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(05/25/95 9:00am)
Alumni swarmed the University last weekend, visiting the place where they left their college days behind. And many left something different behind when they returned home-- a piece of their checkbook. According to Penn Fund Director Jerry Condon, the fund should end the fiscal year with $6.7 million in donations from classes. He said this is more than what his department raised last year, adding that this is encouraging considering that they were raising money in competition with the Campaign for Penn project. "In asking alumni to give to both campaigns, it is very good to know that they will continue to support their individual programs here," Condon said. He said the amount of Penn Fund donations have been growing over the last few years. He added that he attributes this increase to a number of factors, including University President Judith Rodin's ability to generate enthusiasm. Other factors Condon mentioned are the University's success in Ivy League athletics and the increased rating of the school. "I think people are very impressed with how Penn is doing," he said. Fourteen different classes convened on campus over the weekend to celebrate there quintenial reunions, Condon said. Although these classes will continue to raise money through the end of the fiscal year, they try to reach their predesignated goals by Alumni Weekend, he said, adding that most have "just about met their goals." "Some are short, but I expect they will do well by the end of their fiscal year," he said. The specific goal varies by the class. Condon said that alumni celebrating their 25th reunion, usually set the highest goal. This year, the Class of 1970 raised more than one million dollars, becoming the 11th straight 25th reunion class to do so, he added. The class slated $500,000 of its gift to go towards a commons area in the Perelman Quadrangle and $200,000 to endow a term chair to "support a faculty member who is either a woman or a minority." Condon added that the rest of the funds were donated by individuals to scholarships or other restricted purposes. But the Class of 1965 beat all other classes this year by raising over $2.2 million, which they donated towards an auditorium in the Perelman Quad.
(05/25/95 9:00am)
Gall bladder surgery has been on the rise since a less evasive procedure for gall bladder removal was introduced in 1989, according to a new study done by University Medical Professor Jose Escarce. The study, published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reports that gallbladder surgery has increased 22 percent since the new procedure was implemented in 1989. The procedure, called laparoscopic cholecystectomy, is less evasive because it uses a scope inserted into the abdomen, rather than an open incision. And the newer method is less expansive and less painful than the traditional surgery, allowing patients to recover faster. According to the article, the procedure is cheaper because the surgery is less expansive and the incidence of disease following surgery is greatly reduced. Escarce focused his research on Medicare claims for patients aged 65 years or older who lived in Pennsylvania and had their gall bladders removed between 1986 and 1993. "We found that cholecystectomy rates (rates of surgery for gall bladder removal) among elderly Medicare beneficiaries in Pennsylvania were stable in the years immediately preceding the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 1989, but subsequently increased rapidly," the authors of the article wrote. "The 22 percent increase in the annual cholecystectomy rate is only slightly lower than that reported for younger populations." But the ease of the new technique has caused some patients to throw caution into the wind and opt for surgery when it is not necessary, an editorial in the journal warned. "It is important that physicians and patients not be tempted into doing surgery just because the surgery now seems easier and because the patient has some symptoms that 'might be related to gallstones," wrote David Ransohoff of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Charles McSherry of the Department of Surgery at Cornell University Medical College. "We need to save the procedure for persons who can really benefit."
(05/25/95 9:00am)
State high court refuses PILCOP appeal The long-standing Mayor's Scholarship controversy has finally ended after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the case last Thursday. Michael Churchill, an attorney for the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia -- the group that has fought to gain more scholarships for Philadelphia students -- said he was very disappointed by the court's decision. "I think it's very unfortunate that the Supreme Court would not even hear a case that was obviously as important as this matter," Churchill said. "The concept that no-one except the mayor can seek to enforce a city ordinance seems to be a terrible rule that leaves no independent force to guard against corruption and negligence in an important public matter." University President Judith Rodin was happy with the court's decision. "We are pleased that the Supreme Court has finally resolved this matter, and that the legal position we and the city took upheld," she said. "What is critical now is that our strong commitment to Philadelphia be recognized. "As a measure of that commitment, we are aggressively implementing the mayor's scholarship program and we have intensified our recruitment of students from the community," she added. The case has been in litigation for over three years and it took an unprecedented three re-arguments before the Commonwealth Court ruled in December four to three in favor of the University and the City. According to an agreement signed in 1977, a set number of scholarships are to be awarded to Philadelphia residents by the University in exchange for 50 acres of rent-free land. Mayor's Scholars are selected by the Mayor's Scholarship Committee, whose members are appointed by Mayor Ed Rendell. The average Mayor's Scholarship package includes $18,806 in grants from the University. PILCOP sued the University in 1991, claiming that the 1977 agreement provided for 125 scholarships per year, for a total of 500 scholarships. But the the University contended that the 1977 agreement was for a total of 125 scholarships throughout the school, not for each incoming class. Judge Nelson Diaz ruled in favor of the University in February 1993, but also stated that the University must provide complete support for scholarship recipients. In PILCOP's appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court they asked the court to reverse the Commonwealth Court's decision "on its merits" and also to look into a possible conflict of interest on Chief Judge James Colins part in the four to three decision. PILCOP claims that Colins has a close relationship with both plaintiffs. Churchill alleges that Rendell appointed Colins to head his Riverfront Gambling Commission and that Colins attends all the Quaker home basketball games. Also, Colins has been active in University Alumni activities, according to PILCOP. PILCOP asked Colins to recuse himself because of his association with the University and the city, but Colins refused. But not everything Churchill said about the University was negative. "I'm heartened that the University has been making progress in rectifying the terrible record they had in early 1980's," Churchill said.
