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(08/29/97 9:00am)
Irvine Auditorium closed over the summer for extensive renovations, as construction of the new Perelman Quadrangle shifted into high gear. The Perelman Quad -- named for University Trustee and alumnus Ronald Perelman, who pledged $20 million to the project --Ewill connect College, Houston, Williams and Logan halls and Irvine Auditorium to create 85,827 square feet of meeting rooms, study lounges, student organization offices and performing arts spaces. The renovated Irvine Auditorium will feature European-style seating, with no aisles, and entrances from the wings of the facility instead of from the rear. It will also have a new sound system designed to make the facility better suited to the differing needs of the Curtis Organ, speeches, and musical performances. The side balconies will be removed and a sound-proof practice space will be built above the stage. Additionally, Irvine's basement will house both practice and office space for performing arts groups, as well as dressing rooms and space for set construction and costume design. And the parking lot next to Irvine will also be transformed into a park similar to College Green. Irvine -- which is scheduled to reopen in December 1998 -- is the second of the four buildings to be closed for construction. The exterior of Logan Hall was recently renovated at a cost of $8.8 million. When the current $9.2 million interior renovation is completed, the building will include a 330-seat auditorium, a 150-seat recital hall and a ground floor art gallery. It is scheduled to reopen in December 1997. Williams and Houston halls will close next summer and reopen in December 1999. Houston's ground floor will contain a new cafe, browsing library and reading lounge. On its lower level, the game room will be expanded and some retail shops will be replaced by a large kitchen to service the Hall of Flags. Additionally, a two-story glass atrium designed for 24-hour reading and quiet study will be built between Logan and Williams halls.
(08/29/97 9:00am)
Playwright and gay activist Larry Kramer accused Yale University of homophobia after the school refused to accept his multi-million dollar offer this summer to endow a tenured professorship in gay studies. Kramer, who graduated from Yale in 1957, helped found the Gay Men's Health Crisis support group in 1981 and created the AIDS activist organization Act Up -- a group which has become known for exploits such as interrupting trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1989. In a letter to Kramer, Yale Provost Alison Richard explained that university officials felt gay and lesbian studies was too narrow a field to merit a permanent professorship. She added that Yale could not add a professorship without cutting another because there is also a freeze on faculty hiring. But since Kramer offered to endow the job himself, Yale would not have had to pay for the new professor's salary, so it is not clear that the hiring freeze would apply. Richard said Yale's decision was also based on the conviction that the faculty, rather than the donor, should be responsible for establishing tenured professorships. Two years ago, Yale rejected a $20 million gift from Texas billionaire Lee Bass to create a program in traditional Western thought. Bass had made the donation in 1991, when Penn President Judith Rodin was Yale's provost. When Yale rejected the Bass gift, it also pointed to what officials called Bass's requests for unreasonable control over the program. Richard drew a parallel between the two gifts, defending Yale's most recent action on the same grounds used to reject the Bass donation. Kramer -- who is HIV positive -- first approached Yale with the proposal more than nine months ago when he began to make out his will. He withdrew the offer in July after several meetings with Richard and said he is now considering establishing an independent foundation. "I have no question in my mind that my gift was rejected because of extreme homophobia," he said. "There's no question that Yale is not a friendly place for gay professors or teachers." Kramer explained that he wanted to make a contribution that would help gay students feel more comfortable at Yale than he did in the 1950s. During his freshman year, he tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. "I tried to kill myself because, as far as I was concerned, I was the only gay kid on the face of the earth," he said. Kramer conceded that Yale students can now turn to several campus support services -- including a Lesbian and Gay Studies Center opened in 1987 -- but called the center a "hole in the wall." He complained that most gay studies courses at Yale are taught by non-tenured or visiting professors and said gay students need gay professors they can turn to for advice. "If you are willing to teach African American history or women's studies, why are you not willing to teach gay studies?" he asked. "As we grow more and more visible, we want to use our money to teach about us." He explained that as an academic discipline, gay studies would focus on gay contributions to history, sociology, politics and culture as well as aspects of sexual identity. Though most of his fame comes from his political activism, as a writer, Kramer is best known for his novel Faggots and his play The Normal Heart.
(08/29/97 9:00am)
The retail district will cost $120 million and is slated for completion by fall 1998. Wearing hard hats and carrying shovels, University and city officials took the first steps toward making their vision of an upscale retail district a reality during a ceremonial groundbreaking of the $120 million Sansom Common project June 20. Executive Vice President John Fry presided over the festivities, which coincided with the approval of $73 million for the first phase of the project by the University's Board of Trustees. The ceremony took place under a tent in the parking lot at 36th and Walnut streets, where construction on the new Barnes & Noble bookstore began later in the summer. In addition to the bookstore, scheduled to be completed in fall 1998, future phases of the project will include construction of the Inn at Penn -- a 250-room, full-service hotel -- renovation of the Graduate Towers and retail, restaurant and residential development on the 3600 and 3700 blocks of Sansom Street. Although the University has not yet executed any leases with specific tenants, Managing Director of Real Estate Tom Lussenhop said Penn officials have "been marketing this project to tenants for six to eight months now, and there is tremendous interest." He added that apparel and sporting goods stores, restaurants, cafes and bars will be brought into Sansom Common, and stressed that he will release specific names of the stores sometime this fall when leases are signed. "Some of the negotiations are underway -- we're eager to let everybody know what the nature of this interest is, and we're listening very closely to the market," Lussenhop said. When the project is completed, University President Judith Rodin said Sansom Common should be a "vibrant area with substantial late-night activity" and increased safety. "This is a great project for Penn," Rodin said. "It is also a great investment in our community." Fry added that the project will create approximately 400 permanent jobs and 275 construction jobs. Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation President William Hankowsky -- representing the vacationing Mayor Ed Rendell -- emphasized the importance of these jobs for the city. "There is no greater mission than to create employment for our citizens," he said. "Jobs are the solution to our fiscal problems and social ills." He added that the project "enhances the development of West Philadelphia" and complements the city's plan to make Philadelphia a "destination." City Council President John Street was also enthusiastic about the project. "We believe this project is symbolic of the progress being made in making Philadelphia the best place to live, work, study and play," he said. And Board of Trustees Chairperson Roy Vagelos called the project an "enormous investment" designed to increase the safety and quality of life of University students. University officials have selected LaSalle Partners to serve as the project's development manager and Elkus/Manfredi Architects to design the project, with Turner Construction Company heading up the construction. Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer Lindsay Faber contributed to this article.
