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(07/03/97 9:00am)
The Graduate School of Education sponsored a discussion of Social Security and Medicare. As part of a series of discussions on the complex issues facing America at the dawn of the 21st century, the Public Policy Institute at the University's Graduate School of Education and the National Issues Forums Institute sponsored a discussion on the U.S retirement system last Sunday. The forum was organized by Harris Sokoloff -- Executive Director of the Center for School Study Councils at the Graduate School of Education -- and moderated by Public Policy Institute faculty members Julie Zimet and Mark Miller. "This is a different kind of public meeting," Sokoloff said. "It's not a lecture or a general discussion but rather a deliberation on which we weigh the pros and cons of different choices and perhaps come to some agreement on the kinds of policies we want our legislators to enact or at least arrive at greater clarity concerning the future of the retirement system." Zimet added that the forum was intended to be a starting point to get participants thinking about different views and inspire further discussion about retirement benefits. "It is important to be realistic and consider not only what it is we want but what it is we are willing to give up," she said. "We are not going to come up with the solution, but we can start setting roadblocks where we are not willing to go, and that is almost as important as where we are willing to go." Participants in the forum -- who included both members of the Public Policy Institute and local citizens -- discussed three possible scenarios for dealing with the retirement issue. To ensure that Americans can continue to retire with security and dignity, the first option called for the government to do whatever is necessary to keep existing programs in tact, including raising taxes. Proponents of this solution viewed retirement benefits -- such as Social Security and Medicare -- as a right of society. They emphasized the importance of being fair to retirees, who deserve to receive benefits after years of paying into the system to provide for previous generations. The second possibility examined at the forum was cutting retirement benefits and altering eligibility rules to reflect demographic changes. Zimet said that there were 16.5 workers to pay benefits for each retiree in 1950, but now only 3.3 workers support each retiree. She added that this number will continue to decrease as the "baby boomer" generation retires so that by 2020 there will be just 2 workers for each retiree. Proponents of this solution noted that the government is devoting resources to Social Security and Medicare which could be used for other programs, such as education. They viewed paying for the retirement of older Americans as an undue burden on the younger generation and noted that retirees are often able to collect benefits even when they don't need them. The third alternative considered at the forum was replacing Social Security and Medicare with mandatory personal savings accounts. Such a system would be modeled after Chile, which requires citizens to set aside 12 percent of their earnings for retirement. This possibility seemed attractive to some participants because it would make individuals responsible for their own retirement and decrease government involvement in administering benefits. But others claimed that such a policy would be selfish and noted that the government has a responsibility to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. "Many issues can be decided by politicians based on facts, but all the issues we talk about here are based on values," Zimet explained. "There is not a politician who can solve the retirement issue if we are not part of the decision," she added. "It's up to people to set a broad direction before politicians can take action."
(07/03/97 9:00am)
Rush allegedly violated open expression policy, first amendment rights. Director of Police Operations Maureen Rush is under investigation for allegedly violating the University's open expression policy by attempting to prevent members of the University community from expressing opinions on the proposed vending ordinance in separate incidents two weeks ago. Paul Lukasiak -- an administrative assistant in the School of Social Work -- filed charges against Rush with Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, who is responsible for enforcing the open expression policy. The University's open expression guidelines state that "cases involving University staff and or administrators are referred to that individual's supervisor or any other person with supervisory responsibilities." According to these guidelines, the case was referred to Public Safety Managing Director Tom Seamon. He said he is having detectives conduct an investigation and compile a report for Executive Vice President John Fry, adding that he could not comment on the investigation until it is complete. The complaint centers around two incidents during which Rush and University Police officers under her supervision allegedly violated open expression policy. The first occurred on June 19, when Lukasiak and Adam Gilden -- a graduate student in the School of Medicine -- were standing on the sidewalk of 36th Street attempting give members of the University's Board of Trustees invitations to an event at which the trustees could, in the words of the invitation, "learn why Penn's students, faculty and staff are so concerned about the vending issue." "We were prevented from doing so by University Police officers, under the instructions of their supervisor, in a manner that clearly violated both our rights as members of the University community and as citizens of this nation," Lukasiak said. The open expression guidelines protect conduct that does not "interfere unreasonably with the activities of other persons." "At no time did we engage in anything that could be described as harassing, assaulting, or disruptive behavior," he said. "At no time did we act in a manner that would have required police presence -- let alone the active interruption of out activities by University Police." The following day, Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson and College junior Noah Bilenker attended the Sansom Common groundbreaking ceremony wearing a black armband to show his support for local vendors. According to Bilenker, he was getting a soda when Rush approached him and told him that he would have to go to the area designated for protesters if he did not remove the armband. "I volunteered against my will because I knew that was only way she was going to let me stay," he said. "I wasn't accosting anybody and I wasn't there to protest," Bilenker explained. "I was there to talk to trustees and show my support for both Sansom Common and vendors." Bilenker said he was disappointed in how Rush handled the situation but did not file a complaint because he found out that Lukasiak already had. "It's a real shame that when students try to get involved in something as big as Sansom Common, certain people try to say how and when," he said. "We should be allowed to speak out on whatever affects us." Lukasiak said he hopes to see Rush "publicly disciplined," adding that he wants all "all supervisors to be totally familiar with the guidelines and all officers to be notified of what their role is in enforcing open expression policy." "I think she was doing what she thought she was supposed to be doing, trying to maintain order and make sure nobody disrupted the ceremony." Rush could not be reached because she is currently attending a conference, and McCoullum would not comment on the investigation. He said that the depends on how quickly people make themselves available for interviews several members away or on conferences
(07/03/97 9:00am)