(05/25/95 9:00am)
The Class of 1995 was unable to meet the challenge. As the graduating seniors gathered at Superblock around 9:15 Monday morning, preparing to embark on the traditional march to Commencement at Franklin Field, organizers challenged the mass to complete the journey in fifteen minutes in order to be on time for their own ceremony. Lined up by school, the seniors spilled out onto Locust Walk. Caught up in the moment, they took their time making their way to Commencement. The entire class had converged for only the third time in four years, and they would never be together again. Many seniors had taken the opportunity to personalize their mortarboards, as they thanked their parents, pleaded for jobs and paid homage to such diverse figures as Batman and Miss Piggy. By the time the last senior was seated, it was ten o'clock, but officials did not seem overly concerned with the lateness. In the opening remarks of her first Commencement as the University's President, Judith Rodin remarked on how the Class of 1995 would always occupy a special place in her heart. She continued by recalling her own graduation ceremony in 1966, marvelling at the changes the world had seen since that year. Most seniors listened attentively to her speech, cheering loudly. But a few members of the Wharton undergraduate division found it hard to contain their excitement, and began to bounce a beachball from person to person as Rodin spoke. Jane Alexander, an Emmy and Tony Award winning actress and the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts, then took the podium to deliver the commencement address. After briefly congratulating the class on its achievements and commenting on the significance of the day, she launched into a plea for support for her agency. Alexander urged the audience to "believe in the power of the arts to help us think how we should live." "As we approach the millennium, let's celebrate ourselves through the arts, the humanities, and reinvigorate the sense of community that is the heart and soul of our American dream" she said. Overall, the class responded positively to Alexander's speech, although some questioned its relevance to the ceremony. And although a few students were irritated by the content of Alexander's speech, most agreed that nothing could spoil the meaning of the day. "It was one hell of a ceremony," said College senior Jason Strauss. "It was beautiful. I don't think the speech was applicable, and I know it really annoyed some Whartonites, but I still enjoyed it. It was great."
(05/25/95 9:00am)
Their road to graduation may have taken a little longer, but for Wharton evening students graduation is just as sweet. And in celebration of their accomplishments, a reception was held at the Double Tree Inn in Center City on Sunday featuring speeches by Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell and Channel 10 anchor Renee Chenault. Approximately 85 parents, graduates and friends gathered on the third floor of the hotel to eat, drink and reminisce. Chenault told the graduates that she shares a certain "kinship" with them because she is a University alumna. She gave the audience some words of advice. "I'm here to congratulate you, but I'm also here to challenge," Chenault said. "It's important to give back." She also gave the students some background on her life, so they could see how she got to where she is today. After graduating from the University's Law School in the early 1980's, Chenault joined a New York law firm, but decided that law was not how she envisioned it. Growing up in the 1960's during the Civil Rights movement, Chenault wanted to be an agent for social change. She said she saw law as her opportunity to further that end. But after three years of practicing, she said that law was not accomplishing what she thought it would. So she went back to college, earned a degree in journalism and made a third of the salary she was paid as an attorney. But she said she had no regrets because she "absolutely positively loves" journalism and its ability to send important messages to the public. After Chenault's speech, Rendell briefly congratulated the Wharton students. He then switched the format of the event to a question and answer session. Topics raised ranged from Quaker basketball to Rendell's re-election campaign. At one point, he told the audience how he had recently been asked to be in a Top Ten segment of The Late Show with David Letterman. Mayors from all across the country were called upon to respond to New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani statement that "Our city can kick your city's ass." For Rendell's response, he stood in front of the Liberty Bell and said, "Ring this." Unfortunately, the bit never appeared on the show because of election rules limiting the air time a candidate can receive. After Rendell's question and answer session, graduates and guests were treated to a scrumptious brunch.
(05/25/95 9:00am)
When artists join up with archaeologists, the results can be quite remarkable. Since 1990, more than 35 work-study students from the University have done just that. And the most recent product of this partnership can be seen on display at the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. "Illuminating the Past: The Art and Artists of the Ban Chiang Project" focuses on technical drawings of artifacts such as pottery, jewelry and skeletons. The exhibit features more than 70 drawings -- each done in either pencil or pen and ink -- depicting artifacts, burials and cemeteries. According to Ban Chiang Project Director Joyce White, University student artists worked with archaeologists to understand and reproduce the artifacts. The artists would accompany the archaeologists to the sites and use the ancient objects or photographs discovered as models for their works. White, who is a research archaeologist for the museum, said she served as the intermediary between the archaeologists and the artists. "I worked to strengthen their partnership," she said. "The artists are the eyes and hands, and I am their interpreter." The illustrations reveal information about the meaning and internal structure of the artifacts, White explained. "In creating technical drawings, the artist can make choices of interpretation and show details that a photograph cannot," she added. Some of the student artists said they found the experience both challenging and rewarding. "Doing this kind of art is much more scientific and exact than what I had been used to doing," College senior Julia Wiland said. "You cannot use your imagination in producing an accurate representation of an artifact." Wiland, who also worked as a research assistant for the exhibit, added that a great deal of preparation went into the display. "The planning included a preliminary selection of the illustrations and five rounds of narrowing down which look best for display," she said. The drawings will be immortalized in scholarly reports on Ban Chiang, which will be published in archaeological books and monographs. This pleased many of the artists, including College senior Stephen Houghton. "I'm very proud to see my work exhibited for the first time," he said. "But even more important is the idea that, through publication, my work will be exhibited across the world for scholars." The first volume of a monograph series on the Ban Chiang research is slated to be published in 1997. The exhibit will be on display in the University Museum until August 31.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