(08/29/97 9:00am)
Carmen Williams -- a doctoral student in biomedical science at Medical School -- became the first person at the University to receive a prestigious, $500,000 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Biomedical Sciences. She became one of only 19 scientists nationwide to receive a 6-year, $500,000 grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund -- an independent private foundation established in 1955 to advance the medical sciences through supporting research and other scientific and educational goals. Williams -- a research associate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology --Esaid she discovered the grant in an on-line advertisement. The application process involved a five-page proposal of one's plans for six years of postdoctoral research and the submission of letters of recommendation from a residency supervisor and other university representatives. Williams said she wanted to use the grant to continue her research on the fertilization process. She is studying the subject for her doctoral thesis. Her research will investigate the mechanisms by which sperm alert eggs to their presence so fertilization can occur. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund advisory board chose 32 finalists from the more than 200 scientists who submitted proposals. Williams flew to Dallas for an interview with members of the advisory board, which included many well-known scientists. During the interview, she made a five-minute presentation about her proposal and answered questions for 15 minutes. "It was intimidating, to say the least," she said. A magna cum laude graduate of Duke University with a bachelor's degree in engineering, Williams received her medical degree from Duke's School of Medicine in 1986. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1990, where she won the Resident Teaching Award. In 1992, Williams completed her fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University's Medical Center and began a doctoral program in Cell and Molecular Biology. She has co-authored several published studies and was certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1994.
(08/29/97 9:00am)
Harvard University officials revealed this summer that they spent $88 million over the last eight years to secretly acquire more than 52.6 acres of land in the Allston area of Boston, located across the Charles River from Harvard's Cambridge campus. In order to hide its involvement in the deals, Harvard purchased the properties -- which include a shopping center, a vacant Sears building and the site of a former concrete plant -- through the Beal Companies of Boston. The university now owns 220 acres in Cambridge and 192 acres in Allston. While most people associate Harvard with Cambridge, the Harvard Business School and Alumni Stadium are both already located in Allston, on top of the additional properties. In a letter to Harvard President Neal Rudenstine, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he was disappointed the university chose to conceal its identity rather than being up front with the city. He said the recent real estate dealings represent "the highest level of arrogance seen in our city in many years." But Harvard spokesperson Joe Wrinn said buying anonymously through an agent was "fiscally prudent" because it allowed the university to attain the properties at a fair price. If the sellers had known they were dealing with Harvard -- with an endowment of more than $9 billion -- Wrinn speculated they would have driven prices out of the range Harvard officials found acceptable. While Harvard does not yet know how it will use the new Allston land, Vice President for Administration Sally Zeckhauser explained that "it is essential, with an educational institution, to ensure that there are enough physical resources to sustain future academic programs." She called the recent acquisitions "an investment in the future of both Harvard and Allston." The acquisitions provide an opportunity for the university to work with community members to encourage Allston's economic development, said Kathy Spiegelman, a Harvard official in charge of real estate. "We believe that by planning for Harvard's future in Allston, we can be part of Allston's full participation in the positive economic development of Boston," she said. "We are committed to working with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and our Allston neighbors toward the realization of that goal." About twenty years ago, Penn came under heavy fire itself for asking Philadelphia to grant the University control over land near Market Street to build what is now the Science Center. Other large urban universities have also faced serious opposition to large land deals from local residents. Defending Harvard's involvement, Zeckhauser said Beal continues to handle day-to-day management of the properties. "Harvard plans to continue to lease the properties in the near term, aiming to encourage uses compatible with the interests of adjacent residential areas and conducive to the area's economic vitality."
