an epidemic, particularly endangering the livelihood of the School of Arts and Sciences. The announcement last week of Provost Stanley Chodorow's upcoming resignation leaves yet another hole to be filled in the academic food chain. SAS has been without a permanent dean since former head Rosemary Stevens stepped down last fall to return to the History and Sociology of Science Department. Physics Professor Walter Wales has taken over on an interim basis since then. And the College of Arts and Sciences awaits a replacement for Dean Robert Rescorla, who will step down at the end of the semester. "The rapid turnover in key administrative positions can only create or exacerbate all manner of instability within a University," College dean search committee member and Music Department Undergraduate Chairperson Norman Smith said, adding that an administration in a state of semi-constant flux has a "demoralizing effect" on faculty and students. The situation has been especially frustrating within SAS, where having an interim dean "constrains decision-making and planning processes within SAS," Anthropology Department Chairperson Gregory Possehl said. When the Political Science Department solicited SAS funds to hire faculty specializing in political theory and minority politics, Wales said it was "inappropriate" to set priorities for the new dean and put the request off, according to Political Science Department Chairperson Ian Lustick. The Folklore Department encountered a similar response from Wales when it was searching for a replacement for Department Chairperson Margaret Mills last month. But explaining those decisions, Wales said it was impossible to please every department, adding that he has tried to "make sure the school moves ahead." While having a new batch of top-level administrators has the potential to disrupt the continuity of College policy, many faculty members expressed confidence that their current agenda will remain a top priority during the transition period. "President Rodin won't appoint a provost who doesn't accept the goals of the 21st Century Project," said Arabic and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Professor Roger Allen, who chairs the Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum committee. FLAC has become "an institutionalized idea," he added. Other initiatives outlined in the College's portion of the administration's Agenda for Excellence, including an emphasis on writing and quantitative skills and a focus on interdisciplinary programs, should also not be threatened, because they are in the final stages of the approval process. Wales said that since Rescorla's successor will be "an internal person," he or she will be very familiar with the school's procedures. Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Kent Peterman compared running a school to "piloting a barge," adding that "it doesn't turn on a dime." And Rescorla called policy-making a "team effort," adding that he taps the faculty, rather than the administration, for new ideas. But Rescorla said he was worried that the school's "momentum" may eventually run out if a new provost, SAS dean and College dean are not appointed soon. While the University's recent history has been riddled with administrative transitions, Wales -- who also served as interim dean in 1987 and 1991 -- said the present transition is "taking longer" than those in years past. Interim President Claire Fagin and Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson guarded the helm for only a year before the arrival of University President Judith Rodin and Chodorow in 1994. Wales attributed the slowness this time around to the delayed search process and Rodin's "high standards." But Allen cited the importance of a quick appointment, adding that Penn's newfound status as a university with several administrative gaps may deter potential candidates from accepting any one of the three available positions. "The [candidate] wonders, 'Who's making the decisions around here'," Allen said. "Either the administration has been very picky, or several primary candidates have turned the position down," he added. Allen said the latter scenario would not come as a surprise, considering the current SAS budget deficit. "The primary function of an SAS dean is to be crucified on a wall every year and told to cut millions from the budget," he said. "SAS is the budget whipping boy of the University."
(11/05/97 10:00am)
The origin of power relations, intellectual history and gender constructions resides in room 218 of the University Museum. The Center for Ancient Studies -- a resource center housing library and object collections of ancient civilizations around the globe -- has finally "found its purpose," Center Director and Art History Professor Holly Pittman said. Although the School of Arts and Sciences created the Center last year as part of a 21st Century Project initiative designed to identify University strengths in ancient studies, the Center will achieve the status of a fully functioning entity this spring by offering a minor in Ancient Studies. The interdisciplinary minor provides students with a "coordinated, structured approach" to the study of the cradle of civilization, Pittman said. The minor consists of six courses, one of which is a required introductory course, Ancient Studies 101: "Ancient Cultures Around the World." This "gateway, multimedia" course will introduce students to the core civilizations of Africa, the Ancient Near East, South Asia, East Asia, Europe and the New World. The course highlights the methodology of disciplines studying the ancient world, including archaeology, anthropology, political science and history. It may be counted toward the History and Tradition General Requirement, pending committee approval. "We are emphasizing the structure of study, not the material of study," Pittman noted. The remaining five courses in the minor may be selected from a pool of more than 200 course offerings, spanning seven departments. Additionally, students may double-count as many as three courses from a closely related major or minor. The minor effectively complements majors in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences and professional schools, according to Classical Studies Professor Joe Farrell. He said the new minor does not compete with the existing minor in Classical Studies, adding that students should investigate ways to combine the strengths of both. "A Classical Studies major [which focuses on Greece and Rome] would combine well with an Ancient Studies minor? since it would encourage students to view the Greco-Roman world as part of a larger cultural, material, geographical and intellectual context," he said. According to prospective Ancient Studies minor Rima Laham, classical studies has its roots in the ancient studies discipline. "History is full of patterns," the College sophomore said. "This is where it all started." And University Museum Director Jeremy Sabloff stressed that a number of important lessons may be learned from the past. "Appreciating the development and accomplishments of ancient civilizations is directly relevant to understanding many of the problems faced by the modern world, including population pressures, environmental degradation and differential access to food and material goods," he added. It is difficult for a "modern person" to identify with an ancient group as a result of the "sheer distance in time" separating the two, Farrel added. But he said that minors will gain a sense of "cultural literacy," which may help shape the way students perceive the world. Students hoping to plunge into the depths of tradition better act fast. Although students may receive approval for most College minors up until graduation day, they must declare a minor in Ancient Studies by the end of their junior year, so that they may take advantage of "the strongest faculty in this country studying ancient studies," Pittman said
(11/03/97 10:00am)
College of Arts and Sciences students declaring English majors this spring will be spared a senior thesis but faced with a new language and literature requirement. The revised major intends to emphasize language and literary history while de-emphasizing large survey courses. It calls for the abolishment of the senior writing requirement, the implementation of a language and literature requirement, the standardization of concentrations and added flexibility in fulfilling core literary historical requirements. The plan represents "the largest philosophical change in the culture of undergraduate English," English Undergraduate Chairperson Elisa New said. As pre-registration begins today, both prospective and current English majors will be able to take advantage of the revised bill of requirements, which covers three areas: language and literature, literary history and a six-course concentration. The revised major requires 13 course units, a small increase from the previous 12-course-unit major. In outlining the reasons underlying the elimination of the 20-25 page senior thesis, English Chairperson Wendy Steiner noted that students were "not using it well," adding that the requirement was originally intended to be a culmination of a student's work in a concentration. Majors may fulfill the new Language and Literature requirement by completing English 19: "The History of English Language," a designated medieval literature course, any Linguistics course or a fifth semester of a foreign language. "Instead of seeing language as an obstacle to the recovery of themes, students will see language as itself -- a building block of literature," New said. She added that the "historitization" of concentrations may encourage some majors to step outside of the 20th century realm and embrace other eras. And in accordance with the enhanced "historical texture" theme, the creative writing concentration will include a significant genre component. Concentrators may choose to focus on prose or on poetry and poetics, and select among the critical, creative and drama tracks. Students will have ample opportunity to double-count courses by "combining literary, historical and concentration requirements," New said. The majority of these requirements may be completed by enrolling in small seminar courses, which provide an intimate setting for faculty to teach subjects "closer to their own hearts," she added. "We have an incredibly talented faculty teaching some of the most competitive students in America, but they're not teaching the materials they want to teach," New said. The new major plan originated at last year's faculty retreat, where members expressed frustration over the number of survey courses offered each semester. In order to bridge student interest with the faculty's "intellectual passion," the department will encourage students to seek more in-depth coverage at the intermediate and advanced levels when core courses overlap with areas of concentration, New added. Students hoping to gain an introduction into the canon and literary method of a particular area of study are advised to enroll in courses comprising the new 20, 60, 40, 80 series-- formerly the 200-203 series. English Undergraduate Advisory Board member Amanda Karsten lauded the department's efforts to incorporate flexible requirements. "The greater choice allows students to be mature -- not just robots fulfilling major requirements," the College senior said. But College sophomore and prospective English major Angie Sharma said she worried that an additional course requirement may render double-majoring an impossibility. "We already have so many requirements," she said. "It's a little annoying to have to take another class." And College sophomore Ashley Curran-Morris expressed sympathy for students faced with a slew of graduation requirements. "If you're running out of time to fulfill your general requirements, you better rush to declare [the major] this term," she added. New admitted that the new major may be more "rigorous," adding that some students who "aren't interested in literary history," may abandon their desire to major in English and seek refuge in other departments.