Ohio State University president will assume Brown positions, current Brown President Vartan Gregorian will leave for Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Brown Corporation unanimously elected Ohio State University President Gordon Gee the 17th president of Brown University at a closed meeting last Friday. Gee will replace outgoing Brown President and former Penn Provost Vartan Gregorian, who was named President of the Carnagie Corporation of New York -- one of the nation's largest charitable foundations with an endowment of over $1.3 billion -- in January. Gee was selected by a committee consisting of 16-members of the Brown Corporation -- the university's governing body -- with assistance from a 13-member advisory committee of faculty, students and administrators. The committee -- which was chaired by former Brown Chancellor A.O. Way -- chose the 53-year-old Utah native after considering over 165 candidates for the position. "Gordon Gee comes to Brown with an extraordinary record of leadership at one of the nation's premier research universities," Brown Chancellor Artemis Joukowsky said. Initiatives implemented at Ohio State under Gee's leadership include streamlining academic organization, putting stronger emphasis on undergraduate education, implementing an ambitious program to increase the institution's national standing among top universities, and emphasizing university outreach and engagement throughout Ohio. "As president, Dr. Gee has led Ohio State on a path toward academic excellence," Shumate said. "In a decade in which many universities have lost ground, he has helped make Ohio State a leader among leaders and he has brought out the best in us all." Joukowsky added that Gee will "assume the presidency at a propitious time in the university's history when Brown's successful capital campaign has renewed endowments for our faculty, student scholarships and libraries and has prepared the university for the challenge of the 21st century." Alex Shumate -- Chairperson of Ohio State's Board of Trustees -- expressed appreciation for Gee's contributions to the institution he is leaving. "Dr. Gee has made a mark on Ohio State University and has earned the respect and love of the students, faculty, staff and alumni," Shumate said in a written release. "He has helped make Columbus, and Ohio, a better place." Gee received his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Utah in 1968 before earning a law degree and doctorate in education from Columbia University. After completing his work at Columbia, Gee returned to the University of Utah, where he served as assistant law dean from 1973 to 1974. He spent a year as a judicial fellow and senior staff assistant to the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court before being named associate law dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He moved to West Virginia University in 1979, where he served as dean of the College of Law before assuming the presidency in 1981 at the age of 37. He became president of the University of Colorado in 1985 and moved to Ohio State in 1990. Gee arrived at Ohio State when the university was experiencing financial difficulties and facing a significant cut in state funding. He is credited with strengthening the institution through reorganizing and simplifying its structure, adopting strict fiscal discipline and reevaluating its priorities. He is currently leading a campaign to raise $850 million for scholarships to attract top level students, reward exceptional faculty members and enhance the university's research program. Joukowsky called Gee a "tireless advocate for higher education," and pointed to his work as Chairperson of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. He also serves on the board of the Truman Scholarship Foundation, Central Ohio United Negro College Fund, and Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee.
(07/03/97 9:00am)
The law intended to restrict access to pornographic Internet material would have had implications for higher education. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court voted last week to strike down parts of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 -- legislation aimed at proecting children from pornography on the Internet which threatened to outlaw material on campus computer networks. The CDA -- which President Bill Clinton signed into law last February -- would have prohibited the display of "patently offensive" material "in a manner that is available to a person under 18 years of age." Ohio State University Associate Legal Counsel Steven McDonald explained that if the law had been implemented, colleges could have been forced to limit access to potentially offensive materials ranging from artistic images to Chaucer. He added that students under the age of 18 would have been considered minors under the law and may have been denied Internet accounts. McDonald explained that the decision "makes it clear you have the same First Amendment and academic freedom rights on the Internet as you have anywhere else." Writing for the Supreme Court's seven-member majority, Justice John Paul Stevens called the scope of the CDA "wholly unprecedented." "In order to deny minors access to potentially harmful speech, the CDA effectively suppresses a large amount of speech that adults have a constitutional right to receive and address to one another," Stevens wrote. "The general, undefined terms 'indecent' and 'patently offensive' cover large amounts of nonpornographic material with serious educational or other value." The decision noted that systems have already been developed to help parents control the material that may be available on a home computer with access to the Internet but recognized that such systems are always effective. "Although parental control software currently can screen for certain suggestive words or for known sexually explicit sites, it cannot now screen for sexually explicit images," Stevens wrote. Nevertheless, the majority of justices agreed that the CDA was unnecessary because "evidence indicates that a reasonably effective method by which parents can prevent their children from accessing sexually explicit and other material which parents may believe is inappropriate for their children will soon be available." Age verification was also another major problem with the CDA. Stevens wrote in the decision that the majority of justices agreed there "is no effective way to determine the identity or the age of a user who is accessing material through e-mail, mail exploders newsgroups or chat rooms." He added that "even if it were technologically feasible to block minors' access to newsgroups and chat rooms containing discussions of art, politics or other subjects that potentially elicit 'indecent' or 'patently offensive' contributions, it would not be possible to block their access to that material and still allow them access to the remaining content, even if the overwhelming majority of that content was not indecent." Justice Sandra Day O' Connor wrote an opinion which concurred with some parts of the decision and dissented from others. She was joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
(06/26/97 9:00am)
Groundbreaking ceremony for the project was held Friday. Wearing hard hats and carrying shovels, University and city officials took the first steps toward making their vision of an upscale retail, dining, hotel and residential complex a reality during Friday's ceremonial groundbreaking of the $120 million Sansom Common project. Executive Vice President John Fry presided over the festivities, which coincided with the University's Board of Trustees approving $73 million for the first phase of the project. The ceremony took place under a tent in the parking lot at 36th and Walnut streets, where construction on the new University Bookstore is scheduled to begin August 1. The Bookstore will be operated by Barnes and Noble and is scheduled to be completed in fall 1998. Later phases of the project will include construction of the Inn at Penn -- a 250-room, full-service hotel -- in addition to renovation of the Graduate Towers and retail, restaurant and residential development throughout the complex. When the project is completed, University President Judith Rodin said Sansom Common will be a "vibrant area with substantial late-night activity" and noted that it will increase 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 explained. "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" by creating more hotel rooms. Board of Trustees Chairperson Roy Vagelos called the project an "enormous investment" to increase quality of life and safety for University students. He said Sansom Common will also be a "vibrant and exciting place" for faculty, staff and community members to live and work, adding that they will be able to participate the variety of activities that will take place throughout the complex. "It will be an area with a critical mass of retail and public spaces," Rodin said, "an area with a sense of neighborhood." City Council President John Street was 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. The architect for Sansom Common will be Elkus/Manfredi Architects and the construction manager will be Turner Construction Company.