The Association of Alumnae announced its senior merit awards earlier this month at the organization's annual meeting. The Continuing Education Award was given to Elizabeth Wolf for her "high level of commitment to studies" in the Continuing Education Program of the College of General Studies, according to Binnie Donald, chairperson of the association's Awards Committee. Wolf, a 34-year-old social science major, worked part time through her education while raising two children. She has also applied to law school after achieving a 3.86 grade point average in her CGS classes. "Studying at Penn was beyond my wildest dreams," Wolf wrote in her application for the award. Engineering senior Shelly Bowers, four-year varsity starter for the women's basketball team, received the Fathers' Trophy, which is given to an outstanding female scholar-athlete. Bowers, who hails from Allentown, Pa., is graduating with a degree in bioengineering. She has served as a lab technician at the Institute for Environmental Medicine and developed a toy for cerebral palsy patients as part of her senior engineering design project, according to Ruth Fields, who presented the award to Bowers. On the court, Bowers was ranked fifth highest on the University's all-time scoring list with 1,083 points. She averaged 4.4 assists per game on this year's season and had a career scoring high of 24 points in a game. The Fathers' Trophy was created in 1945 by a group of fathers of female University students as a companion award to the Class of 1915 trophy, which goes to a male scholar-athlete. The Fathers' Trophy is on display in Weightman Hall. "Pennsylvania offered me the perfect niche between varsity athletics and top notch academics," Bowers wrote in her application for the Trophy. Both women were honored with silver plaques at the association's meeting May 9.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
When graduating seniors first arrived at the University in 1991, scaffolding surrounded Logan Hall. But if the weather cooperates and all goes as planned, seniors will be able to get their first unobstructed view of the building's exterior just in time for Commencement. According to Physical Plant Executive Director James Wargo, all of the scaffolding surrounding the building should be completely removed by May 23. Plans also call for the tarp covering the front of College Hall to be removed in time for Alumni Weekend so visitors can see the progress being made on the building's ongoing renovation. But if rain or last minute problems plague workers, the Class of 1995 will have to wait for future alumni weekends to see the restored buildings. Vice President of Facilities Management Art Gravina said the finishing steps on the outside of both buildings would not be rushed in order to meet the time deadline. "While we want to show it off, we worked too hard and won't want it done in a mediocre way," Gravina said. "I don't want to have the scaffold down and then have to rebuild it." Logan Hall has undergone renovations since 1989, when University officials first decided to repair the building's aging roof. "Then we found the chimney was a disaster and and the whole building needed repair," Gravina said. "It became evident we couldn't do anything the way we originally approached it." After the renovation process was reevaluated, occupants of departmental offices and classrooms in the building were relocated. Renovation then began again. "It didn't go quite as planned," Gravina said. But now, six years after the renovations first started, Logan Hall's exterior is nearly complete. "The exterior of the building will be structurally sound and totally rehabilitated," Gravina said, adding that the reconstruction should provide another 50 years of life for the building before additional repairs will be required. Facilities Management is also working with the School of Arts and Sciences -- which had numerous departments originally housed in Logan Hall -- to determine how the interior will be designed, reworked and restored. These plans will depend on the design of the new Perelman Quadrangle, the construction of which affects Logan, along with Houston Hall, Williams Hall and Irvine Auditorium. At this point, the Perelman plans for Logan include restoring the building's "grand staircase" and skylight, as well as creating a "dramatic" entranceway. Officials are also planning to hasten the renovation of College Hall this summer by moving the History Department from the building in August, Gravina said. Other work to both buildings will be completed over the summer.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
and Gregory Montanaro University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich is on the University of New Mexico's short list of candidates for the next commissioner of public safety, according to UNM Police Lieutenant Steve Lewis. "He was my top choice," Lewis said, adding that Kuprevich is one of four finalists for the position. "I thought he was outstanding." Kuprevich confirmed this week that he "applied to a number of opportunities," and he said that UNM is "a fine institution." He added that no decision had been made and that several qualified applicants were in the running. He also said that the job "happened to open at the right time." Kuprevich announced on April 13 that he would resign his position at the University on July 31. At the time, he said he had accomplished all he had wanted to do at the University, and was ready to pursue new challenges elsewhere. "[Kuprevich] had a lot of experience on college campuses and good credentials and a good understanding of the issues universities [face]," Lewis said. UNM has 42 officers and is currently looking to upgrade their security officers to police status. Lewis said the the job became available when the current police chief left to work for a municipal police department. He described the crime situation at UNM as mainly "property crime." One hundred bicycles were stolen last year, partially because of a lack of education in the community about properly locking unattended possessions. Lewis said there were also a lot of auto accidents, auto thefts and two murders in the past four years. Kuprevich was the University's first commissioner of public safety and oversaw the University Police department and the Victim Support and Special Services unit since assuming the post in December 1990. Since his resignation, Kuprevich has maintained that he will stay involved in campus law enforcement. University officials have said that a replacement will be found in time for Kuprevich's departure this summer. Under the direction of Executive Vice President John Fry -- who received Kuprevich's letter of resignation -- a national search was initiated to identify people interested in working at the University. Details of the search were not available. Before coming to the University, Kuprevich headed Brown University's police and security department for nine years. At Brown, Kuprevich was credited with expanding the university's police department and improving relations between Brown and the state and local police. He also helped create a volunteer program to help female crime victims. Kuprevich's career began as a Pennsylvania State University police officer. He then worked at Wayne State University in Detroit for 11 years.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
and Jeremy Kahn University researchers were deeply involved in the secret testing of chemical warfare agents on human subjects throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a growing mountain of documents declassified over the past 25 years reveals. Many of these experiments were conducted by University-affiliated researchers on inmates in a Philadelphia prison who did not have full knowledge of the long-term health effects from exposure to the chemicals -- some of which are now known carcinogens. And these tests -- many involving the application of "blistering agents" which created acute acnelike skin conditions -- were conducted at the same time University researchers were forging ahead in the development of skin care products such as the anti-acne, anti-wrinkle drug Retin-A. University Professor Led Human Chemical Experiments The inventor of Retin-A, Emeritus Professor of Dermatology Albert Kligman conducted more government-sponsored chemical warfare experiments on humans than any other University researcher, a review of government documents indicates. Working at the University from 1951 to 1972, Kligman conducted scores of experiments on inmates in Northeast Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison. Many of these experiments were conducted under the auspices of Ivy Research Laboratories, one of four research