(10/31/97 10:00am)
The talk-show host and 1962 College graduate discussed the blurring of new and entertainment. 1962 College graduate Maury Povich's University experience may be likened to a Shakespearean tragedy. "My career at Penn was starcrossed," the talk-show host said yesterday. "I joined a frat that was kicked off campus, and one year later I was kicked off campus." But after failing out once and reapplying to the University, where he spent a "wild, wacky, long" five years and change, the devoted English major and Phi Epsilon Phi brother said he harbors no ill will toward his alma mater. And the College Alumni Society certainly welcomed Povich back with open arms. The society, in conjunction with the World Affairs Council, a public policy forum, invited the Emmy award-winning journalist to speak at the Warwick Hotel yesterday evening as part of a series designed to spotlight notable alumni. Addressing a crowd of approximately 200 College alumni and members of the council, Povich discussed the evolution of his profession and the increasingly "blurred" distinction between news and entertainment. In highlighting the history of the field, Povich noted that editors and publishers have been selling newspapers through "flashy" headlines ever since Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. While the mass media's coverage of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy assassination and Vietnam War restored the public's faith in journalism, Povich cited a shift in network priorities during the '70s and '80s -- decades characterized by condensed news stories, celebrity gossip and "infotainment." College junior Terence Cho characterized Povich as one of the founding fathers of "tabloid journalism." Although Povich has enjoyed a successful career in broadcast journalism, exploring every facet of the field -- from reporter to sportscaster to anchor to executive producer -- he may best be remembered for his five-year reign as host of A Current Affair. In describing his time with the "quasi-news magazine," Povich cited the program's "fresh" perspective and "rebellious" flavor. "We never took ourselves too seriously," he added. "Our only bylaw was to do stories that no one else was doing." Although he said the recent media craze over the Marv Albert trial reflects a sensational element inherent in modern journalism, he added that some reporters "refuse to get their hands dirty." His own philosophy is to get all the news that's fit to print. "If you're going to do the story, then do the whole story -- including bitings and panties," he said. While Povich is an avid subscriber to the "just hold your nose and deal with it" philosophy, he said he refuses to conduct his talk show, The Maury Povich Show, as a "physical comedy hour." "We make the public aware of social issues that don't receive enough attention," he said, adding that his talk show is "more serious" than Jerry Springer's. Povich has certainly reached College junior Melissa James, who said she was a devoted fan of the show throughout her high school years. "I used to have a crush on him," she said. "Every day after school I'd run home to watch the show." Povich explained that the clash between entertainment and news relies largely on the viewer, who is most experienced in differentiating between the two. "I'm not going to change my ways until [the viewer] asks me to," he added. But he cited the power of the Nielsen ratings over television content. "Unfortunately there's only one barometer, and that's not your taste, it's [the] Nielsen [ratings]," he added. Yet Povich stressed that ethical considerations factor into the format of his talk show. Journalists must present information in a "fair, balanced way," he said. "I don't care if you're interviewing the president of the United States or a cross-dresser -- the same standards apply." Perhaps he gained this sense of ethics as an undergraduate at Penn, exposed to a "full-rounded liberal arts curriculum." "We were immersed in an age of Bohemia," he said. "A lot of us played guitars, went to coffeehouses and followed Kerouac." According to Povich, the early '60s were a time of "innocence"-- students of his era remained untainted by drugs, the sexual revolution and preprofessional pressures. But although Povich may have exchanged his chinos, turtleneck and folk guitar for a three-piece suit, he encourages prospective journalists to "take [their] litmus test." "If you're honest with yourself and go anywhere to apply your trade, you'll be rewarded with a vibrant, profound life," he said.
(10/27/97 10:00am)
The College of Arts and Sciences is working to lighten the financial load of law school. Through a submatriculation initiative in conjunction with the Law School, College students interested in pursuing law degrees at their alma mater may soon be able to earn both a bachelor's degree and law degree within six years, thereby stuffing their pockets with thousands of dollars in saved tuition payments. College Dean Robert Rescorla facilitated discussion about the program with Law School Associate Dean Michael Fitts last year -- right around the time Wharton administrators were putting the finishing touches on their submatriculation program with the Law School. Eligible Wharton juniors and first-semester seniors may currently submatriculate in the Law School and receive a bachelor's degree in Economics and a Juris Doctor law degree. Only two Wharton students are submatriculating this year. Wharton Director of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Anita Gelburd attributed the low numbers to Wharton's delayed announcement of the program and the early law school application deadline. The College submatriculation program will function similarly to Wharton's. Students will apply to the Law School in their junior year, after taking the LSATs and completing a majority of the College graduation requirements. Applications will be reviewed by a separate admissions committee, although "the standards are the same" as for regular law applicants, Law School Assistant Dean for Admissions Denise McGarry said. Submatriculants will enroll in law courses during their senior year and may be able to double-count up to eight courses toward the completion of both degrees -- four law courses for the College degree and four College courses for the Law degree. Following a Committee on Undergraduate Education vote -- scheduled for mid-November -- the proposal will be sent to the College Faculty Committee and Law School for approval, Committee Chairperson and English professor Rebecca Bushnell said. "The [proposal] has a good chance of being approved by CUE this term," Rescorla said, adding that qualified members of the current junior class will most likely be able to gain admittance into the program. Although Rescorla said last fall that the pre-professional focus of Wharton may be more compatible with the submatriculation program than the College, he said this month that the proposal is largely "in response to student interest" and will allow students to take advantage of University resources. Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Kent Peterman said law school faculty are "comfortable" in the College, often engaging in "team-teaching and collaboration in research." While some students questioned why the College and Wharton submatriculation programs were not developed in tandem, officials said that developing such programs takes time. "We just take a long time to do things," Bushnell said, adding that the proposal requires "careful planning." Gelburd noted a "natural connection" between the Wharton and law school curriculums. "A significant proportion of our students pursue law degrees following graduation -- it is second only to the M.A.," she said. According to Wharton-Law submatriculant Mike Chen, the accelerated track allows for "more time to beg for a job." He added that submatriculation is "a tough transition," noting that his work load has increased from five to 25 hours a week. "The biggest thing I am giving up is the opportunity to have a relaxed, fun senior year," he said. Peterman said prospective submatriculants "need to have their aims set as freshmen," and only those with an "intellectual thirst" will succeed. Fitts said he is not worried about the possibility of a number of submatriculants distorting the diversity of the Law School. "We're looking for students with a lot of different backgrounds, but we're also looking for good students," he said. "Penn is a source for good students." And College senior Jen Feldman said she felt the program would benefit those pre-law students with specific professional aims. "The program is a good idea -- if you don't mind staying at Penn for an extra two years," she added.