(06/26/97 9:00am)
Audience also heard from a panel of experts during a forum on the role of charter schools in public education. Flanked by smiling children and elected officials from both parties, Gov. Tom Ridge signed legislation that will allow charter schools in Pennsylvania last Thursday during a public forum on charter schools at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Charter schools are public schools designed by parents, teachers and community members to meet specific educational goals. They are freed of many government and union regulations, but charters can be revoked if they do not achieve their goals after a set period. Pennsylvania has already awarded grants to start 67 charter schools, and six are expected to open in Philadelphia this fall. Ridge said the main advantage of charter schools is that the community determines the need and designs the school. "People should have more to say about the kind and quality of education than government," Ridge said. "We want to share the responsibility for molding each child's future with the people who mean the most to the child." He also said charter schools need not be built from scratch, noting that a local public school can be turned into a charter school. Ridge signed the bill at a previously scheduled forum entitled "The Role of Charter Schools in Education Reform," which featured a panel of experts from around the country. Timothy Daniels, Executive Policy Specialist for the Pennsylvanian Department of Education, explained that Pennsylvania's charter school legislation is unique because it provides an appeals board for applicants whose charters are turned down or not renewed. He added that the law only requires 75 percent of teachers to be certified and explained that qualified individuals who are not certified -- such as doctoral students at local universities -- who could not teach at regular public schools will be allowed to teach at charter schools. The panel also included Ted Kolderie of the Center for Policy Studies in St. Paul, Minnesota -- an authority on charter schools who has consulted with the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, departments of education, school boards and other organizations on strategies to revitalize public education. Kolderie explained that parents currently enroll their children in the local public school unless they can afford private school. He added that charter schools will "extend choice to parents without the means to pay for private education." Kolderie said charter schools have the potential to redefine the role of school boards, noting that "the board need not own and operate every program it offers." He called the relationship between a charter school and a school board "contractual" because the school's survival is linked to its success in fulfilling its mission. Philadelphia Superintendent David Hornbeck also spoke, claiming that charter schools -- of which there are now over 500 in 19 states -- are not a threat to the public school system. "If properly implemented, we believe public charter schools have the ability to help revitalize public education as we know it, providing quality educational programs to students with whom we have traditionally failed," he said. Hornbeck emphasized that charter schools cannot become elitist and expressed concern that students who transfer from private schools will drain the already underfunded public school system of valuable resources. Karen DelGuercio of the Philadelphia school district said reform must occur "school by school, class by class and block by block," adding that the process must be "grass roots up, not top down." She also spoke about the role of clusters -- groups of elementary and middle schools which feed into one high school to form a cohesive education -- under the new law. DelGuercio -- who is leader of the Strawberry Mansion Cluster -- suggested the possibility of converting one of the 22 clusters in the Philadelphia school district into a charter cluster consisting of only charter schools.
(06/26/97 9:00am)
Members called for "peaceful coexistence" between local vendors and restaurants and retail establishments in Sansom Common. Waving signs reading "Fast, Cheap and Yummy" and "Penn -- University or Corporation?" and chanting "Save the Trucks," members of the Penn Consumer Alliance demonstrated at Friday's groundbreaking of the $120 million Sansom Common upscale retail complex. The members of PCA -- a group of concerned students, faculty and staff -- said they were rallying in support of the vendors and student-oriented businesses that will be affected by Sansom Common. The University proposed an ordinance to regulate and restructure vending on and around campus, which Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell introduced to City Council on May 29. The bill was assigned to the Rules Committee before the City Council Session ended without further action. University officials maintained that Sansom Common and the vending ordinance are separate issues, claiming that ordinance was introduced because the food trucks are safety and traffic hazards. But demonstrators said they believe the University proposed the ordinance to prevent the vendors from competing with the restaurants and shops in the Sansom Common complex. PCA spokesperson Matt Reuben said the protest was intended to send a message to the University's Board of Trustees. Members were on campus for three days of meetings last week -- during which they approved $73 million for the first phase of Sansom Common -- and many attended the groundbreaking ceremony. "We want to make sure the trustees know that the overwhelming majority of Penn students, staff and faculty have serious concerns about maintaining easy access to low-cost, high-quality food on and around campus," he said. PCA members claimed University administrators have not listened to input from students, faculty, staff and community members, noting that administrators tried to push the vending ordinance through City Council and went ahead with plans for Sansom Common after most undergraduates left for the summer. Now that the ordinance is being held in the Rules Committee until the fall, Reuben said he hopes the dialogue can continue when undergraduates return. "We think Sansom Common and the vendors can coexist peacefully," Reuben said. "PCA -- along with vendors and local community groups -- is calling for an open process in the fall where everyone affected by this issue can come together as equals and have real input into a new and better vending solution," he said.