groups he founded in the mid-1960s. The research groups obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in government and pharmaceutical industry contracts to test various chemicals on human subjects. Kligman did not return repeated phone calls placed to his home and office over the course of the past three weeks. "I like to do ground-breaking research," he said in a 1989 interview. The Dioxin Experiments Kligman performed some of the first experiments on possible ill-effects from exposure to the chemical dioxin in 1964 while under contract from Dow Chemical and the U.S. Department of Defense. Dow was seeking to determine whether dioxin exposure might have been responsible for an outbreak of chloracne -- a severe, acnelike skin disease -- among workers at a plant in Michigan which used dioxin in the manufacture of a variety of herbicides. Although Kligman acknowledges testing dioxin on prisoners at Holmesburg during 1964, he claims the records of the experiments have been destroyed. But Vernon Rowe, a former Dow worker to whom Kligman reported in the 1960s, suggested in testimony before an Environmental Protection Agency hearing in January 1981 that Kligman had exceeded dosage guidelines -- by a factor of nearly 500 times -- set by Dow and the University. Rowe testified that Dow had authorized Kligman to apply a dose of 0.2 micrograms of dioxin to the backs of 60 Holmesburg prisoners and to gradually increase the dosage to 16 micrograms. Dow believed this exposure range approximated that sustained by its Michigan plant workers. The prisoners in Kligman's dioxin study all signed consent forms, but some were later to claim in lawsuits that they were told there would be no long-term negative health effects from the experiments. In addition, prisoners who participated in the Kligman experiments would receive credits redeemable for items at the prison commissary and were told that the prison would view their actions in a favorable light, perhaps counting toward good behavior if they came up for parole. Kligman was said to have initially followed Dow's exposure guidelines for the study, but with few results. "I am grieved so little has been learned," Rowe quoted Kligman as writing him. Later, Rowe claimed in his testimony, Kligman -- without authorization from anyone at Dow -- applied 7,500 micrograms of the chemical to the skin of 10 prisoners. He said this was 468 times beyond Dow's authorized maximum exposure level. Eight of the 10 prisoners who received this dose developed cases of chloracne which lasted for over seven months. "We followed the specific protocol set down by you," Kligman allegedly wrote in his report to Rowe. "Unfortunately, not a single subject developed acne nor was there any evidence of toxicity. This encouraged me to proceed more vigorously." Since the late 1970s, research has linked dioxin to cancer, fetal deaths and birth defects. It is also a major component in Agent Orange, the defoliant used extensively by the U.S. Army in Vietnam, which has allegedly caused cancer and skin diseases in thousands of veterans. Former Holmesburg inmate James Walker, of West Philadelphia, sued Kligman and the University in 1979 alleging that he had developed lupus, a rare skin disease, after having participated in Kligman's dioxin experiments. Two years later, five more former Holmesburg prisoners filed a $6 million suit against Kligman, the University, the state of Pennsylvania and the federal government, claiming they all had suffered from outbreaks of acute rashes since participating in the dioxin study. Both suits were later settled. Kligman Banned From Human Experiments In 1966, Kligman became the first researcher in the history of the Food and Drug Administration to be banned from testing drugs on human subjects. According to an August 1966 Time magazine article, the FDA had decided that Kligman's work was sloppy and that his notes were often inconsistent. Kligman attributed his poor record keeping to the fact that he often used prisoners to monitor the experiments as well as the subjects in them. The FDA later restored Kligman's right to experiment on humans. But the FDA ban did not stop Kligman from further experimentation on human subjects with chemical agents. At about the same time the FDA was deciding that Kligman's experiments were poorly conducted, the University signed a $386,486 contract to test chemical warfare agents for the U.S. Army, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. To this day, the contract is one of the largest ever awarded for the testing of chemical warfare agents on human subjects. More Prisoners as Subjects Under this contract and several others between the Army and the University, researchers began a barrage of tests -- many conducted simultaneously -- using Holmesburg inmates as human subjects. One such program, conducted by Kligman, sought "to learn how the skin protects itself against chronic assault from toxic chemicals, the so-called hardening process," according to Kligman's 1967 report to the scientists at the Army's Edgewood Arsenal Research Laboratories in Maryland. The Army believed the study could have both offensive and defensive military applications. Kligman and his assistants worked with a variety of blister-producing chemicals, applying to prisoner's foreheads and backs, at times even immersing a subject's limbs in caustic solutions, according to a declassified 1967 report obtained from the Department of Energy. "An inescapable conclusion from all our studies is that solid hardening is obtainable only if the skin passes through a very intense inflammatory phase with swelling, redness, scaling and crusting," Kligman wrote in the report. "Once hardened, the immersions may continue indefinitely without noticeable effect." Kligman suggested in his report to the Edgewood Arsenal that the Army might consider using turpentine as a skin hardener, except that almost half of the prisoners exposed to the chemical -- often used in paint thinners -- contracted allergies. "These reactions may be quite severe when an entire forearm is involved," he wrote. Kligman reported some success in hardening subjects' skin against such chemical warfare agents as sodium lauryl sulfate and chlorinated phenol, managing to "harden" 12 inmates to both toxins for an entire year. But Kligman wrote the Army in 1967 that he was having trouble hardening prisoner's to other substances. Experiments Hospitalize Inmates All three prisoners exposed to pure ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, a highly toxic gas, "exhibited psychotic reactions (hallucinations, disorientation, stupor) within two weeks and had to be hospitalized," Kligman reported to Edgewood. Kligman concluded that no skin hardening process could prevent the psychological effects a chemical agent might have and that "hardening is short-lived, and requires continuing exposures for its peak maintenance." Kligman also reported that the study had ended prematurely when inmates "complained bitterly." "After weeks of apparently peak inflammation, the skin exhibited no willingness to become hardened and the willingness of the subjects to go on diminished to zero," Kligman wrote in a letter to Army researchers at Edgewood. The names of the subjects in the declassified report are blacked out, ostensibly to protect their identities. But the lack of knowledge about the fate of the subjects in the experiments -- or even which subjects were involved in which tests -- makes tracking any long-term health effects from the studies difficult. Kligman and other University researchers performed no long-term follow-ups on the subjects. In 1967, Kligman was also conducting research at Holmesburg for the Army under the auspices of Ivy Research Laboratories. According to a 1975 report of the Inspector General of the Army, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, "Ivy Research [Laboratories] used at least 94 inmates to test choking agents, nerve agents, blister agents, vomiting agents, incapacitating agents, and toxins." The report also stated that Ivy Research was banned from Holmesburg Prison after its tests were blamed