(10/24/97 9:00am)
Two degrees for the price of one? The College of Arts and Sciences/School of Arts and Sciences submatriculation program allows qualified College students to make the most of Penn's hefty price tag, earning both a bachelor's and master's degree within four years. Although the majority of graduate programs require one to two years of study, submatriculating students may double-count a maximum of four courses to their B.A. and graduate degrees, thereby shaving off at least two semesters and the corresponding tuition payments. Approximately 30 students currently submatriculate in graduate-level programs, including SAS, the Graduate School of Education and the School of Dental Medicine. Although English represents the most popular SAS submatriculation program, a number of students study under graduate programs in History, Folklore, Anthropology and Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Economics and Political Science are the only departments that don't offer the option. The Graduate School of Education submatriculation program is particularly impressive to students seeking teaching certification within four years, College Assistant Dean of Advising Srilata Gangulee said. Yet College Dean Robert Rescorla said the usefulness of a master's degree varies by discipline. "There are fields in which [a master's degree] is the highest degree needed; there are other fields in which it is of quite minor importance," he said, adding that he would expect individual departments to instruct potential submatriculants accordingly. History Professor Bruce Kuklick said a master's in History is "good for your soul," especially if a student is interested in secondary school teaching. "Two degrees in four years has to impress an employer," Director of Career Planning and Placement Patricia Rose said. "Submatriculation reflects ambition, determination and an ability to master a discipline." Political Science Professor Henry Teune classified the M.A. as the "fastest-growing degree" in today's society, adding that a master's is particularly attractive to international organizations and government agencies. Although submatriculation offers students a "taste of graduate-level coursework," it may detract from the undergraduate experience, English Department Chairperson Wendy Steiner said. The professional outlook and serious stance of submatriculants may negatively affect their private lives, she said. Rescorla recommended that College students gain the broadest education possible within their four years at the University. "The increased concentration [submatriculation] entails may constrain the richness of a student's liberal arts education," he added. "It was more difficult than I initially anticipated," Folklore submatriculant Holly Shere said, adding that enrolling in four graduate courses qualifies as a "whole new level" of education and that the calibre of her peers took her somewhat by surprise. Yet she said the submatriculant may have an advantage over graduate students by being familiar with the department and by already having established a rapport with the professors. "The graduate school considers you much more as a colleague, whereas undergraduates just hand over their money," Mathematics submatriculant Robert Zeithammer said. Gangulee warns prospective submatriculants to consider academic objectives and requirement standing before embarking on the complicated application process. The choice to submatriculate should be guided by a strong interest in either higher research in the selected academic field or in graduate-level professional training, she said. Prospective submatriculants should consult with a College advisor during their sophomore year and apply for submatriculation at the beginning of their junior year. Applications will not be processed after the fall term of senior year.
(10/21/97 9:00am)
Members of the College of Arts and Sciences' Class of 2002 are in for a statistical treat when they arrive at the University next fall. The Committee on the Quantitative Analysis requirement has spent the past two months approving courses that will fulfill the new requirement -- focusing on the numerical analysis of data -- and hope to complete final course selection by the end of the semester. "We are about halfway through our task," Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and committee member Kent Peterman noted, adding that the majority of the 31 courses already approved for the requirement are rooted in the physical and social sciences. Courses in the Physics and Psychology departments represent more than one-third of the total approved courses. A number of offerings are also concentrated in Sociology, Statistics and Biology. Anthropology 454: "Quantitative Analysis of Anthropological Data" and Urban Studies 200: "Introduction to Urban Research" constitute the only approved courses in their respective departments, but Peterman emphasized that the list is far from complete. The quantitative skills requirement, approved last February, cites "sophisticated thinking about quantitative evidence" as integral to contemporary society, future employment and personal decision-making. College students matriculating in fall 1998 and thereafter will be required to complete at least one course incorporating mathematical or statistical analysis of evidence. College Dean Robert Rescorla -- who appointed the initial committee -- said that students completing the requirement will have "sufficient fluency in working with quantitative information to make convincing arguments to other decision-makers." But Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairperson Ari Silverman said he was initially concerned about the broad nature of the new requirement and its potential for overlapping with the existing General Requirement in Formal Reasoning and Analysis. Four courses that already fulfill the Sector IV requirement have been approved for the quantitative skills requirement, committee member and College senior Adam Litwin noted. But Peterman said the majority of courses found under the Formal Reasoning and Analysis requirement, such as those in Computer science, Linguistics and Philosophy, do not hone quantitative skills. He added that the committee hopes to identify more courses in the humanities, particularly courses that may double-count for the Society, History and Tradition, and Arts and Letters General Requirements. "Most students will satisfy this requirement while satisfying other General Requirements or requirements in their majors," he said. "We are not eager to add another course that places a burden on students." But courses in the humanities have yet to be approved for the requirement. "We must look for courses where there is a natural fit," committee Chairperson Ingrid Waldron explained. "We're not trying to distort education," the Biology Department chairperson added. "We're only trying to enhance existing courses." Yet English Professor Rebecca Bushnell said the committee is trying to encourage humanities professors to create more quantitative-oriented courses. She cited the possibility of incorporating these analytical tools into history of language courses or those focusing on literature and science. Waldron said the committee's sharpened criteria still allows for a wide range of courses, spanning a variety of disciplines. "Hopefully each person will fulfill this requirement on a topic that genuinely interests them," Waldron said.