(06/26/97 9:00am)
If you always considered "frappuccinos" to be a Center City treat, your summer caffeine fix may be closer than you think. According to Senior Manager Peter Mahoney, the former Tuscany Cafe location on 34th street between Walnut and Sansom will be home to a Starbucks "within two weeks." Mahoney said the corporation recently purchased five new sites, but only one is in Pennsylvania. The news of the store's opening comes as a surprise --University sources, when approached, were not aware of the purchase. Starbucks specializes in coffee beverages made with espresso and steamed milk, like cappuccinos and cafe mochas. It also offers pastries, muffins and at the University City location, sandwiches. But the corporation's trademark beverage is the Frappuccino -- an icy blended coffee beverage it started offering when it bought Boston's Coffee Connection in 1993. When the first Starbucks opened in Seattle in 1971, it sold only whole bean coffee, which the corporation purchases from countries in Latin America, Indonesia, and Africa. Starbucks has expanded immensely over the past 25 years, opening close to 1,000 stores -- including locations in Japan and Singapore. But the cities with the most locations remain on the West Coast. Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco each have dozens of stores. Both Washington, D.C. and new York are home to over 20 stores. But the University City store will only be Philadelphia's fourth location, joining the chain's other Philadelphia sites at 16th and Walnut, 12th and Market and 4th and South streets. The new store will open at 6 a.m. and, unlike Tuscany, will not necessarily close promptly at 8 p.m. every night. Mahoney explained that business will dictate when it closes. "We will play it by ear as far as volume of business," he said. "We may stay open late during the school year, especially on weekends and during finals." The site has been vacant since Tuscany Cafe filed for bankrupcy in April and closed its 28 stores across the nation due to market conditions and "other factors out of the management's control," according to a release. Starbucks will move in next door to the former location of the Sam Goody music store, which has been empty since the establishment closed in January.
(06/26/97 9:00am)
Former Temple English Professor and distinguished writer of poetry and prose will assume Penn's Regan Chair in English Literature in the fall. Poet, academic and literary critic Susan Stewart -- who will join the University faculty as Regan Chair of English literature in the fall -- received a prestigious "genius" award worth $280,000 from the MacArthur Foundation. The 45-year old Stewart was one of 23 award recipients announced on Tuesday. Winners receive grants ranging from $190,000 to $335,000 dispensed over five years with no strings attached. Stewart -- who has taught English at Temple University for several years -- is currently in Rome, where she has spent the past few summers on the faculty of Temple's cultural studies program. Her extensive work in both poetry and prose integrates history, literature, folklore, anthropology and aesthetics. The MacArthur Foundation called her efforts "pathbreaking." "Investigating themes such as miniaturization, giganticism, plagiarism, forgery, the souvenir and the collection, Stewart often makes strange and disorienting that which we usually take to be familiar and of common sense," the foundation said. In addition to her three volumes of verse, her growing body of prose work explores manifestations of nonsense, desire and, most recently, the idea of representation in art. Her work has already earned her a $50,000 fellowship from the Pew Foundation and a $105,000 Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Writer's Award in the past two years. She has used funds from the Lila Wallace award to establish a poetry program for GED students at local libraries. She has also started two new books. One is a study of the five senses and the history of the lyric, and the other is a new volume of poetry. "She is so unpretentious and so knowledgeable about so many things," the MacArthur Foundation said. "To be a wonderful writer and so incredibly lovely as a human being is a remarkable combination."
(06/26/97 9:00am)
Trustees approved $73 million for Sansom Common and $23 million for Perelman Quad during meetings last week The University's Board of Trustees authorized expenditures for the Sansom Common and Perelman Quad projects, approved personnel changes, reelected its leaders and voted on new members during three days of meetings last week. The trustees approved $73 million for the first phase of Sansom Common, which includes building the new University Bookstore and the Inn at Penn -- a 250-room, full-service hotel. Construction on the Bookstore is scheduled to begin August 1. Sources of funding for Sansom Common -- which is expected to cost a total of $120 million -- will include a loan to be repaid with revenues generated by the development. The trustees also approved $23 million for the renovation of Irvine Auditorium as part of the Perelman Quadrangle project, which will link Irvine with Logan, Williams and Houston halls to create a student center. Renovations will include reducing seating capacity from 1,900 to 1,400, improving acoustics, and building office and storage space for performing arts groups. Irvine is slated to reopen in December 1998, and Perelman Quad will be complete by 2000. During Friday's stated meeting, the trustees approved the appointment of Associate Provost Barbara Lowery to the position of Interim Secretary. Lowery will temporarily replace University Secretary Barbara Stevens, who is leaving to join the office of Georgetown University Vice President Michael Kelly. The trustees also approved the appointment of Rick Whitfield to to the position of Vice President for Audit and Compliance. Whitfield -- who serves as Managing Director of the Office of Internal Audit -- will fill the position currently held by Steve Golding. Board of Trustees Chairperson Roy Vagelos and Vice Chairs Susan Catherwood and Gloria Chisum were all reelected for one-year terms beginning July 1. The trustees reelected Judith Berkowitz for a 5-year term. She is President of Jarby Inc. -- a buying office for women's fashions -- and a founding member and past Chairperson of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women. Richard Censtis -- a 1958 Wharton graduate who is Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the MidQuist Company and Vice President of Campbell Soup Company -- was reelected for a two-year term. The trustees also elected four new trustees for five-year terms. The first new trustee is Stanley Cohen, a 1960 graduate of the School of Medicine who discovered the recombinant DNA methodology known as genetic engineering and teaches at Stanford University's Medical Center. Also elected a term trustee was Paul Kelly -- a 1962 graduate of the College of Arts and Science who received his graduate degree from Wharton in 1964 -- is president of an investment banking firm and an expert in Far East investment. Another new trustee is Carolyn Lynch, president of the Lynch Foundation -- a charitable foundation which supports organizations related to health care, education, museums and religious work as well as a member of the Trustees' Council of Penn Women. Charles Williams II -- who received his doctorate from the University in 1978 -- is the fourth new trustee. Kaufman is an archeology expert and director of the Corinth Excavations of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, one of the most important archeological investigations in the classical world.