for causing a 1972 prison riot. There are even allegations that Ivy Research was conducting radiation experiments on inmates at the time of Kligman's skin hardening tests. Allegations of Human Radiation Experiments In 1990, Edward Farrington, a former Holmesburg prisoner, filed a $6 million law suit against the University and other defendants claiming that he developed leukemia as a result of University-conducted research at Holmesburg in 1967. In his handwritten suit, Farrington alleged that radioactive material was injected at seven points along his arms and back that were marked with permanent tattoos. He alleged University researchers checked these points with a Geiger counter for several weeks. Farrington claimed that workers from the University "enticed" him into participating in the radiation study by assuring him there would be no lasting effects. He alleged that officials from the University and the prison lied about the risks of the experiment. Farrington also wrote in the suit that he could not recall what department of the University oversaw the alleged experiment, and that he could not remember the names of any of the workers, except that one was called "McBride." University lawyers initially denied any knowledge of alleged radiation research and later stated in a court filing that an investigation at the University had failed to verify Farrington's account of a University-conducted radiation experiment. In 1992, the University paid Farrington an undisclosed sum "in order to avoid the costs of litigation and to buy peace," according to former Associate General Counsel Neil Hamburg. Hamburg said at the time that the University continued to deny Farrington's allegations and that no admission of guilt was made in the settlement. In court documents, the University acknowledged that a person named McBride worked for the University in 1967, while firmly denying he had any involvement in the kinds of experiments Farrington alleged the University performed. Solomon McBride, a former University professor, was medical administrator for Kligman's Ivy Research group in 1967, at the height of its Army-contracted chemical warfare experiments, according to the 1975 Army Inspector General's report. McBride left the University and founded McWill Research Laboratories in Atlanta in 1985. He did not return several phone calls placed to his home last week. Farrington, who has been in and out of prison for a variety of crimes over the past two decades, has moved out of the Philadelphia area and also could not be reached for comment. One month before Farrington settled his suit against the University, the University reached a compromise in a two-year court battle with Johnson & Johnson and Kligman over the rights to sell the popular acne medication Retin-A as an anti-wrinkle cream. Under contract with Johnson & Johnson, Kligman developed and patented Retina-A in 1967 -- at the height of his chemical warfare experimentation with the University and Ivy Research. It is still unclear what relation, if any, Kligman's research at Holmesburg had in the development of Retina-A or in the University's development of other skin care products.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
Fifty years after graduating from the University, Lillian Brunner is preparing to meet many of her classmates for the first time this weekend. The reason for this delayed meeting is not that Brunner was shy when she attended the University or that she was a commuter student. Rather, in 1945, campus life, like all other aspects of society, had become encompassed by the magnitude of World War II. As Brunner and the Class of 1945 gather on campus to celebrate their 50th reunion, they will at last try to bring a sense of normalcy to a class that was anything but normal. "Our class was limited in many regards," Brunner said earlier this week. "There wasn't built into it the sense of unity that I'm sure classes today have." Class President Leon King said this feeling of cohesion was not important to students who wanted to complete college before heading out to war. Students attended classes year-round so they could graduate within three years. And the University held three graduation ceremonies in 1945 for students who had to leave campus to help with the war effort. For many in the Class of 1945, though, the somber realities of war did not wait until graduation. Three credits shy of graduation, Joseph Etris Jr. departed for the battleship North Carolina in the Pacific in July 1945. After serving as a junior turret officer on the main battery of the ship, he returned to campus to finish his requirements for graduation. Despite his actual graduation date -- September 1946 -- he considers himself a member of the Class of 1945. Unlike Etris, Selma Bernstein did not fight on the front lines in the war. But she, too, participated in the war effort. While on campus, Bernstein spent hours raising money to be donated to the government's "war chest." And in the evenings, she and her sorority sisters headed to Fort Dix to dance with soldiers preparing to leave for combat overseas. The war was more than a struggle against fascism and oppression for Bernstein. Hardly a day went by that she did not think about her two younger brothers who were stationed on the front lines -- in Africa and in the the Admiralty Islands in the Pacific. "I remember getting letters from them with all these black lines," she said. "We didn't know very much about what was going on -- they were all censored." Like Bernstein, Elaine Rothschild's involvement with the war was also intensely personal. As a volunteer with the Red Cross, Rothschild's job was to translate messages from French into English about the fate of servicemen in the war. Nineteen years old at the time, she had the unenviable task of telling family members that their loved ones died in battle. Even on campus, Rothschild could not escape the ugly reminders of the atrocities of war. "The campus was filled with servicemen coming and going, and it was very depressing," she said. "We would say goodbye to someone and find out six months later that the person was killed. "It was not any kind of campus life that you guys know about," she added. "We were really cheated out of college life in those days." To Etris, classmates who died were unfortunate, but expected, casualties of war. "War is war, and it's hell," he said. "It's real bullets and real lives. "You knew that somebody wasn't going to make it," he added. "You felt really terrible, but you accepted it." Not only did war cause changes to students' routines, but the University as a whole adapted as well. Since the size of the student body shrunk considerably during the war, many courses were consolidated and condensed as a result. And because junior faculty members were drafted, full professors were conscripted for classroom duty. The courses these professors taught were often geared toward topics of war. For instance, postwar planning, flight mapping and assault strategy were popular at the time. According to Howard Golden, another member of the class, the University was also forced to accommodate the onslaught of servicemen being sent to campus. "They took over the dormitories and they took over most of the fraternity houses," Golden said. "There were more of them than there were civilians." When World War II ended, members of the Class of 1945 were left planning for their futures and coping with their losses. During this painful process, classmates never really got to know each other. "I felt that we lost something," Bernstein said. "I don't think I have the long-lasting memories that someone who went to college 10 years later would have." And this lack of class cohesion has been a problem for the reunion planning committee, King admits. "I met more people planning for the 50th anniversary than I knew on campus," he said. "There was only one person on the committee that I knew in college and only a handful that I attended class with." But Golden does not hold any grudges against the University because of his experience. "It wasn't the fault of the University -- it was the war."