(10/16/97 9:00am)
The Folklore and Folklife Department may be on its way to achieving endangered species status unless administrative priorities shift under the next School of Arts and Sciences dean. The department, which currently has six standing faculty members and three adjunct professors, has seen its numbers dwindle substantially in recent years, Folklore Department Chairperson Margaret Mills said. Over the past five years, about one-third of the Folklore professors have taken leave or left the University permanently, for various reasons. Mills herself will be taking a year-long absence from the department this spring to head Ohio State University's Near Eastern Studies Department. Although Mills is a tenured professor who has devoted 14 years to the department, Penn has not countered OSU's offer. Folklore Professor John Roberts, who currently on leave at OSU, has also received an offer from the school -- to head its English Department. Penn officials have yet to make a counter response. Explaining why the department has not filled any of its vacant positions, Interim SAS Dean Walter Wales said it is standard procedure not to replace faculty members unless they resign from their positions. He added that the school's reaction to job offers from other colleges depends on the terms of the offer, the faculty member's current appointment and "the economic health of [SAS]." But Folklore doctoral student Cati Coe said she worries this wave of faculty losses may jeopardize the department's future. "[Administrators] won't kill the department outright because it would lead to a huge outcry from the people, so they'll just kill it from neglect," she said. After hearing about Mills' offer from OSU last spring, Coe and 14 other graduate students wrote a letter to the Faculty Senate stressing the need to maintain support for the department. According to Faculty Senate Chairperson Vivian Seltzer, a Social Work professor, Senate representatives met with President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow to discuss the potential loss of Mills. Both administrators, however, said it was Wales' decision. The student delegation then organized a meeting with Wales to show their support for Mills. "We are all people whom Mills has affected," Coe said. Wales, however, told the students that as interim dean, it would be "inappropriate" to change SAS priorities. He added that Folklore is not a top priority. "All departments are not equally valuable to SAS," he said. "The Department of English, for example, is much more essential to the school's educational mission than are many of the other humanities departments." Nevertheless, Wales said the administration has no plans to eliminate the Folklore Department. But Mills said, "If people leave and you don't give them sufficient incentives to stay, then you don't need any plans to close the department." Although the department is one of the only doctoral Folklore programs in North America, the discipline does not receive respect from some members of the University community who question the marketability of Folklore degrees, she said. Coe, however, cited a number of employment options for prospective folklorists. "Our work has a lot of different applications for the medical, education and business communities," she said. Mills added that the department's 12 undergraduate majors do more than just study fairy tales. And Folklore Undergraduate Chairperson Regina Bendix said recent endorsements from the White House prove that Folklore can operate on a pre-professional track. "President Clinton seems to [value our work], or else William Ferris, a graduate of our department, would not be his likely new nominee for the National Endowment for the Humanities chairmanship," she said.
(10/07/97 9:00am)
College junior Brian Stern is hoping to spice up his spring semester with a bit of an international flavor. As a Folklore major harboring an interest in Tibetan studies, he recognizes the value of experiential learning in fostering a global outlook, and hopes to trace the origins of his discipline by conducting fieldwork in Tibet. But before he ventures halfway across the world to lease a Tibetan hut, he must make the necessary pilgrimage to the Office of International Programs. And although Penn Abroad manages 60 programs on six continents, it does not currently operate a program in Tibet, forcing Stern to petition the College Committee on Study Abroad for permission to study with the School for International Training, based in Brattleboro, Vt., and receive transfer credit and one-time non-permanent recognition of the program. The petition includes an application to the SIT program, an accompanying Penn Abroad petition application and a statement highlighting reasons why existing Penn programs are incompatible with his academic pursuits and relevant background. Additionally, Stern needs to provide a letter from his major advisor pre-approving credit from the abroad program, at least half of which will be applied to his major. He will also enclose information on SIT courses, instructional format, grading system and faculty credentials. Fortunately, Stern heeded OIP's advice of initiating the petition process one year ahead of his intended semester abroad, and first encountered the glaring red "guidelines for petitioners" form last spring. "The first line [on the form] is 'don't expect to be accepted'," he recalled. "This leads a person to ask, '[Is Penn] supporting education'?" International Programs Assistant Director Geoffrey Gee said prospective applicants are forewarned that the committee does not routinely approve reciprocal university exchanges or programs based in the same city or country as Penn Abroad programs, advising them to simultaneously file an application to an approved Penn Abroad program. Non-affiliated programs must provide for a "high degree of cultural integration and linguistic immersion" and the petitioner must meet with an advisor in the College office and an OIP Overseas Program Manager several months prior to the February 15 deadline for a fall semester abroad and the October 15 spring deadline. "We're doing students a service by making [the process] difficult," Gee said. International Programs Director Joyce Randolph added that the committee only reviews students with appropriate motivation. "The petition process is a self-selection process," she said. And although Stern described the petition process as "a big hassle," he agreed that the ordeal "reinforced his motivation" to pursue the abroad program. While several other students said the petition process was "aggravating," OIP statistics reveal a consistent 95 percent acceptance rate, College Committee on Study Abroad member Flora Cornfield noted. According to the 1996-97 OIP Annual Report, the committee accepted 30 petitions from about 32 applications. Eighteen of those students petitioned to study in developing countries for one semester under the auspices of SIT or the School for Field Studies, in Boston. The remaining 12 demonstrated clear academic objectives relative to their specific study opportunities, Cornfield said. The Annual Report also stressed the committee's commitment to toughen criteria in the upcoming year due to competition with "island" SIT and SFS programs -- options, OIP insists, that do not provide a high level of cultural immersion. And because students studying under non-affiliated programs reduce the number of reciprocal exchange places for incoming participants from other universities, the report ordered committee members to challenge petitions they found to be based on personal convenience rather than academic goals. But the College committee had also vowed to set higher standards at the beginning of the decade, during the experimental phases of the petition process. In the late 1980s, former Provost Michael Aiken appointed a task force to evaluate the status of Penn Abroad. Since Penn Abroad offerings were slim, students studied under a variety of non-affiliated programs, some of which were not academically compatible with a Penn education, according to the OIP. The office, therefore, tried to increase the number of available programs by affiliating with other institutions matching Penn's academic standards and philosophy. Originally, the College created the petition process for students engaged in independent studies who sought to continue their research in other countries. Students would petition OIP if it was not convinced that participants in the programs deserved credit. Although there were 150 approved programs in the early 1990s, the number has fallen to 60 programs this year, largely due to the faculty review committees who evaluate program quality every four years. The committees recommended that OIP stop listing previously petitioned programs and drop "island" programs and programs with low student interest, Gee said. In accordance with suggestions from the committees, OIP discontinued affiliation with four programs in France and one in Spain last year. The Penn Abroad program at the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain, however, does not offer enough spots to meet student demand, and usually resorts to a waiting list. OIP representatives told College senior Deborah Horowitz in spring 1996 that the Sevilla program was full and recommended she investigate Penn Abroad options in Latin America. She was not informed about the petition option. Gee said limiting approved programs allows the office to concentrate on existing options. "We are not going to carry the weight of advertising programs that students don't want to attend," Gee said. "We would rather spend our recruiting efforts on Penn Abroad programs." But are students able to arrive at an informed decision if the Penn Abroad catalogue refuses to list all of the available options? According to the report, in 1987-88, when OIP listed all 150 programs in its catalogue, approximately 60 percent of students studying abroad did so under non-Penn Abroad programs. In 1993-94, even after OIP had begun to stop listing a number of the petition programs, approximately 40 percent of the students studied under non-Penn Abroad programs. But in 1994-95, after the majority of non-Penn Abroad programs were eliminated from the catalogue, all of the 350 students studying abroad did so under Penn Abroad programs. "By identifying a smaller set, we could carefully review the programs to insure quality," College Dean Robert Rescorla said. "We set up a petition process so that students whose needs were not satisfied? could gain permission to go elsewhere." But Stern said he saw a discrepancy between College office and OIP attitudes toward petitions -- the former being "more supportive." Cornfield attributed the difference to the individual personalities of the advisors and said neither office means to discourage petitions. But Gee said there is no need for petitions in the majority of cases, stressing that "we can find something for just about everybody." Generally, when students do not find a program suited to their needs, it reflects a lack of research, poor grades, insufficient foreign language background or the "just want a vacation" mentality, he added.