(06/19/97 9:00am)
The trust, in the form of shares in a pharmaceutical company, will support medical center research. The Georgetown University Medical Center announced last week that it will receive a trust worth $60 million, the largest gift in the school's history. The trust was willed to Georgetown by Harry Toulmin -- who owned Central Pharmaceuticals, Inc. when he died in 1965 -- to establish the Mary Mason Washington Evans Medical Research Endowment in honor of his grandparents. Since Toulmin's death, his wife Virginia -- a member of the university's Board of Regents -- has managed the trust. Georgetown officials speculated that she has been reluctant to announce the gift because she did not want to be the center of attention. The trust -- which is in the form of shares in Toulmin's pharmaceutical company -- has grown from approximately $1 million to the $60 million it is worth today. He left the trust to Georgetown because his grandfather Warwick Evans was a member of the medical school's first graduating class in 1852 and a professor of anatomy from 1865 to 1876. Toulmin attended Wittenberg University and the University of Virginia School of Law. While he never studied at Georgetown, Virginia Toulmin noted that he "loved his grandfather, and his grandfather loved Georgetown." Georgetown President Leo O'Donovan said in a written statement that the university was grateful for the "wonderfully generous legacy," adding that the trust would help the medical center "make important contributions to medical research." Officials said that the school does not anticipate actually receiving the money for several years because Virginia Toulmin is only 72 and still in good health. But O'Donovan said the university wanted to make the gift known. "Given the decline in federal support for medical research, we want to underscore the larger need for private donors whose generosity will enable medical research institutions such as Georgetown's to remain in the vanguard of newer and better ways of treating diseases and saving lives," Leo said. Officials said it is too early to say how the money will be used, but said it will likely support research in areas where the medical center has traditionally been strong, including cardiovascular and cancer research. The donation is more than three times as large as the biggest previous gift to Georgetown -- $17 million from an anonymous donor in 1996. It is the 17th-largest private gift to higher education in the United States, the fifth-largest to an academic medical center and the fourth-largest for medical research.
(06/19/97 9:00am)
Jill Felix will lead center which provides support for hi-tech companies. Guests gathered to sample futuristic foods and hear new University City Science Center President Jill Felix outline her vision for the organization at a garden reception in her honor on Monday evening. The Science Center is a consortium dedicated to fostering the development of businesses related to science and technology whose 28 member institutions include the University and other leading academic and health institutions in the Philadelphia area. As its sixth president, Felix said she will use her "energy, enthusiasm, ethics and entrepreneurial spirit" to help the Science Center form "new strategic partnerships" between its shareholders, local educational institutions and the city of Philadelphia. She emphasized her intention to focus on "our customer, the small, emerging hi-tech company." A former partner at Rouse and Associates, Felix developed strategic alliances and opened new markets for the company in Europe. She is also credited with developing and marketing the Great Valley Corporate Center. Felix began her career as a social worker at Philadelphia General Hospital before developing a "passion for the entrepreneurial hi-tech company." "I am pleased to bring my years of experience and service back to my beginnings," she said. Executive Vice President John Fry said he looks forward to a strengthened partnership between the University and the Science Center under the leadership of someone with the "energy, clout and vision of Jill Felix." "Our missions are compatible," Fry explained. "We are both economic engines devoted to research, development and investment in the community." He added that the University hopes to help the Science Center develop an "Avenue of Science" along Market Street. Outgoing Science Center president Peter Sears called the reception a "celebration of new initiatives to revitalize this side of the river." He noted that the Science Center has successfully incubated new science and technology-based businesses, but added that many of these businesses have moved to the suburbs. "The best thing to do is reverse that trend," he said. "There is a tremendous opportunity for developing and finishing the job we started over 30 years ago." Founded in 1963, the Science Center is the nation's first urban research center and largest technology consortium. It encompasses 12 buildings on Market Street between 34th and 38th streets, the Science Center serves as a base for over 100 innovative companies and organizations.