(08/07/97 9:00am)
Curriculum 2000 is an integrated program to prepare student for the changing health care environment. Students entering the University's School of Medicine this month will experience a revamped curriculum designed to help them meet the challenges facing doctors in the 21st century. Known as Curriculum 2000, the program was developed by Medical School administrators, faculty members and students in response to the dramatic changes which have taken place in the health care field over the past few years, according to Medical School Vice Dean for Education Gail Morrison -- the chief architect of the new curriculum. "The health care environment has changed, but we haven't really changed the way we train medical students in over 80 years," she said. Like most medical schools, the University has traditionally educated medical students based on the tenets of the Flexner report of 1910, which emphasized a basic science foundation and clinical training in a university hospital. While the new curriculum is still based on the tenets of Flexner report, Morrision said it includes changes in what is taught, where it is taught, and how it is taught. She explained that Curriculum 2000 represents an integrated approach to medical education which emphasizes a strong foundation in basic science principles and incorporates bioethics, nutrition, and prevention. "The disciplines are no longer the boundaries and that changes how you have to think about teaching basic science," Morrison said. "The new curriculum is integrated and brings the different disciplines together." While students will still do some of their clinical work in a hospital setting, Morrison said that Curriculum 200 is designed to teach ambulatory care through allowing students to gain experience at the vast network of community-based health care sites affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System. "Most of health care used to occur in a hospital setting, but now only the very sick seek hospitalization," she explained, "but now 95 percent of health care takes place in physicians offices, clinics, hospices, nursing homes, and other ambulatory care sites." The new curriculum also emphasizes preventive care over treating isolated illness. "The focus has shifted away from treating and curing acute illness as an isolated event and toward preventive medicine, health maintenance and long-term care," Morrison said. And Morrison said that the new medical students will be required to memorize less material and spend fewer hours in lecture, noting that they will have more free time to participate in extracurricular activities, conduct research, or pursue other interests. "The new program breaks down the typical classroom barriers to promote increased flexibility and interaction between faculty members, doctors and students," Medical School Student Government President Frank Wren said. "Students will be exposed to all aspects of what they are learning." And Medical School Dean William Kelley explained that the program continues the University's tradition of providing quality medical education. "As medical educators, our mission is to provide an effective learning environment for the development of first-class physicians and scientists," he said. "Curriculum 2000 provides such an environment as it has been carefully designed to prepare students to handle the challenges they will face as practicing physicians."
(08/07/97 9:00am)
Portland Trail Blazers star and Police Athletic League alum Rasheed Wallace will conduct the basketball clinic tomorrow. Over 230 local youngsters will gather in the Palestra tomorrow for a basketball clinic with NBA basketball star Rasheed Wallace sponsored by the Police Athletic League. Wallace -- who plays for the Portland Trail Blazers -- grew up in Philadelphia and played basketball for Simon Gratz High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before joining the NBA in 1995. His parents enrolled him in PAL -- a non-profit, after-school program for children between the ages of six and 18 run by the Philadelphia Police -- to keep him off the streets. "He is holding the clinic as a way to give something back to an organization which contributed to his growth," Penn Athletics spokesperson Katrina Dowidchuk said. The clinic will include 10 middle school students from each of the 23 PAL centers. David Shafie, one of the event coordinators, said participants are selected by the supervisors of each center and will likely consist of members of the basketball teams. The event is being held at the Palestra because of the connection between PAL and the University, which sponsors the Tucker Center -- the newest PAL center which opened earlier this summer at the Alexander Wilson Elementary School. Wallace will speak to the youngsters before they proceed to different stations run by PAL supervisors and instructors to work on their skills. Wallace will go from station to station giving the kids tips on passing, dribbling, rebounding, conditioning and other basketball fundamentals. "He will speak about the value of staying in school, demonstrate skills and work with the kids," Dowidchuk explained. "It should be really fablous for the kids and it's great for us to be able to offer these kinds of opportunities." David Shafie -- one of the event's coordinators -- said Wallace is someone the youngsters can look up to. "It's nice for them to see a former PAL kid who is successful," he said. Dowidchuk said the clinic is a great opportunity for the PAL youngters. "It's an amazing outlet for these kids," she said. "They will get to see the Palestra and interact with a professional athlete." The basketball clinic is just one of many PAL activities aimed at helping local youngters improve their athletic skills and self-esteem. The program is in its 50th year of existence and has over 2,400 participants throughout the city. The main focus of the program is on sports, but it has put an increased emphasis on academics in recent years. The Philadelphia Police pay a supervising officer a regular salary to operate and organize each PAL center, and all the equipment and programs are free to the children. The University's involvement in the Tucker center is unique. Normally the PAL centers must divide up money raised through awards dinners and other fundraising efforts, but the University has begun an endowment designed to ensure the success of the Tucker Center.
(08/07/97 9:00am)
The TAs claimed that Yale officials illegally threatened them during a January 1995 strike. In a controversial decision which could have implications for teaching assistants at private universities across the country, a federal labor labor law judge dismissed a complaint accusing Yale University of illegally threatening TAs during a January 1995 strike. Last February, the National Labor Relations Board issued a the complaint on behalf of the approximately 250 TAs -- led by the Graduate Employees and Students Organization -- who withheld grades to protest the university's refusal to recognize their right to unionize. During the strike, Yale administrators threatened to ban participants from future teaching jobs, withhold letters of recommendation and subject TAs to academic discipline and possible expulsion. The university filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming that the strike was not a "protected activity" under the National Labor Relations Act. Last week Michael Miller -- an administrative law judge with the NLRB -- told both sides that he would dismiss the case on the premise that the tactic of withholding grades is not "protected activity" under the NLRA. "We are gratified that the judge has agreed with Yale's position that the grade strike was not protected by federal law and has thrown out the case on that basis," Yale Vice President and General Counsel Dorothy Robinson said. "GESO-represented graduate students were not entitled to withhold grades until the University recognized GESO, while at the same time expecting to teach courses during the spring semester." And Graduate School Dean Thomas Applequist said he was pleased the judge reached the "conclusion that GESO's tactic of holding the students' grades hostage was found not to be legally protected." GESO members emphasized that the ruling does not settle the primary question of weather teaching assistants are considered primarily employees with the right to unionize or students. "The judge's preliminary ruling does not affect the primary issue," GESO Chairperson Antony Dugdale said. "The NLRB has already decided that we are employees, and neither Yale's motion nor the judge's ruling contests this." He noted that the case "has a lot of firsts associated with it" because it addresses the collective bargaining rights of student employees at private universities. Most public universities -- which are governed by state rather than federal law -- recognize the right of teaching assistants to unionize. But Robinson noted that for more than 20 years, the NLRB has considered teaching assistants to be primarily students, not employees.