(10/02/97 9:00am)
Lay down your weapons -- the University community surrendered to information technology long ago. The Alumni Writing Mentors program constitutes the most recent addition to the electronic writing advising trend, allowing University students and post-Penn professionals to engage in a friendly writing exchange. To participate in the program, students e-mail writing concerns and academic interests to awm@english.upenn.edu and receive the name and e-mail address of a mentor volunteer. After a brief introduction, mentors offer the students constructive criticism on writing samples, research projects and independent studies. Although a slew of writing advising opportunities -- such as writing center fellows, electronic writing advisors and writing seminar instructors -- are available to students, English Professor Al Filreis said the new program allows students to "take advantage of a mostly untapped intellectual resource." Filreis -- who created the program -- recruited its alumni network through various listserves, including his "Alumverse" on-line poetry class, a virtual version of the popular English 88 offered to Penn alumni free of charge. Alumni are involved in the initiative from a variety of professions, including publishing, editing, writing, public relations and advertising -- all careers where "good, clean writing is fundamental to success," Filreis noted. "We have hundreds of current Penn students who have [potential]l to become very good writers but who do not have a clear sense of what those skills can mean in terms of a writing career," he added. As a result, Filreis -- with the support of the Writing program and the Kelly Writers House -- launched a massive e-mail effort in August, contacting approximately 400 undergraduates about participating in the experimental program. Filreis has since signed on 12 undergraduates and 15 alumni. In addition to gaining writing feedback, some students use the program to foster personal relationships with their mentors. Although College senior Sara Cho's mentor unexpectedly fled the city for a monthly sojourn in Israel, the two maintain a constant dialogue despite the time difference and logistical problems. "This electronic medium offers an intimacy -- or an illusion of intimacy -- that seems to allow a sharing not only of work but of self," said Robin Goldberg, Cho's mentor. Personal relationships may lead to valuable career contacts, granting some students the opportunity to score internships over the Internet. While Filreis said career planning is secondary to the service's principal goal of providing writing advising in a real world context, he admitted that discussions inevitably arise between mentors and mentees concerning job prospects. Following their first session, College junior Carol Ying's mentor helped her land a public relations internship with the Penn Women's Council. "[Although] I never received any career advice at Penn, it was easy to find a job," alumni mentor Constance Bille said. "I know much more about the world than most faculty." Director of Career Planning and Placement Patricia Rose said individual career planning programs have sprung up in the absence of a University-wide initiative. Students expressed enthusiasm about connecting with people earning a living in their field. "It gives me hope that maybe someday I will have a career in this," Cho said. Alumni mentor Marc Machiz said that since Penn students receive minimal personal attention, it is important for the "Filreis collective" to be involved in the process of education. "It is necessary to redefine the alumni as part of a learning and teaching community, rather than as a mailing list full of donors," he said.
(09/26/97 9:00am)
The National Endowment for the Humanities is on its way to becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Pennsylvania. President Clinton has tapped University of Mississippi Anthropology Professor William Ferris -- who received his doctorate in Folklore from Penn in 1969 -- to succeed former University President Sheldon Hackney as the agency's head. Ferris will not officially take over the NEH until the Senate confirms his nomination, but "no one expects any problems," said NEH spokesperson Jim Turner. The nomination -- announced in August -- came as no surprise to Hackney, who is now back on campus as a History professor. He lauded Ferris as a "very creative intellectual entrepreneur in the best sense." Ferris founded the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at "Ole Miss" in 1979 -- the first of its kind for regional and cultural studies. Under his direction, the center has gained international recognition for its Southern studies discipline, a pioneering program that conducts symposiums on topics ranging from William Faulkner to Elvis Presley. "His center combines the three elements of the NEH itself -- an intellectual enterprise that sponsors scholarship, teaching and public programs," Hackney said. History Professor Drew Faust -- who, like Hackney, studies the American South -- said Ferris has successfully negotiated the tensions involved in leading a bi-racial program in Mississippi. "His integrative approach to the humanities" and ability to compromise will "serve him well" during his term, she said. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and his fellow Republican from Mississippi, Thad Cochran, both endorsed the Clinton's selection of Ferris -- a move that may reflect a growing Republican acceptance of the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts. Congress began funding the NEH in 1965 in order to support scholarship in a variety of disciplines, including language, literature, philosophy, history, archaeology and law. In July, the House of Representatives defeated a proposed amendment to eliminate the agency and appropriated $110.7 million to the NEH. But Turner noted that the money set aside for the NEH and NEA -- approximately $210 million -- constitutes only one 1/100 of 1 percent of the federal budget. A single fighter jet receives as much funding as an organization "nurturing the nation's cultural life," he added. But Hackney said the NEH is stronger and "less controversial" than when he began his four-year term in 1993. He assumed his position only one year before the Republicans won a majority in Congress and navigated the agency through severe budget cuts that eliminated 24 NEH programs and one-third of the staff. "Hackney's tenure coincided with Washington's cultural war," Turner said. Although Hackney encountered a "rough road," he maintained morale and forced the NEH into the "limelight," Turner added. While traditional historical discipline characterized Hackney's term, Ferris may choose to prioritize popular and material culture because of the nature of his academic interests, Faust said. In accordance with White House and congressional protocol, Ferris was unable to comment on his plans for the NEH, yet he said he harbors a "deep affection" for Penn, where he was introduced to his field. "NEH could not have better leadership, and it's no accident that he is a Penn-trained folklorist," Folklore Department Chairperson Margaret Mills said. And Faust said Ferris' nomination makes her proud to be a scholar in Southern studies. His appointment makes the NEH a place "where we have a voice on a national level," she said.