(06/19/97 9:00am)
Mayor Rendell announced plans for the new Center on Independence Mall which will break ground in the year 2000. Moving the proposed National Constitution Center from a mere concept to a tangible project, Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell unveiled detailed plans for the Center and announced its academic partnership with the University during a City Hall news conference last Thursday. The center -- which will be built on Independence Mall between 5th and 6th streets and Race and Arch streets -- is scheduled to break ground on Constitution Day, September 17, in the year 2000, and will cost an estimated $123 million. Flanked by University President Judith Rodin, Rendell explained that the University has entered in to an academic partnership with the NCC. In this capacity, the University will serve as a link between the NCC and scholars of the Constitution from around the world, organize conferences, symposia and radio programming on constitutional issues and develop a state-of-the-art website which will serve as a "virtual center" for the NCC. "This academic partnership is incredibly important to the growth of the NCC," Rendell said. "Beyond emphasizing Philadelphia as the historical home of the Constitution, it establishes Philadelphia as the home for contemporary Constitutional discussions and ideas," Rendell said. Rodin explained that the University's commitment to the National Constitution Center has grown out of the Agenda for Excellence, which "commits the University to an expansion of research and teaching programs concerning democratic and legal institutions in America and around the world." "This new focus will involve several different schools at Penn and should lead to the recruitment of distinguished new faculty whose work focuses on issues of constitutionalism and and democracy," she said. She added that the University will "create some exciting new interdisciplinary programs for undergraduate students" and "nurture a number of related initiatives already underway, such as a new, student-edited constitutional law journal." As part of the University's connection to the Center, History Professor Richard Beeman -- an American Revolution scholar -- will serve as its first visiting fellow, and Graduate School of Fine Arts dean Gary Hack will act as senior consultant for design and site-planning. "Drs.. Beeman and Hack are simply the best and the brightest in their fields," Rendell said. "Having them as part of the NCC team is tremendously exciting -- they exemplify the combination of academic distinction and practical experience that characterizes the type of individual we intend to attract to the Center." Rendell also presented an 8-minute video entitled Imagine a Place -- narrated by actor James Earl Jones, former President George Bush, and newscaster Andrea Mitchell -- which portrays the visitor experience at the planned Constitution Center museum. He said the video will be shown to government, business and foundation leaders -- including President Bill Clinton -- to launch a national fundraising campaign. "As the video shows, the Constitution Center will be unlike any other museum experience," NCC President Joseph Torsella said. "Visitors will leave the Center with a profound sense of the integral role the Constitution played in their history and the role it continues to play in their everyday lives." Visitors will receive cards designating them delegates to the Constitutional Convention and the tour will begin in eighteenth-century Philadelphia, evoking the sights and sounds of the conflicts that forged the nation. The museum will include interactive exhibits and simulations which will allow visitors to explore the Constitution as both the framework for government and the protector of individual rights. The narrator explains that "as we learn about the Civil War, we notice a crack in the floor widening -- until it forces us, as the war forced Americans, to chose which story to follow, the Blue or the Gray." "We walk through the aisle of a crowded bus in the 1950s, seeing Montgomery, Ala. through the windows," the narrator continues. "We hear the soft voice of Rosa Parks start the Civil Rights Movement with a single word: no." Visitors will also examine and vote on current Constitutional issues -- such as the balanced-budget amendment. As the tour concludes, they will "sign" the Constitution with a laser pen and receive a parchment replica of the document with their signature among those of the founding fathers. "We have no illusions that this will be easy," Rendell said. "But this will be a museum of immense importance."
(06/12/97 9:00am)
Students claim the required writing test is an inaccurate measure of their English The trustees of the City University of New York are embroiled in a legal and political conflict with students at the system's community colleges over a new requirement that students pass an English writing test in order to graduate. Anne Paolucci -- the new chairwoman of CUNY's board of trustees -- said the trustees are insisting that the six community colleges in the CUNY system withhold diplomas from students who have not passed CUNY's Writing Assessment Test. The requirement was aimed at Hostos Community College -- a bilingual community college in the Bronx where Spanish is the primary language of most students -- but would also affect approximately 200 students at three other CUNY institutions. Students who had not passed the test were allowed to participate in commencement exercises last month, but officials noted that they can still withhold diplomas from these students because diplomas are not actually given out during the graduation ceremony. Diplomas are mailed to students weeks or months after they graduate, once all fees have been paid and transcripts have been certified. Hostos used to require students to pass the Writing Assessment Test in order to get credit for a remedial English course, but so many students were failing the test that the school decided to institute its own easier version last year. When dozens of Hostos students protested that the test should not be the only measure of English proficiency and refused to take the test last month, college officials agreed that it would only count for 30 percent of their grade in remedial English. In late May, the trustees voted to require CUNY's community college students to pass the Writing Assessment Test and barred any Hostos student who had not passed the test from graduating. 104 Hostos students were forced to take the test as a result, and only 13 passed. The test -- which involves writing a short, coherent essay on a broad topic, such as whether America still the land of opportunity -- is graded on the basis of organization, sentence structure, spelling and punctuation. Critics of the test claim that students who grew up writing Spanish may need more than the allotted 50 minutes to compose a coherent essay in English. CUNY Chancellor Anne Reynolds -- who has been denounced by New York Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for "tolerating low standards" and "making excuses for poor performance" -- initially claimed Hostos was the only community college in the system that did not require the test. But further investigation revealed that the new requirement could also affect students at at least three other CUNY schools. Officials said that LaGuardia Community College had over 100 students who had not passed the test, while Borough of Manhattan Community College had 66 and Bronx Community College had 47.