(05/19/95 9:00am)
With hushed and saddened voices, friends of 1993 University graduate Kathleen Sullivan gathered earlier this month in Houston Hall to talk about the poverty crusader's contributions to society and her tragic death. Sullivan was killed on April 11 when a drunken driver hit her as she rode her bike along Larchwood Street, near 47th Street. Those in mourning spoke of Sullivan's tireless work in fighting poverty in Philadelphia and across the country. Her friends and co-workers also said Sullivan will be missed not only by her friends and family, but also by the many lives she touched in Philadelphia's impoverished neighborhoods. Sullivan, a leader of the Kite and Key Society and founder of the Penn Volunteer Network, was always involved in community service at the University, even after she graduated, founding the Active Community Coalition Efforts Sponsored by Students. College sophomore Erika Leslie, head of Penn Volunteer Network, said Sullivan was the inspiration for her own volunteer efforts. "Kathleen was my role model," Leslie said. "She spent hours tirelessly and selflessly aiding victims of poverty. "Kathleen dedicated her short life to the betterment of humanity," she added. "She was passionate about learning, studying and understanding the world around her, both locally and internationally, so as to change the world." College friend Heather Conahan said Sullivan influenced her and others at the University. "She was the most compassionate person I'll ever know," Conahan said. "She touched my life the way no one else has." A memorial fund in Sullivan's name has been set up to continue to support the work to which she dedicated her life. Contributions made to the fund will benefit the Annie Smart Foundation, which addresses the resource needs of organizations working to combat poverty.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
The InterFraternity Council withdrew its recognition of the Psi Upsilon fraternity last week, according to Greek Alumni Council Chairperson Andrea Dobin. She said the IFC received information that led them to "change their mind," adding that they were "well within their rights to do that." Dobin would not specify exactly what motivated the IFC to revoke their recognition of the fraternity, but added that in response to this decision, GAC also revoked its recommendation that Psi Upsilon be recognized. The IFC granted conditional recognition to the Psi Upsilon in March, reversing a previous decision made last year that denied reinstatement of the fraternity. GAC approved the provisional recognition bid of the fraternity one night later. At that point, Psi Upsilon only had to get the administration's approval in order to return to campus. The fraternity was kicked off campus in 1990 after fraternity brothers kidnapped William O'Flanagan -- a member of Delta Psi, a rival fraternity. The Psi Upsilon brothers abducted the College student from his apartment, handcuffed him to a pole and yelled racial slurs at him. At the time, the Judicial Inquiry Office released a report which stated that throughout the two-and-a-half hour episode, O'Flanagan was "in fear of imminent serious bodily injury, and at one point, death." As a result, Psi Upsilon's national organization agreed to pay $145,000 in compensation to the Delta Psi brother. All Psi Upsilon brothers were kicked out of the Castle, the fraternity's Locust Walk home. The space is currently being used for the Community Service Living Learning Program. Upon losing recognition, some members of Psi Upsilon formed an underground fraternity known as the "Owl Society" or "Castle." In the fall of 1993, the fraternity applied for re-recognition, expressing its desire to start another chapter on campus. In order for Psi Upsilon to be allowed back on campus, the IFC, GAC and the Fraternity and Sorority Advisory Board would all have had to approve the decision. The IFC and the GAC decided against the fraternity's appeal. At the time, the GAC expressed concern over the group's connections to the "Owl Society." The council emphasized that no member of the "Owl Society" would be allowed to become a Psi Upsilon brother when they supported the fraternity in March. But now that the IFC and the GAC have withdrawn their recommendations, Psi Upsilon will have to wait until next year to bring up their case again, Dobin said.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
There may still be hope for English Professor Gregg Camfield. In March, Camfield was denied tenure by the School of Arts and Sciences Personnel Committee. While this decision means he has to leave the University by the end of next year, his department may be able to give him another chance. According to English Professor Robert Lucid, the tenured departmental faculty will vote early next fall on the question of Camfield's renomination for tenure. "The group has already authorized a committee to prepare the case for such a renomination," he said. "And over the summer a number of scholars from other institutions will be preparing analyses of Gregg's work." This action comes after the overwhelming support Camfield received from students and faculty as a result of the committee's decision to deny him tenure. The English Undergraduate Advisory Board took immediate action by drafting a petition and talking with SAS Dean Rosemary Stevens about problems with the University's tenure process. Many students who had taken courses with Camfield felt his teaching should have carried more weight in the decision. Camfield's evaluations in the Penn Course Review consistently averaged a 4.0. Lucid added that both student support and outside consultations will be reviewed by the faculty in the fall. It is not uncommon for professors to be renominated by their departments in their seventh year. But renominations are also not always successful. According to statistics provided by SAS Associate Dean Frank Warner, of the 101 assistant professors appointed in the years 1980 to 1987 who were not granted tenure in their sixth year, 46 percent were promoted in their seventh year. Undergraduate English Chairperson Al Filreis said he supports the proposal in this case. "The resubmission process is a difficult and often unsuccessful one," he said. "In this case I think it would be warranted." Filreis added that he thinks it is important to reevaluate Camfield's case. "Gregg Camfield's work as a scholar and teacher merit our closest and most intense evaluation and indeed reexamination," he said. "I'm for it."