(09/24/97 9:00am)
Students can e-mail essays to advisors and are guaranteed to receive helpful criticism within a 24-hour period. As of this fall, University professors will turn a deaf ear to student pleas concerning faulty documentation and ambiguous thesis statements. Even the worst procrastinator should be able to resolve such problems before deadline with the Writing Advising Center's new round-the-clock e-mail advising program, a program designed to provide easy access and speedy answers to some of the most common problems plaguing student papers. As part of the program, students e-mail specific, straight-forward writing questions to advisors at writeme@english.upenn.edu, and are guaranteed a response within 24 hours. "In order to build a society that doesn't sleep, we must help each other around the clock," Writing Across the University Director Peshe Kuriloff said. Advisors are willing to read entire essays -- if they are under four pages -- and help with word choice, idioms, transitions, tone and clarity. Students seeking grammar and spelling help should consult their computer, dictionary or high school style book. The Writing Advising Center in Bennett Hall launched this experimental program -- piloted by 1997 College graduate Steven Morgan Friedman last spring -- mid-way through last year, advertising the service to a small group of English classes. Because of this year's heightened publicity, the center has consistently received two to three inquiries a day -- a dramatic increase from last semester's one question per week average. Students using the service span all schools and majors, with the majority of subscribers concentrated in the humanities. Although its organizers consider the electronic advising program an early success, College senior Meredith Peters, a student writing advisor coordinator, warned against using the electronic service as a replacement for normal walk-in advising appointments. "While this after-hours service represents an attempt to accommodate students during the times they are realistically writing their papers, it cannot substitute for a live session," she said. Writing Program Faculty Director Al Filreis said comparing live and e-mail advising is like comparing "apples and oranges," adding that "the latter is not intended to displace, replace or compete with face-to-face advising." He recommended that students follow-up on their e-mail advising session with an actual advising meeting at one of the center's three offices during its normal hours -- from 7 to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. The e-mail advising program constitutes the most recent addition to the Residential Faculty Council's "Wheel Project," an initiative designed to provide academic support programs in residences, including library, computing, math and writing advising. The Writing Advising Center consists of approximately 35 walk-in advisors and five e-mail advisors, all of whom have undergone one semester of training. Many students using the service -- in its various forms -- said they found it worthwhile. College freshman Sharon Yeshaya solicited both walk-in and e-mail assistance and said she found it helpful in organizing her thoughts. Electronic Writing Advisor Supervisor and College junior Myra Lotto said she hopes the popularity of the new program will change the face of writing advising in the future. "We have PennEscort until 3 a.m. for our safety," she noted. "Someday we'll have writing conferences until 3 a.m. for our education."
(09/22/97 9:00am)
Professor Dan Janzen said he will use the $430,000 award to endow Costa Rica's Guanecaste conservation reserve. Every spring, Biology Professor Dan Janzen trades in his high-tech Leidy Laboratory office for an isolated tin-roofed cabin in the Central American wilderness in order to engage in some "muddy-your-boots" biology. His self-described "user-friendly" approach to conservation biology has recently gained him international attention. This year, he garnered Japan's coveted Kyota Prize in Basic Sciences, a "Japanese Nobel Prize" of approximately $430,000 that is awarded every three years. Janzen said he plans to use his winnings to set up an endowment for the Guanecaste conservation reserve in Costa Rica. A technical advisor to the reserve, Janzen began effectively rebuilding the tropical dry forest after a gold-mining invasion in the early 1980s disrupted the area's biodiversity. Miners feel "morally legitimate" in exploiting a national park without an owner, Janzen said. "In order to avoid invasion, you must give the park a presence." Janzen and his wife, Winifred Hallwachs, took a practical approach to transforming the park into "society's farm," an area generating income for society while being protected from hunting, overgrazing and fires. He cited questions over the future of Yellowstone National Park as an example of the controversy surrounding the best way to preserve a natural environment -- should the park remain "an untouchable picture on the wall" in need of preservation, or should it "encourage" constructive human activity? He compared this "look but not touch" view of nature to a library's rare book section. "A library can only tolerate so many rare book sections before the city stops footing the bill," he said. "You must try to maximize use of a public reading room, without letting people razor-blade books." By offering the public access into national parks, the price of admission subsidizes food, transportation and wages, all vital elements to the daily operations of a reserve, Janzen said. "Tourists are a better kind of cow," he added. If an "ecotourist" finds refuge in a forest, then an environmentally-aware student finds comfort in Janzen's classroom. "Society has spent 100,000 years or longer trying to clobber nature," he said. "Your genes say, 'If it's wild, it's bad'. Students must understand this." But while Janzen focuses on plant and animal interactions in the hundreds of scientific journal articles he has published, in the classroom he discusses the economic and social implications of the "use it or lose it" mentality. "By destroying nature, you are removing the stimuli for a lot of your senses," he explained. "We don't want to live in a black-and-white world of human constructs. By removing wildlife, you are removing the complexity of nature -- the stuff that moves." Janzen attributed the public's detachment from nature over the past 50 years to society's shift from an agrarian to an urban lifestyle, although he said "the pendulum is finally swinging back." And since the field is expanding and becoming more visible, Janzen said he is optimistic for the future. "If I didn't think it was going to work, I wouldn't be trying it," he said. Biology Department Chairperson Andy Binns said Janzen's dedication and devotion qualify him as one of the top three conservation biologists in the world. "He doesn't seem to need to relax, Binns said. "He can attend a molecular biology lecture and tag butterflies at the same time, and he still asks the best question at the end of the lecture." Janzen earned the University's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1985 and two years later received an award for the Improvement of Costa Rican Quality of Life, proving that he is capable of balancing the demands of academia and field research. But he stressed that one overlying theme governs both aspects of his research. "If humanity allows the wild world to be eliminated, then they've culturally deprived themselves very severely," he said.
(09/18/97 9:00am)
With the hope of eventually eliminating walk-in advising hours, the College of Arts and Sciences is encouraging students to develop personal relationships with their advisors. Students in all classes take advantage of the walk-in hours, where they have a 15-minute appointment with an assistant dean for advising. But because a student may meet with a different advisor each visit, it is difficult to foster a close relationship. Under the current system, sophomores who have yet to declare a major are often caught in the gap between freshman and major advising. As part of the new initiative, however, the College assistant deans have begun e-mailing sophomores to assure them priority over daily walk-ins and to remind them to see their assigned advisors before planning future course work, College Assistant Dean Eric Schneider said. The program comes in response to a January Undergraduate Assembly report on advising that recommended that students cultivate relationships with specific advisors, instead of discussing their University careers during brief walk-in appointments. The College office recommends that students meet with their advisors once a semester, but problems arise when students forget to make appointments and then expect to speak with their assigned advisors immediately, Director of Academic Advising Diane Frey said. While personal advising is the best approach, such a relationship is difficult to maintain, she added. But Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairperson Ari Silverman said technology -- rather than personal attention --Ewas the most important change to the advising system. "Technology is changing the face of advising," Silverman said. "You can look on the Web for General Requirement information, the course scanner for course information and then e-mail basic questions to advisors." But some students still report problems with the system. College senior Vatsal Doshi said he encountered too much bureaucracy in declaring an individualized major, and finally decided against it. But Silverman said "the problem is that students don't know how to navigate this University." "Lots of resources exist, but students feel overwhelmed and don't know where to go," he added. The two prevalent attitudes in advising are "the paternalistic approach and the developmental approach," Silverman explained. University advisors subscribe to the second philosophy, discussing problems and offering advice without taking away students' power to control their own educations, the SCUE chairperson said. "College advising fosters independent people," head peer advisor and College junior Rachel Goldfarb said. But limited interaction with advisors, coupled with long lines in the College office, often prevents some students from ever contacting their assigned advisors. Frey said such problems may not be totally preventable, however, because advisors at a large university don't have the time to meet with their students on a weekly basis or continuously check on their progress. And increasing the advising staff, though it might seem attractive, would not make a permanent solution, Silverman said. "I don't think hiring new advisors is like sprinkling fairy dust," he added. "The problem won't just magically go away." Goldfarb noted that assistant dean advising is intended as a supplement to faculty, peer and residential advising. "For the types of questions the College office is supposed to receive, it's a fine system," she said.