(07/31/97 9:00am)
The Morris Arboretum website contains a database of thousands of Pennsylvania plant specimens. From students seeking the names of native trees for a biology class to developers concerned about interfering with endangered species, people looking for information on Pennsylvanian plant life can search a new database established by the University's Morris Arboretum. Morris Arboretum spokesperson kate Sullivan explained that the online database contains selected portions of the information accumulated through the Pennsylvania Flora Project -- a formal project begun in 1933 to compile information from plant specimens and to prepare a system to map the native plant life of Pennsylvania. The Morris Arboretum -- which is located on 175 acres in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia -- originated as the estate of Quaker siblings John and Lydia Morris in 1887. The University was entrusted to turn the estate into a public garden and center for research and education in 1932. Today, it is recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a Center for Urban Forestry and serves as the official arboretum of the state of Pennsylvania. For many years, Sullivan said information on specimens was recorded manually on file cards. These specimens consisted of actual dried and mounted plants with identification and details of the sites where they were collected. The Morris Arboretum houses many of these specimens, and others can be found at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the Carnegie Museum Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The Pennsylvania Flora Project entered the computer age in the 1980s and according to Sullivan, it now includes an online database of 3,390 records which is updated when new plant specimens are collected. The new online database yields statewide information, but Sullivan said specific geographical information is not included in order to protect sites where rare plant life is found. Because virtually all Pennsylvania plants can be found in other states, the database also serves as a resource for people investigating the flora of southern New York, northern Maryland, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio and all of New Jersey except the coast. The new online database is only one aspect of the Pennsylvania Flora Project. In 1993, Ann Rhoads -- Chairperson of the University's Botany Department -- published a volume with maps showing plant locations entitled The Vascular Flora of Pennsylvania: Annotated Checklist and Atlas. She and other members of the Botany Department are currently preparing an illustrated field guide to the plants of Pennsylvania. The book is intended for a variety of users ranging from students and amateur plant observers to professional botanists and resource managers.
(07/31/97 9:00am)
The students on the trip will perform a show and do community service. Twenty-six young people from the tri-state area will leave for Africa on August 1 as part of a program sponsored by the Forerunners International Institute -- an organization founded by 1971 Wharton School graduate Reginald Walker. Participants in the America's Gift to Africa Tour range in age from 14 to 18 and come from diverse backgrounds. Their two week trip to Africa will include visits to the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Philadelphia's sister city of Douala, Cameroon. While in Douala, they will present "A Journey to Freedom" -- a dynamic show depicting African cultural contributions to America -- in addition to performing community service and living with host families. Reginald Walker -- the Institute's Chairperson -- said the trip gives young people an opportunity to "physically and existentially reconnect with their roots and develop a sense of self-worth." Institute President Gerri Walker noted that the community service projects and live performance were added to the program this year. "Through our outreach to over 500 children and our audition process, we've brought together a mixture of some of the finest young people I've ever seen," she said. "Some have overt talent and some have latent talent, but more importantly they are all open to new positive experiences and are in touch with their humanity." Gerri Walker explained that the America's Gift to Africa Tour is the first cultural exchange between the two cities and the first time a group will travel from Philadelphia to Douala. The two white females participating in Gift to Africa Tour this year are the first white students to take xx in the program. Reginald Walker explained that he believes it is necessary for white students to visit Africa because "for years white people denied the humanity of Africans to justify the peculiar institution of slavery." He emphasized the need to "confront the problem where it began when whites and blacks first interacted in Africa.' "The white and black students will be welcomed equally in Africa because Africans have no consciousness of color," he said. "That developed in the U.S. as a defense to white color consciousness." The program requires participants to raise their own funds to pay for the trip. "We live in a free enterprise system," Reginald Walker explained. "They have to believe in themselves and ask others to believe with them and make an investment in their lives." Reginald Walker -- who studied international business, marketing and the development of African countries at Wharton -- founded the Institute in 1989 to promote racial and cultural tolerance, mutual understanding, respect and trust between the youth of America and the people of Africa. "I recognized the need for African students in America to go back to the source of their humanity and discover their lost identity in order to promote their personal growth and development," he said. The Institute has conducted previous trips to Africa, convened two World Conferences of African Students and sponsored an annual African Day celebration for the past six years.