(05/19/95 9:00am)
Construction on security kiosks located around campus should be completed by 5 p.m. tomorrow, according to University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich. The kiosks will serve as the primary base of operation for security officers patrolling along recently designated Community Walks, he said. Walks are major arteries of campus that will receive special monitoring by Allied Security guards. In addition to manning the kiosks, officers will also be responsible for walking around their designated areas, Kuprevich said. He added that the Department of Public Safety will set up timetables for the officers, who will be required to spend between 15 and 20 minutes of every hour "in or around" the kiosk itself. "For those other 40 minutes or so, they will be walking their patrols along the Community Walk area," he said, adding that guards will normally be within sight of their kiosks. Emergency telephones are also being installed outside of the kiosks to ensure safety at times when the officers are not stationed inside them. "If someone comes to the kiosk and it happens to be at a time when a security officer is on a patrol round, they can hit a button and the security officer should return to that site within a matter of minutes," Kuprevich said. The Community Walks program is part of the University's new master security plan, which was unveiled by University President Judith Rodin in February. According to this plan, Community Walks will run through the center of campus and along other heavily travelled off-campus routes. The five kiosks and new blue-light phones are placed at strategic points along these Walks. Kuprevich said the program is a safety initiative incorporating different security elements that allow community members to improve their own personal safety. "Our model for years has been that safety is everyone's right and everyone's responsibility," he said. While it is the University's responsibility to supply safety initiatives, it is up to individuals to utilize them, Kuprevich added. "We wanted to have places north to south, east to west, where people could feel a consistent security presence where prevention is potentially higher if they chose to use those areas," he said. The first Community Walk starts at 33rd Street at Smith Walk, continues between Meyerson Hall and the Fisher Fine Arts Library and extends into College Green. A second walk begins at the corner of 34th and Locust streets, cuts west at 36th Street and continues west along Locust Walk until 40th Street. Another walk extends from 36th and Chestnut streets down to 36th Street Locust Walk, and a fourth leads towards 37th Street. The last walk route encompasses Hamilton Walk from 38th Street, and stretches east towards 36th Street from behind the Quadrangle. Kuprevich said these areas were designated for the Community Walk program because they attract the heaviest volume of traffic on campus. He added that the Department of Public Safety will maintain its current level of patrolling in the other areas of campus. Also part of the safety plan, the University has ordered 15 more blue-light phones to be placed around campus areas "close by or near walkways so that their accessibility is increased," he added. The phones should be installed within the next several weeks. "The idea is that if something happens and someone needs to get help they should be able to look around and somewhere within 360 degrees they should see a blue-light phone," Kuprevich said. In addition, he said this new system should allow for more consistent and efficient use of the University Police officers -- both on and off campus. And while the program will not further the jurisdiction of the University Police, it will increase officers' effectiveness, Kuprevich added. As soon as the kiosks are ready, there will be signs placed along the designated areas, identifying them as "Community Walks." The signs will also bear the national symbol for town watch operations -- a blue eye.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
After placing advertisements in area newspapers and holding a demonstration near campus, the American Anti-Vivisection Society is now claiming "victory" in the University's decision to stop demonstrating the harmful effects of narcotics on dogs. But University officials said last month that the decision to stop the demonstrations was made long before the AAVS launched its campaign against Medical School Professor Norig Ellison's use of dogs in laboratory classes. It was not until May 1, however, that the official termination papers were signed. University spokesperson Barbara Beck said she does not understand how the AAVS can take credit for the filing of these papers since the University had decided to end the dog laboratories in the fall. "They didn't win any victory. That's ridiculous," Beck said. But AAVS Outreach Director Andy Breslin said that although he had heard that there was talk of ending the labs earlier this year, "there is this kind of talk every year." It was only following the reaction from the society's advertisement, which provided Ellison's office phone number for those who wanted to complain about the labs, that the University decided to terminate the labs in writing, he said. Breslin said the ad, which ran in The Daily Pennsylvanian and City Paper, prompted Philadelphians to inundate Ellison's office with angry phone calls. "I had heard rumors that people made [bomb] threats," he added. "We didn't ever encourage anyone to make threats." Still, Breslin said, "that's what pushed them over the hill to cancel it." Breslin said AAVS contacted the University many times to find out if an official termination was in the works, and every time "we were hung up on – certified letters were ignored." Beck, however, said publicly in April that Ellison no longer used dogs in his class. "The University is constantly in search of new and different technology so animals don't have to be used at all," she said. But Breslin did not acknowledge Beck's statement. "Prior to our campaign, they would not make any official statement. I think they are trying to make us look like we are protesting a non-event," Breslin said. "I think they would strongly like to give the impression that it wasn't our victory." Beck said she wonders how the AAVS could use the word "victory" when human lives are in question. "The victory we are really talking about here is when animals are sometimes used and it results in a medical treatment that saves someone's life," she said. "We're not talking about the AAVS 'victory.' We're talking about the victory of medical research."