(09/16/97 9:00am)
Outgoing College Dean Robert Rescorla will return to teaching in the spring, even if his successor has not yet been named. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Robert Rescorla announced last Wednesday that he will step down from his post December 31 regardless of whether permanent deans for either the School of Arts of Sciences or the College have been secured. Both Rescorla and interim SAS Dean Walter Wales agreed last June to remain in their administrative positions until President Judith Rodin and Provost Stanley Chodorow found permanent replacement deans. But at that time both deans were confident a new SAS dean would be named in a matter of months. The search has since been extended indefinitely. According to Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Kent Peterman, "The search committee has done its job and has turned over the names to [University] President [Judith] Rodin and Provost [Stanley] Chodorow." But Rodin has stressed the importance of making a well-informed decision. "We're going at a pace that allows us to make important decisions correctly," she said in August. Wales, who hails from the Physics Department, has yet to release a statement on whether he would resign from his post if the search continues past December. He has indicated, however, that he would like to return to research and teaching. Rescorla's announcement did not come as a shock to Wales, who understood his colleague's similar desire to return to full-time research and teaching in the University's Psychology Department next semester. Rescorla originally pledged to assume the position of College dean for a three-year tenure ending last July. But for the sake of "continuity," he decided to remain in office until the naming of a permanent SAS dean, who would then appoint his replacement. Due to a number of delays on both the committee and administrative levels, however, Rescorla alerted Wales in August to the possibility of his departure before the appointment of a new SAS dean. Although he previously planned to leave the College dean selection to his successor, in the wake of Rescorla's announcement, Wales said he will soon appoint a search committee to advise him on the decision. He admitted Rescorla will be difficult to replace. "I know of no one at the University with a deeper commitment to undergraduate education," he said. "Dean Rescorla has been an inspiration to all who care deeply about the intellectual experience of our students here." Wales added that he hopes to name a new associate dean by late fall. During his reign, Rescorla improved the student advising system, increased the number of undergraduate research opportunities, established several interschool minors and played a major role in the 21st Century Project, the University's initiative on undergraduate education. In addition, he achieved new levels of cooperation among undergraduate schools and improved communication among faculty, students and parents, Wales said. "Rescorla considered ways in which students fall through cracks in the system," Peterman added. "He introduced solutions to plug these cracks." But Rescorla, a leading experimental scientist, said he is excited to return to his Psychology students next semester and resume his research on elementary learning theory. While admitting that he enjoyed "his brief turn at administration," Rescorla said, "I believe it is very important that universities be run by faculty members, not career administrators. Fundamentally, changes come from the faculty and from students."
(09/15/97 9:00am)
Although the Undergraduate Assembly submitted a comprehensive report last January critiquing the current state of advising in the College of Arts and Sciences, the school's Advising Committee has been slow to implement any major changes to the system. The UA report, submitted to Provost Stanley Chodorow, recommended creating a strong residential base for advising by combining the roles of residential and peer advisors, in addition to improving the overall peer advising system and matching advisors and students with similar academic interests. In response to the report and previous survey results highlighting problems with advisor commitment and insufficient training, the Advising Committee decided to improve the peer training program for the fall. Just prior to the freshman move-in to the Quadrangle last month, approximately 170 peer advisors volunteered for a five-hour training session -- engaging in role-playing activities, listening to a number of speakers affiliated with the University community and contemplating solutions for common freshman complaints. "We changed the training from 'here's your folder, now go talk to freshmen,' to 'here's your folder, but now let's discuss the information,' peer advising head and College junior Rachel Goldfarb said. But despite progress in the training program, she admitted that the system is far from perfect. While Goldfarb received more than a few negative evaluations of peer advisors last year, she dismissed only one advisor out of the 60 in her sub-group. Mid-year adviser replacement disrupts the foundation of the advisor-advisee relationship, she explained. Since each advisor is assigned five to nine students, it is often difficult to maintain contact with everyone in the group, she noted. Yet the influx of peer advising applications forced the committee to establish a waiting list last spring, according to Director of Advising Diane Frey. While peer advisors are technically released from their duties by the end of the year, Goldfarb said she encourages her advisors to "establish a consistent rapport" with their freshman advisees, but that it is both the responsibility of the advisor and the student. Yet some students believe that matching academic interests is the only way to ensure a long and prosperous relationship with a peer advisor. College senior Ari Silverman said seven members of the Philosophy Department attempted to set up their own peer advising program to assist prospective majors during advance registration. During the summer, when the group asked Frey for contact information, she responded that President Judith Rodin and Chodorow "were dead-set against additional mailings being sent to freshmen," College and Engineering senior Ben Goldberger said. Consequently, the seven volunteers were unable to offer their services. "We had already selected the advisors at that point, and we didn't want to confuse students with additional names," Frye said. And Goldfarb added that "pairing up in majors limits students," leaving them at a disadvantage in the long run. Despite recent advances in the peer advising program, "it's probably not enough," College junior and former UA member Dave Futer said. The UA would like to see a program implemented where residential advisors would replace peer advisors, so that students would have the advantage of living in close proximity to their academic and residential peer advisor, Futer added. But Goldfarb said she has faith in the current system. "People graduate every year, so we must be doing something right," she said. Peer advising constitutes only one tier of College advising's four-tiered approach: faculty advising, peer advising, assistant deans for residence and assistant deans for advising.