(07/24/97 9:00am)
The university will use the funds to offer smaller classes, improve facilities, and upgrade technology. Northwestern University officials have announced that they will raise tuition over 15 percent for new students entering in fall 1998 to fund an educational initiative aimed at improving the quality of undergraduate education at the institution. The jump will raise tuition for incoming students to $22,392, but tuition for continuing undergraduates will only increase 5.7 percent to $20,244. Northwestern's initiative -- which will be funded by the tuition hike and a fundraising campaign -- includes plans to increase the number of small seminars and individualized educational opportunities available to undergraduates, improving study abroad and international programs, and upgrading technology in classrooms, libraries, laboratories and residence halls. "We feel strongly that we need to provide additional opportunities to bring our undergraduate students closer to the cutting-edge endeavors of our faculty in all fields. to have more seminars and faculty-directed independent study, to provide more international experiences for our undergraduates and to integrate the application of information technology with classroom instruction," Northwestern President Henry Binen said in a written release. The initiative also includes offering more courses that cross department and school boundaries to give undergraduates a more integrated learning experience and improving academic and career advising. Northwestern also plans to build new residence halls to meet the demand for campus housing and increase its attractiveness as a residential institution. In addition, the university will renovate existing residence halls and facilities for student activities, including a large addition to the Allison Hall dining facilities. "In reviewing the situation at Northwestern, we felt that we had an opportunity to build on the success of the past 12 years," Board of Trustees Chairperson Patrick Ryan said. "The increasing number of applicants for admission to Northwestern, the steadily rising financial support and the heightened national profile of the university provide a platform on which we can now implement a program to achieve even greater distinction." While part of the funds will be raised through fundraising, Binen explained that the tuition increase is necessary because tuition and fees account for over 60 percent of the educational budget. "We plan to pursue aggressively a strategy of increasing gifts from trustees, alumni and friends of the university and we anticipate that such a campaign will be successful," Binen said in the release. "However, in order to accomplish the things necessary to take Northwestern to an even higher level of educational excellence, additional funds beyond those raised in the campaign will be necessary." Northwestern officials said the tuition increase will not affect the institution's "need blind" admissions policy and noted that the university is nearing the completion of a $60 million campaign to endow scholarships for undergraduate students.
(07/24/97 9:00am)
The Arizona Board of Regents unanimously agreed to offer the position to Lehigh University President Peter Likins. The Arizona Board of Regents unanimously approved the selection of Lehigh University President Peter Likins as the 18th President of the University of Arizona in Tucson at a teleconference meeting Tuesday afternoon. Likins was chosen from a field of three finalists which included University Provost Stanley Chodorow. He will replace Arizona President Manuel Pacheco, who is leaving to assume leadership of the University of Missouri system. Chodorow -- who was also a recent finalist for top positions at the University of Michigan and University of California at Los Angeles -- could not be reached for comment. A 23-person search committee chose Likins, Chodorow and Kent State University President Carol Cartwright as finalists from a pool of over 100 candidates for the position. After the finalists interviewed with the search committee and meet with Arizona students, faculty and staff last week, the committee forwarded all three names to the regents. But Cartwright withdrew her name from consideration Monday night, citing unfinished business at Kent State. Regent John Munger nominated Likins at the end of Tuesday's meeting. "I believe Peter Likins will be one of the most extraordinary presidents the University of Arizona has ever had," he said. Arizona senior Jonathan Schmitt -- a Regent who also served on the search committee -- said he felt Likins was more willing to reach out to students than the other candidates. "From a student's perspective, Likins is a true communicator," he said. Schmitt and other student members of the search committee conducted a survey which revealed that Arizona students wanted their next president to me more accessible than Pacheco. During the interviews, Schmitt said Likins noted that he spent a week in the dorms and has formed close relationships with many Lehigh students. He said he would like to form similar relationships at Arizona, but added that because Arizona's student population is much larger than Lehigh's, contact will have to be through student leaders. Regent Hank Amos said Likins distinguished himself during the interviews by demonstrating that he can deal effectively not only with faculty and students but also legislators and community leaders. "I think Peter really rose above the other candidates in those meetings," Amos said. When Likins joined the teleconference from Pennsylvania, he said he was excited to have the opportunity to lead an "important national institution." "I'm just pumped. I haven't had such a sense of exhilaration in a long time," he said. "I'm ready to take on a whole new set of challenges and the University of Arizona is the perfect place for me to do that." Likins holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a doctorate in engineering mechanics from Stanford University and a master's degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before coming to Lehigh in 1982, Likins served as Provost of Columbia University, where he was also Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
(07/17/97 9:00am)
The provost and two other candidates visited the University of Arizona in Tucson this week for interviews and meetings. Harvard University's new Provost Harvey Fineberg has come a long way since he first enrolled at the institution as a freshman in 1963. Armed with four degrees from Harvard and years of experience as a professor in the School of Public Health and Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, Fineberg replaced outgoing Provost Albert Carnsdale on July 1. Carnsdale left Harvard to become Chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles, a position for which Penn Provost Stanley Chodorow was also considered. "Harvey Fineberg is an experienced and successful academic leader who has ably guided the School of Public Health through a time of unprecedented growth as well as fundamental changes in health needs," Rudenstine said in a written release. "He has an extensive knowledge of Harvard and its different parts, he has a talent for bringing people together to work toward common ends, and he has a quality of judgement that is both rigorously analytical and deeply humane." Under Fineberg, the number of SPH degree candidates has grown from 426 to 764 and the number of faculty has increased from 133 to 162 while the budget has risen from $38 million to $120 million. He has lead a capital campaign which has raised more than $125 million over the past four years. During Fineberg's tenure, SPH has revamped it's masters in public health degree program to meet contemporary health needs through emphasizing problem-based learning and integrating classroom and field experience. In addition, the school now offers a doctoral program in health policy and biological sciences in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "My nearly thirteen years as Dean of the Faculty of Public Health have been the most gratifying period of my life," Fineberg said. "The public health enterprise has never played a more prominent part in identifying, comprehending and helping to solve scientific and social problems." But he added that he is enjoying his new position. "It is an exciting opportunity for me to extend my own education as well as to serve a university that has been my professional home for so many years," he said. "As Provost, I will do all that I can to assist the whole Harvard community in our shared efforts to make a great university even stronger and better prepared for the future." After graduating from Harvard College in 1967, Fineberg received graduate degrees from Harvard Medical School and the university's Kennedy School of Government in 1972. He became a member of the Faculty of Public Health in 1973 and earned a fourth Harvard degree -- a doctorate in public policy -- in 1980. Fineberg's research has focused on the process of health policy development and implementation, the assessment of medical technology and the dissemation of medical innovations. Some topics he has examined include the controversial federal immunization program against swine flu, the adverse effects of pertussis and rubella vaccines, the cost-effectiveness of cardiac care and the reform of medical education.