(06/12/97 9:00am)
Auditorium will reopen in Dec. 1998 as part of Perelman Quad. Construction on the Perelman Quadrangle student center will continue during the summer months with the renovation of Irvine Auditorium, according to Provost Stanley Chodorow. "Irvine will close next week," he said. "It will be renovated as part of the Perelman Quad project." The Perelman Quad -- named for University Trustee and alumnus Ronald Perelman, who pledged $20 million to the project -- will use Houston, Williams and Logan Halls, along with Irvine, to create 85,827 feet of meeting rooms, study lounge, student organization offices and performing arts space. Irvine is the second of the four buildings that will compose the Perelman Quad to be closed. It is slated to reopen in December 1998. Logan Hall is currently being renovated and is scheduled to open again in December 1997, while Williams and Houston Halls will close next summer and reopen in December 1999. When it is renovated, Irvine will include European-style seating, with entrances from the wings of the auditorium rather than the rear. Chodorow said there will be no aisles in order to make better use of the space. Plans also include a new sound system, which will make Irvine usable for 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. The basement will house both practice and office space for performing arts groups. There will be dressing rooms and practice rooms in addition to space for set construction, costume design and other performing arts needs. The parking lot next to Irvine will also be transformed into a park, similar to College Green. The exterior of Logan Hall was recently renovated at a cost of $8.8 million. When the current $9.2 million interior renovation is complete, the building will include a 330-seat auditorium, a 150-seat recital hall and an art gallery on the ground level. Other renovations are aimed at making better use of Logan's windows and staircases. Plans also call for a cafe, browsing library and reading lounge on the ground floor of Houston Hall. On the lower level, the game room will be expanded and a large kitchen to service the Hall of Flags will replace some of the retail shops. A two-story glass atrium intended for 24-hour reading and quiet study will be built between Logan and Williams Halls. Chodorow said the atrium is designed to increase safety by flooding the area with light.
(06/12/97 9:00am)
The Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community is examining affirmative action, campaign reform and immigration during its second meeting this week. The Commission -- which was established by University President Judith Rodin and consists of 47 leading intellectuals -- is discussing how governmental policies and the intrusion of mass market values and incentives into areas of social, cultural and political life have affected the tone, form and content of public culture. Bestselling author Kevin Phillips gave the keynote address yesterday. Phillips has written Boiling Point: Republicans, Democrats and the Decline of Middle Class Prosperity, and The Politics of Rich and Poor: Wealth and the American Electorate in the Reagan Aftermath and is considered a forecaster of political and economic trends. His latest book, entitled Arrogant Capital: Washington, Wall Street, and the Frustration of American Politics, examines America's political, economic and global role in the 1990s. The Commission focused on incivility and extremism in politics and culture at its first meeting in December. Rodin explained that the Commission is examining affirmative action, campaign reform and immigration because these issues exemplify the problems of intolerance, failure of leadership and community fragmentation which emerged from the first session. This weeks discussions on affirmative action are being led by Christopher Edley Jr. -- author of Not All Black and White: Affirmative Action, Race and American Values and a leader in the Clinton administration's review of affirmative action. Former Washington Post reporter Paul Taylor will lead the campaign reform discussion. Taylor left the Post in January 1996 to establish a campaign reform organization called the Free TV for Straight Talk Coalition. Richard Rodriguez -- author of Hunger of Memory and Days of Obligation: An Argument with my Mexican Father -- will head the immigration discussion. Rodriguez is also an essayist for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Harper's Magazine, U.S. News and World Report and the Sunday opinion page of the Los Angeles Times. Rodin said that over the next two years, "it is our expectation that [the Penn National Commission] will generate and share broadly a body of ideas that will help to foster a more reasoned and reasonable public discourse within a more robust and diverse public culture." Future meetings are scheduled for December 1997 in Washington, D.C., June 1998 in Chicago and December 1998 in Los Angeles. The group will return to Philadelphia for its final meeting in June 1999. Prominent members of the Commission include journalist Calvin Trillin, sociologist William Julius Wilson, U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), Annenberg School Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy, former Harvard President Derek Bok and University of Chicago Ethics Professor Jean Bethke-Elshtain.
(06/12/97 9:00am)
The Irish rock band interspersed new songs with old hits during the only Philadelphia stop on its "PopMart" tour. Franklin Field is usually quiet during the summer months, but on Sunday night the field came alive as Irish rock band U2 dazzled an audience of over 50,000 during the only Philadelphia stop on its "PopMart" tour. Students accustomed to watching home football games might have had difficulty recognizing the stadium. Seats covered the field and there was an elaborate set -- featuring the words "PopMart" in giant red letters and framed by a huge golden arch, an olive hovering atop a toothpick that shot into the night sky and a 40-foot neon lemon -- where the scoreboard usually is. After an opening set by the Fun Lovin' Criminals -- who also played at this year's Spring Fling Concert -- U2 entered the stadium and brought the crowd to its feet. Most of the audience remained standing throughout the high-energy performance until it ended two hours and twenty songs later. The Grammy award-winning band interspersed songs from its new album Pop with songs from previous albums, including "Pride (In the Name of Love," "With or Without you," "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," "Where the Streets Have No Names" and "One." The concert centered around the band's love-hate relationship with America -- the country that turned U2 "into a great big rock band." "The great big band got scared the corporate monster would eat us up," lead singer Bono explained. But before the monster could eat the band, "we decided to eat the the monster," he said. The American theme extended to the huge golden arch -- resembling that of a McDonald's restaurant -- and an umbrella decorated with stars and stripes. The show featured an array of spectacular effects, including a giant 170 by 56 foot video screen which displayed enlarged images of the band members, flashy animation and colorful abstractions. Before the encore of "Discotheque," the lemon turned into a futuristic glittering silver disco ball and opened, revealing Bono, guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen. A variety of effects produced by the 1,000 lighting fixtures, six lighting machines, 20 Xenon searchlights and 100 strobe lights also enhanced the concert. Throughout the evening, the band involved the audience in its performance. During a rendition of "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees, the lyrics appeared on the giant screen so audience members could sing along. Bono even brought a girl onstage to dance with him at one point in the show. "I thought it was a very successful event," University spokesperson Ken Wildes said. "Everybody seemed to have a good time and fortunately it was a beautiful night." He added that the only problem was traffic control. The University and concert promoters anticipated the large number of cars and recommended public transportation, which helped alleviate parking problems. But he explained that while concert-goers arrived at different times, they all left at once, causing congestion. While it would be nice to have concerts at Franklin Field during the school year when more students could attend, Wildes noted that such events would be difficult to schedule because of additional demands on facilities. Representatives from all areas of the University involved in the concert -- from athletics to the Physical Plant to security -- will gather for a debriefing, and Wildes said they will evaluate the pros and cons of Franklin Field hosting similar events in the future.