(09/11/97 9:00am)
Visiting History Professor Patrick Dele Cole ran for president of Nigeria in 1992 before coming to Penn. Patrick Dele Cole has been Nigeria's ambassador to Brazil and headed Africa's largest publishing house, and his views have caused the Nigerian government to force him out of politics. But now, having traded the political platform for the classroom, he is spending the semester at Penn as a visiting History professor teaching about African nationalism and independence. His evaluation of the Nigerian system: "There's a lot of manipulation and corruption involved. [My candidacy] was a foolish, expensive pursuit." Cole entered Nigeria's presidential election in 1992 as a candidate for the Social Democratic party, but got more than he bargained for. "I thought all you had to do was explain to people how to better their circumstances," he said, admitting that he never imagined the Nigerian people would succumb so easily to monetary influence. After citing "corrupt practices," the government aborted the election and banned Cole and his opponents from future political participation. To this day, Cole is convinced that the sitting government sought to remain in power for a few more years and fabricated the charge in order to excommunicate some of Nigeria's most influential leaders. "Wealth has made politics an exclusive club," he said in retrospect. But despite his disillusionment, Cole maintains his life-long interest in the workings of political systems. While growing up in the unstable political climate of Enaugu, Nigeria, amidst the transition from colonial to independent rule following World War II, Cole's first knowledge of history and political science came from listening in on his parents' discussions. What began as a flighty fascination with the mechanics of the adult world solidified into a serious career plan after Cole accepted a Commonwealth scholarship in a double major program at the University of Otago in New Zealand. He continued his studies under a UNESCO Fellowship at the Free University of Holland after receiving his bachelor's degree in 1964. But the death of his father and the impending civil war in Nigeria temporarily called him away from his academic duties. He thought briefly about taking leave from academics, but received a scholarship to a doctoral program at King's College in England. Penn first recruited Cole in 1969. He knew nothing about Philadelphia but decided to accept a position as a History professor for four years. He returned to Nigeria in 1973 as an administrative officer to the federal cabinet. He consulted with the government in developing a blueprint for the transfer of power from military to civilian rule. He was also a key player in Operation Feed the Nation -- "a cultural experiment" meant to encourage public involvement in agriculture. Three years later, the Nigerian government offered Cole a position as CEO of the Daily Times of Nigeria -- Africa's largest publishing house at the time -- in order to gain widespread approval for the democratization of the country. In addition, he wrote speeches for the head of state. "It was necessary to sell the program to the people," Cole recalled. His political influence extended to foreign policy in 1987 when he was appointed Nigeria's ambassador to Brazil. During a time characterized by strong public support for the abolition of racism, Cole and his colleagues devoted "85 percent" of their efforts to battling apartheid in South Africa. Once they won that struggle, they focused their attention on poverty and the inequitable distribution of goods -- a problem Cole deemed "the insecurity of the world." "That was a lost cause," he admitted regretfully. Cole has written a number of books and articles highlighting race's interaction with politics, economics and the media. "For a long time, people were brainwashed into stereotypes of white, black and Chinese," he said. "It is necessary to break away from that acculturation." History Department Chairperson Lynn Lees said she is excited to have Cole on staff this semester. "His range of extraordinary experiences will be beneficial to both faculty and students," she said. Cole is teaching History 76 and History 381, two courses about African history, and said he enjoys the freedom of ignoring the social graces of an ambassador or a businessman. Yet he added that he values his diverse background. "In all of these lives which one has lead, they all reach the final result -- the life which one is leading," he said.
(09/10/97 9:00am)
Despite the addition of one professor, the department is still looking to improve through a major recruitment initiative. Last January, the Political Science Department announced an initiative to improve its visibility by hiring several full-time, senior faculty members. But although a task force of professors from across the University has been meeting for the past nine months -- consulting with top experts and discussing the state of the field -- progress on implementing the initiative has been slow, according to Political Science Department Chairperson Ian Lustick. The department recently hired Professor Marie Gottschalk from Yale University to teach a course entitled "The American Presidency," but this junior authorization was not part of the original initiative. "It is extremely difficult to recruit at the senior level, especially when you're going after the best people in the world," Lustick explained. The recruitment initiative is part of an agenda the College of Arts and Sciences drafted last year in accordance with the administration's Agenda for Excellence, which was released in November 1995. Committee Chairperson and History Professor Richard Beeman said the committee is searching for scholars who demonstrate "an intellectual vision" consistent with that of the existing department and the administration's agenda. Since the search committee has advertised in several academic newsletters and already received a number of proposals, Lustick said he was confident the department will hire at least one professor by July and another three or four professors by next fall. Penn's department currently includes only 21 faculty members. The nation's top-10 political science departments, by contrast, have a median of 42 faculty members. "Small departments in small colleges are nice," Political Science Professor Jack Nagel said, adding that a large university of Penn's caliber demands a big department to meet its students' needs. According to popular ranking scales, the department is ranked significantly lower than other top research institutions. While the department has a fairly strong base in International Relations and Comparative Politics, Lustick attributed the relatively low standing to the slim offerings in the area of American Democratic and Legal Institutions. "We need to be competitive with other Ivy League schools," he said. Additionally, since Philadelphia is considered by many to be the birthplace of liberty, it would be "appropriate" for an institution like Penn to have a strong program in American Democracy, Beeman said. To this end, the department approved an American Public Policy minor last spring. But the new minor requires more courses in the American presidency and the legislative process. And more courses means more professors. Despite the slow progress, Lustick applauded his department for its efforts towards achieving national exposure. The initiative represents "an unprecedented effort to strengthen research on American democratic institutions that will increase the profile and vigor of the department," he said.
(09/08/97 9:00am)
History Professor Jack Reece died of a heart attack August 30 after serving the University community for nearly three decades. He was 56. His unexpected death -- from heart trouble caused by a pneumonia he contracted while battling AIDS -- left a "wide gap in the department," History Professor Robert Engs said. Reece specialized in modern European history at the undergraduate and graduate levels in both the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of General Studies until AIDS forced him to take medical leave in 1994. His expertise in Mediterranean Europe, Italy, France, fascism and modern Europe, will make him difficult to replace, History Professor Walter McDougall said. But more importantly, many of Reece's colleagues said they will miss his good humor, reliability and common sense. Reece joined Penn as a professor in 1971 after receiving his doctorate in modern European history from Stanford University. He arrived armed with an array of honors, including a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a Ford Foundation Fellowship and a Phi Beta Kappa Key from his alma mater, the University of Michigan. Reece rose through the ranks of the History Department, eventually serving as chairperson of both the undergraduate and graduate departmental programs. He published a book in 1977 dealing with minority nationalism in Brittany. And at the time of his death, Reece was working on another book about the Sicilian Mafia. Additionally, he contributed to numerous history journals and lectured to political leaders and scholars at international conventions. Reece's lectures were also well-attended in his home court, where his popularity as a professor stemmed from a passionate teaching style that always encouraged camaraderie and "energetic student participation," according to McDougall. And History Department Chairperson Lynn Lees added that Reece "took a personal interest in all of his students." Reece received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching in 1973 and CGS named him its "Teacher of the Year" in 1989. But Reece's commitment to his students and colleagues extended far beyond the doors of 3401 Walnut Street. He became actively involved in approximately 25 committees, ranging from the University Task Force on HIV/AIDS to the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Racial and Sexual Harassment. He sought increased communication between faculty and the administration and mocked the pretensions of academic life. "Reece believed that Penn took itself too seriously," Engs said. "He wanted us to stop trying to pretend that we were Princeton and take pride in practical things." And former student Barry Bergen, who received his doctorate in history from Penn in 1987, remembered his mentor's dislike for politicians whose behavior didn't measure up to his standards. While Reece ignored pretentious academics, he embraced pragmatic scholars. His colleagues repeatedly described him as "kind-hearted, courageous and dignified." Former student Steven Zdatny -- who received his doctorate in history in 1982 -- said Reece possessed "a slightly distant and ironic approach to the world, combined with a fierce commitment to doing what was right and an unshakable personal honesty." "His understanding of the world and people went far beyond the ivy-covered walls of the academy," Bergen added. He epitomized the "model of a scholar, a teacher and a human being." The History Department will establish a memorial fund in Reece's honor by the end of the fall. All proceeds will benefit graduate students in history. Funeral services for Reece are scheduled for September 28 in Fulton, Mich.