(07/17/97 9:00am)
Alumnus Larry Kramer, who is a playwright and AIDS activist, has accused Yale University of homophobia after is dismissed his gay studies proposal. Playwright and gay activist Larry Kramer has accused Yale University of homophobia after the school refused to accept his multi-million dollar offer to endow a tenured professorship in gay studies. Kramer, who graduated from Yale in 1957, helped found the Gay Men's Health Crisis support group in 1981 and created the AIDS activist organization Act Up -- a group which has become known for exploits such as interrupting trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1989. In a letter to Kramer, Yale Provost Alison Richard said the university rejected his proposal because gay and lesbian studies in too narrow a field for a permanent professorship. She added that the university could not add a professorship without cutting another because there is also a freeze on faculty hiring. Richard said Yale's decision was based on the conviction that the faculty rather than the donor should be responsible for establishing tenured professorships. Two years ago, Yale rejected a $20 million gift from Texas billionaire Lee Bass to create a program in traditional Western thought. Richards said the fact that the university also dismissed this offer proves its recent actions were not homophobic. Kramer -- who is HIV positive -- first approached Yale with the proposal over nine months ago when he began to make out his will. He withdrew the offer last week after several meetings with Richard and said he is now considering establishing an independent foundation. "I have no question in my mind that my gift was rejected because of extreme homophobia" he said. "There's no question that Yale is not a friendly place for gay professors or teachers." Kramer explained that he wanted to make a contribution that would help gay students feel more comfortable at Yale than he did. During his freshman year, he tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. "I tried to kill myself because, as far as I was concerned, I was the only gay kid on the face of the earth," he said. Kramer conceded that Yale students can now turn to several campus support services, -- including a Lesbian and Gay Studies Center opened in 1987 -- but called the center a "hole in the wall." He complained that most gay studies courses at Yale are taught by nontenured or visiting professors and said gay students need gay professors they can turn to for advice. "If you are willing to teach African American history or women's studies, why are you not willing to teach gay studies?" he asked. "As we grow more and more visible, we want to use our money to teach about us." He explained that as an academic discipline, gay studies would focus on gay contributions to history, sociology, politics and culture as well as aspects of sexual identity. As a writer, he is best known for his novel Faggots and his play The Normal Heart. His screenplay adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love won him an Oscar nomination in 1970.
(07/17/97 9:00am)
When students return to Van Pelt Library to hit the books after summer vacation, they will be greeted by improvements to the Franklin online catalogue and the circulation system. Library officials chose the system software over a year ago and have been working with Endeavor Information Systems to implement the new technology ever since, according to Associate Director of Libraries Patricia Renfro. Because the upgrades involved transferring information on 2.8 million books and 48,000 library patrons and required the assistance of every staff member in every library, Renfro explained that it had to be done during a vacation period. "This is the only time we have changed the circulation, cataloguing, and acquisitions all at once rather than module by module and piece by piece," Renfro explained. "This is not the kind of change you want to make in the middle of a semester when it would be much more disruptive." The new version of Franklin designed for the World Wide Web uses point-and-click graphical interface and incorporates direct links to journals and other resources on the web. Jane Bryan -- Head of Reference for Van Pelt -- explained that the web version of Franklin also includes several new search functions, such as journal title searching to access periodicals and a keyword search option which ranks results by relevance. And while the original Franklin printed only one record per page, the new version is capable of printing several records on a page. Patrons whose computers are not capable of supporting Netscape can use the telnet version of Franklin. Bryan noted that the telnet version can search by author, title, subject, journal title and keyword with ranking and is faster than the web version, but noted that it does not include graphics or links. The introduction of the new Franklin coincides with improvements to the library circulation system. Patrons can now use the telnet version to view their records -- including checked out books and fines -- without going to the circulation desk, and this feature will be added to the web version in the near future. Patrons will soon be able to use Franklin to recall books as well. Joe Zucca -- Executive Assistant to the Vice Provost for Libraries -- explained that the University is a test site for Endeavor's latest online catalogue software, which allows the University to get the latest software improvements first and "brings us very up to date in our technology." But he said that there are also glitches in the system which need to be reported and fixed, and noted that the library website includes a form where patrons can suggest ways to modify and improve the system. "We will be working closely with Endeavor to really sharpen the new technology," he said. "We have an opportunity to shape the product and influence the software designers to make the system responsive to patron needs."