(06/05/97 9:00am)
Rodin's former driver filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, the University has 20 days to respond. University President Judith Rodin's former driver and staff assistant Donald Gaines -- who was fired in March 1996 after police found marijuana, a gun and ammunition in his car -- has filed a complaint in U.S. District Court seeking $2 million in damages. Attorney Mark Perry, who is representing Gaines, said his client is suing Rodin in her capacity as an individual as well as her chief of staff Steve Schutt, the University Police Department, John Washington -- the officer who discovered the drugs, gun and ammunition -- and the University's Board of Trustees. Perry said the suit charges the defendents with violating Gaines' civil rights as well as his right to due process of law. "The illegal search and seizure of my clients' vehicle lead to an unreasonable discharge without due process of law, ruining his reputation in the community and any opportunity to obtain future employment as personal security officer," he said. Perry said that Gaines is seeking $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. He added that all defendents must respond to the complaint within 20 days. Univeristy officials refused to comment on the lawsuit. "It is University policy not to comment on pending litigation," Univeristy spokesperson Ken Wildes said. But Perry speculated that the defendents will file a motion to dismiss the charges. He explained that such a motion will claim that even if the charges against the University and its representatives are true, the Univeristy is not liable under federal law. Though the University is a private institution, Perry said he believes it should be held liable under federal law because it receives some state funding. He added that he also thinks the police department has federal liability because it is a "quasi city police force." In March 1996, Washington discovered and seized two hand-rolled cigarettes and a bag filled with a "green leafy-type substance" from Gaines' car, which was parked in a Univeristy lot at 38th and Walnut streets. University Police also took a .22-calibre revolver and several types of bullets from the car. But none of these findings were ever entered in the official police log, which is supposed to contain all crimes and significant incidents responded to and documented by University Police. The Philadelphia District Attorney's office did not press charges against Gaines, claiming that police searched the car without probable cause. But the Univeristy fired Gaines after an internal investigation. Perry said his client was given "no opportunity to respond to the allegations against him." "My client was mistreated by Penn from the beginning to the end of his employment," Perry said. "He was asked by Judith Rodin and Penn to go above and beyond and he performed tasks that were not even in his job description to the highest level." If a motion to dismiss the charges is denied, Perry said the case would move to the pre-trial dscovery stage and ultimately go to court. He explained that the case would not end even if a motion to dismiss the charges is granted because there are "other state law claims such as invasion of privacy that we can bring to state court."
(06/05/97 9:00am)
Carmen Williams -- a doctoral student in biomedical science at the University Medical Center -- is the first at the University to receive a prestigious Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Biomedical Sciences. She was one of only 19 scientists chosen 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 said she discovered the grant from a web advertisement. The application process involves 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 -- a research associate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology -- said she wanted to use the grant to continue the research on how fertilization happens which she has already done for her doctoral thesis. She will investigate the mechanisms by which sperm alert eggs to their presence so fertilization can occur. The Burroughs Wellcome Fund advisory board chose 32 applicants to interview from the over 200 scientists who submitted proposals. Williams flew to Dallas to be interviewed by members of the advisory board -- which she said 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.
(06/05/97 9:00am)
University endocrinologist John Haddad -- who developed the standard test for vitamin D levels in the blood -- died in Paris on May 22 at the age of 59. He lived in Philadelphia, but family members said Haddad was in Paris for a medical meeting and died of a heart attack. Haddad was associate chairman of research in the department of medicine at the University's School of Medicine, where he had worked since 1980. He is most famous for the vitamin D test he created while working at Washington University in St. Louis in the 1960s, according to his mentor Louis Avioli, director of bone and mineral disease at the Washington University School of Medicine. Avioli explained that vitamin D is normally absorbed from a number of foods and noted that it is often added to milk. But some people are unable to absorb vitamin D and develop diseases as a result. Careful measurement of the amount of vitamin in the blood is crucial. Haddad's test measures natural vitamin D levels by giving patients vitamin D with radioactivity that makes it traceable as it seeks binding sites on protein in the blood. The more natural vitamin D there is already occupying the sites, the less the radioactive substance can bind to the protein. In addition to creating the vitamin D test, Haddad also discovered the link between vitamin D and the immune system. He observed that the protein molecules which bind to vitamin D also play a role in the way the immune system protects the body during trauma. He was co-founder and past president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and he is credited with increasing awareness of osteoporosis. Haddad was born in New Orleans and received his bachelor's degree from Tulane University in 1958, where he also earned his medical degree in 1962. After graduating from Tulane, he completed his residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, playing the saxophone in jazz groups to help pay his costs. Haddad then went on to study endocrinology at the University of Virginia Medical School before joining the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine. He is survived by his wife Julia, his sister Joanne and his two children, Margaret and John.