(07/17/97 9:00am)
Taras Kick is seeking $120 million for the 2 million people who paid to watch Tyson's fight against Holyfield. Taras Kick -- who graduated from the University's Law School in 1989 -- has charged boxer Mike Tyson with violating the contractual rights of almost 2 million pay-per-view subscribers during his June 28 fight against Evander Holyfield. The Kick Law Firm of Los Angeles -- which has been involved in numerous cases relating to boxing litigation -- filed a complaint on behalf of the plaintiff, pay-per-view subscriber Mark Egland, in Los Angeles County Superior Court July 1. The complaint states that customers purchased pay-per-view to watch a "complete heavyweight boxing bout that would last until the end of the agreed-upon number of rounds, a technical knockout of Tyson, Holyfield or both." Kick contends that Tyson deliberately caused himself to be disqualified from the fight by biting Holyfield's ears two separate times and therefore violated his contracts with Showtime Entertainment Television, the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the promoter as well as the subscribers to the pay-per-view event who were the intended beneficiaries of these contracts. "Because the fight contracts that Tyson had entered into were intended to benefit pay-per-view subscribers, every individual that ordered the fight has a legal right to pursue Tyson directly," Kick said. Egland claimed Tyson deprived the fans of the opportunity to see the complete bout they had paid to view. "If the entire event had only lasted one round and ended in a knockout, then we would have seen a complete fight and there wouldn't have been anything to complain about," Egland said. "Because Tyson bit Holyfield's ear once, and then again after having been warned of the consequences, it is clear that he deliberately tried to get himself disqualified and that is not what we all paid for." Kick explained that the current suit seeks to recover the $60 Egland paid to view the fight but said he expects it to be granted class-action status in early August. In a class action suit, lead plaintiff Egland would represent the almost 2 million people who watched the fight and the prosecution would seek to recover the $120 spent by people across the nation to view the match. While the class action suit is pending, Kick said he has asked the Nevada State Athletic Commission to hold the money intended to pay Tyson and deposit it with the clerk of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Kick said his firm made a conscious decision to sue only Tyson so the complaint would accurately reflect the feelings of every American that ordered the pay-per-view event. "Even though from a technically legal point of view a case against the cable companies and promoters probably can succeed, this case is about technical legalities," Kick explained. "It's about doing the right thing, and that's why we named only Mike Tyson in our lawsuit." Tyson's lead counsel Eckley Keach was publicly advised of the class-action lawsuit on July 1 and took a copy of the complaint. Tyson's lawyers now has 40 says to respond to the allegations against the defendant. "Tyson's lawyers have only one right way to handle this and that is to address our law firm and have Tyson finally show some respect to all the fans who bought the fight and want their money back," Kick said.
(07/10/97 9:00am)
Harvey Fineberg has been affiliated with Harvard since 1963 and has four degrees from the school. Harvard University's new Provost Harvey Fineberg has come a long way since he first enrolled at the institution as a freshman in 1963. Armed with four degrees from Harvard and years of experience as a professor in the School of Public Health and Dean of the Faculty of Public Health, Fineberg replaced outgoing Provost Albert Carnsdale on July 1. Carnsdale left Harvard to become Chancellor of the University of California at Los Angeles, a position for which Penn Provost Stanley Chodorow was also considered. "Harvey Fineberg is an experienced and successful academic leader who has ably guided the School of Public Health through a time of unprecedented growth as well as fundamental changes in health needs," Rudenstine said in a written release. "He has an extensive knowledge of Harvard and its different parts, he has a talent for bringing people together to work toward common ends, and he has a quality of judgement that is both rigorously analytical and deeply humane." Under Fineberg, the number of SPH degree candidates has grown from 426 to 764 and the number of faculty has increased from 133 to 162 while the budget has risen from $38 million to $120 million. He has lead a capital campaign which has raised more than $125 million over the past four years. During Fineberg's tenure, SPH has revamped it's masters in public health degree program to meet contemporary health needs through emphasizing problem-based learning and integrating classroom and field experience. In addition, the school now offers a doctoral program in health policy and biological sciences in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "My nearly thirteen years as Dean of the Faculty of Public Health have been the most gratifying period of my life," Fineberg said. "The public health enterprise has never played a more prominent part in identifying, comprehending and helping to solve scientific and social problems." But he added that he is enjoying his new position. "It is an exciting opportunity for me to extend my own education as well as to serve a university that has been my professional home for so many years," he said. "As Provost, I will do all that I can to assist the whole Harvard community in our shared efforts to make a great university even stronger and better prepared for the future." After graduating from Harvard College in 1967, Fineberg received graduate degrees from Harvard Medical School and the university's Kennedy School of Government in 1972. He became a member of the Faculty of Public Health in 1973 and earned a fourth Harvard degree -- a doctorate in public policy -- in 1980. Fineberg's research has focused on the process of health policy development and implementation, the assessment of medical technology and the dissemation of medical innovations. Some topics he has examined include the controversial federal immunization program against swine flu, the adverse effects of pertussis and rubella vaccines, the cost-effectiveness of cardiac care and the reform of medical education.
(07/10/97 9:00am)
New, less invasive procedure was tested on an 82-year-old patient and provided the same results as open surgery without the risks. Combining techniques used in interventional radiology and vascular surgery, physicians at the University's Medical Center used a minimally-invasive method to repair an aortic aneurysm -- a condition where a vein or artery weakens, balloons out and is in danger of bursting. The breakthrough was motivated by the desire to help 82-year-old Paul Bachman -- a lifelong smoker with chronic lung disease who was deemed too weak to withstand the open surgery that is traditionally performed to repair the condition. But doctors hope it will become the standard of care for all patients with aortic aneurysms. Jeffrey Carpenter -- a professor of surgery at the University's School of Medicine who assisted in the operation -- explained that the new technique achieves the same results as open surgery without the risks. "Although we're using specially crafted apparatus, we're making the same kind of repair that is accomplished with surgery," he said. "The important difference is that instead of working from the outside of the patient, we work from the inside." Richard Baum -- a professor f radiology at the University's School of Medicine created a graft consisting of self-expanding wire stents -- tiny, stainless steel scaffolds -- which were sewn together and encased in a stretchable teflon cover. The graft was compressed, put inside a narrow tube, and inserted into the aorta through a small incision in the leg. Baum and Carpenter used X-ray guidance to move the tube up the aorta until it reached the aneurysm in the abdomen. The tube connects normal areas of the aorta and allows blood to bypass weak parts, preventing the aneurysm from bursting. Baum explained that the new technique also eliminates the need for lengthy hospitalization during the recovery period. Patients who undergo open surgery to repair aneurysms are typically hospitalized for at least one week -- including several days in the intensive care unit -- followed by a six-week rehabilitation period. But Baum said Bachman required no formal recovery period and was discharged from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania two days after the procedure. "We kept Mr. Bachman in the intensive care unit overnight, but I'm not sure he needed to be there," Baum said. "Since he was our first patient, we wanted to observe him and make certain there would be no complications associated with the new technique, and indeed there were none." Carpenter added that the success with Bachman has prompted an ongoing clinical trial of the procedure for high-risk aneurysm patients. "Most of the patients who are too sick to undergo the traditional operation are killed by the aneurysm when it ruptures, not by the disease that is compromising them," he said. "We hope this procedure will make every aortic aneurysm patient a candidate for repair."
(07/10/97 9:00am)
New late-night dining facility will offer a wider variety of food and more space to socialize. Students tired of choosing between Taco Bell and Tomassito's will be greeted with increased late-night food selection and socializing space when they return to campus in the fall. Chats TOO! is scheduled to open in September below the original Chats in the basement of 1920 Commons, according to Chats Retail Manager Gary Brodbeck. Designed to "appeal to a larger segment of people and provide more space," Brodbeck said Chats TOO! will include several culinary options from Sysco -- the national food service distributor affiliated with the University -- in addition to self-branded concepts. Casa Solana -- a Mexican concept provided by Sysco -- will replace Taco Bell in the original Chats. Because Casa Solana is not a national franchise, Dining Services will not have to pay franchise fees and will be able to provide higher quality food with a minimal price increase, according to Brodbeck. Chats TOO! will also include Block and Barrel Deli, another Sysco concept which already has a location in McClelland Marketplace. At Ken's salad bar -- named after and sponsored by the national salad dressing brand -- customers will be able to prepare their own salads or grab a prepackaged salad. Willie P's -- which derives its name from famous Philadelphian William Penn -- will serve carved sandwiches, mashed potatoes and other homestyle foods similar to the popular Boston Market Chain, while the the Ivy Grill will offer burgers, fries and fish and chips. Beijing Express will move downstairs to Chats TOO! and will probably be open for lunch Monday through Thursday and dinner Saturday and Sunday. Brodbeck said these culinary options reflect student desires. "Not everyone wants pizza or Mexican every night," he said. "Students wanted healthier options like salads and sandwiches and a custom deli." Brodbeck said Chats TOO! will also include more space for social activities. There will be computers with Internet and email access on both floors of Chats, and more TVs and VCRs will be added. "A lot of people depend on Chats as a place to meet and conduct study groups, student government meetings and poetry meetings or just socialize," he said. "We figured the more space available, the better." Brodbeck said that the pit -- the commissary and recreation area in the basement of Hill College House -- will also be revamped. It will cater to students living in Hill and King's Court/English House and will probably include a menu of hot entrees similar to Tomassito's designed to complement the commissary's current offerings. "The menu is still being developed," he said. "We are trying to work in conjunction with the existing commissary, not to compete with them."
(07/10/97 9:00am)
Harvard University officials recently revealed that they spent $88 million over the last eight years to secretly acquire over 52.6 acres of land in the Allston area of Boston located across the Charles River from Harvard's Cambridge campus. In a controversial move, the university purchased the properties -- which include a shopping center, vacant Sears building and the site of a former concrete plant -- through the Beal Companies of Boston. The university now owns 220 acres in Cambridge and 192 acres in Allston. While most people associate Harvard with Cambridge, the Harvard Business School and Alumni Stadium are both already located in Allston. In a letter to Harvard President Neal Rudenstine, Mayor Thomas Menino said he was disappointed the university chose to conceal its identity rather than being up front with the people and the city. He said the recent real estate dealings represent "the highest level of arrogance seen in our city in many years." But Harvard spokesperson Joe Wrinn explained that buying anonymously through an agent was "fiscally prudent" because it allowed the university to attain the properties at a fair price. If the sellers had known that one of the potential buyers was Harvard -- with its endowment of over $9 billion -- Wrinn speculated that they would have demanded that the university pay more than market value for the acquisitions. While Harvard does not yet know how it will put the properties to use, Vice President for Administration Sally Zeckhauser explained that "it is essential, with an educational institution, to ensure that there are enough physical resources to sustain future academic programs." She called the recent acquisitions "an investment in the future of both Harvard and Allston." Zeckhauser added that other organizations have used similar tactics in their real estate dealings. "Sometimes an outside party is asked to make such purchases in order to avoid having to pay significant premiums above the fair market value," she said. "Past local examples include the Boston Public Library, International Place and New England Life." Associate Vice President for Planning and Real Estate Kathy Spiegelman said the acquisitions provide an opportunity for the university to work with community members to encourage Allston's economic development. "We believe that by planning for Harvard's future in Allston, we can be part of Allston's full participation in the positive economic development of Boston," she said. "We are committed to working with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and our Allston neighbors toward the realization of that goal." Zeckhauser added that Beal continues to handle the day-to-day management, leasing and redevelopment of the properties. "Harvard plans to continue to lease the properties in the near term, aiming to encourage uses compatible with the interests of adjacent residential areas and conducive to the area's economic vitality."