(05/19/95 9:00am)
When the Provost's Council on Undergraduate Education releases its report for faculty review this summer, the nebulous concept of creating a 21st century undergraduate experience on campus will begin crystallizing into a set of pilot programs and student-faculty committees. Provost Stanley Chodorow said last week that PCUE's deliberations during this semester took a dual approach, focusing on the characteristics and context of a "Penn education." The group examined a wide range of the activities available to undergraduates, including service learning, access to graduate and professional schools for independent study and research, and participation in international programs such as study abroad or other "out-of-culture" experiences. PCUE members also evaluated the undergraduate advising system, opportunities for improving the use of new technology and the future of on- and off-campus residential communities. Their suggestions focus on creating coherence among disparate parts of the undergraduate experience -- for example, service learning by working on an oral history project in one of Philadelphia's ethnic communities and maintaining fluency in a foreign language through interaction with these native speakers. Chodorow also said PCUE wants students to feel comfortable with emerging electronic technologies, since students "will play a direct role in helping us to determine how to use them." University President Judith Rodin said projects on the drawing board in this area include an improved electronic information system that would enable students to register and get their grades more easily. Chodorow also said he would like to draft an admissions application to be posted and submitted by prospective students via the World Wide Web. Also included in the PCUE recommendations is a proposal for "virtual colleges" -- four-year communities composed of 200–500 students drawn from both dormitories and off-campus locations, Chodorow said. He added that this proposal -- based roughly on a plan drafted by the Residential Faculty Council in February -- is intended to "provide students with a University community of a human scale," with opportunities for leadership, social activities and academic assistance, if needed. Rodin said she is pleased with PCUE's work, adding that the group has generated broad and interesting recommendations that will be offered to the full University community for comment and input in the fall. She also said she has been struck by how much undergraduates love the University -- that they approach her on Locust Walk to tell her how excited they are to be on campus, she said. Change resulting from PCUE's work must be structured so that it "amplifies and increases the positive parts of the experience," Rodin added. "I don't think Penn has changed very much from the time I was an undergraduate," she said. "[It is] a place that offers a diverse array of opportunities. For a student who's willing to work hard to negotiate Penn, it is extraordinary in its richness -- what we want to [do] is to make it a lot easier to negotiate the system." The Council of Undergraduate Deans, acting through student-faculty committees, will manage the process of implementing pilot programs derived from PCUE suggestions during the upcoming semester, Chodorow said. He added that PCUE was able to accomplish its goal of generating a report after just one semester of work because of the "efficient and effective" work of Kim Morrisson and Robert Lucid, co-directors of the 21st Century Project on the Undergraduate Experience. Chodorow also praised the group's "unruly" and forthright discussion -- which he said often included criticism directed at him -- as well as the reports generated by committees charged with studying the state of undergraduate education at the University in previous years.
(05/19/95 9:00am)
The Faculty Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility has concluded that administrators acted improperly last fall when they questioned Economics Professor David Cass about any past sexual relationships with graduate students in evaluating his fitness to serve as acting Economics graduate chairperson. In August 1994, despite support from Economics Department Chairperson Andrew Postlewaite, Cass was denied the position of acting economics graduate chairperson because of his ongoing relationship with Claudia Stachel, a former Economics graduate student. Stachel and Cass discussed the University's sexual harassment policy when they began dating in 1989, but decided that because their relationship was consensual and Stachel was not in Cass's class, the guidelines did not apply to them. Stachel received her doctorate from the University in August 1994, just weeks before Cass's proposed appointment was rejected. According to Cass, Vice Provost for Graduate Education Janice Madden was the first to raise concerns about his proposed appointment, when she told him about rumors that he "had a pattern of dating graduate students." Madden said last fall she felt Cass's appointment as graduate chairperson would have perpetuated hostility toward women in the Economics department, and that his relationship with Stachel -- and his views on the University's sexual harassment policy -- would have made it difficult for her and other administrators to work with him. In its report, dated May 3, the Senate Committee characterizes administrators' prying into Cass's personal life as "unwise and objectionable." However, the report recommends no sanctions because the Committee did not find evidence that Cass's academic freedom had been abridged. Cass characterized the report as "too subservient to the administration" because it does not offer any suggestions that would prevent what has happened to him from recurring. University Provost Stanley Chodorow said while he was "pleased" that the Committee found the administration acted within the bounds of its authority and responsibility, he was "not happy" with its conclusion that questions about Cass's past behavior were inappropriate. "In my view, the Committee's conclusion on that point rests on a misunderstanding of the events," he said. "We are talking about the administration's right to decide who should hold an administrative position." The Committee's report was to be published in this week's Almanac, but outgoing Committee Chairperson and Political Science Professor Jack Nagel said Madden and Chodorow asked him to delay publication so that they could meet with the Committee to discuss the group's findings. "The report is a final report, and we're just delaying publication as a courtesy," Nagel said last week. "It's not that we're contemplating changing it or rescinding it." However, he added that the Committee would consider adding "an addendum or a footnote" to the report as a result of conversations with administrators because of Almanac's "right-of-reply" rule. Cass said last week he will spend the 1995-96 academic year at the European Economic Community–funded European University Institute in Florence, Italy, working on research with graduate students. He added that he had hoped the events of last fall would have been resolved by now, but believes administrators are trying to deliberately postpone publication of the report to again avoid dealing with his demands of University President Judith Rodin. Reiterated in a May 8 letter from Cass to the University's Board of Trustees, these demands are: reprimanding all administrators involved in the denial of Cass's proposed appointment, including Chodorow and Madden; removing Madden from her post as Vice Provost for Graduate Education; and apologizing and compensating Cass and Stachel for damage to their "personal and professional" reputations. "I consider the PC climate here to be incredible," Cass said. "When I come into Penn now, unlike in previous years, my stomach turns. At this point, I have absolutely no intention of ever coming back to the University to teach or do research."
(05/19/95 9:00am)
Officials downplay potential loss Lured by promises of doubling its money in just six months, the University invested more than $2 million over the last two years with the mysterious and controversial Foundation for New Era Philanthropy, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday. It is not clear how much of the University's money is currently invested with New Era -- which listed $551 million in liabilities and only $80 million in assets in federal bankruptcy court filings this week -- but sources indicate that it may be in excess of $1 million. New Era, which is based in Radnor, Pa., and has offices in London and Hong Kong, promoted itself as an innovative new charity capable of doubling nonprofit institutions' money by soliciting matching funds from a pool of anonymous wealthy donors who supposedly relied on the charity to find worthy causes. Along with the University, thousands of nonprofit organizations deposited their money with New Era, which said it would hold the funds for six months in brokerage accounts -- rather than in escrow -- and claimed to be investing it in certificates of deposit or treasury bills while finding matching donors. But according to New Era's attorneys, the charity's president, John Bennett Jr., admitted to his staff last weekend that the anonymous wealthy donors, which were supposed to act as the ostensible source of funds for the charity, do not really exist. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are now investigating whether New Era is anything more than an elaborate pyramid scheme orchestrated by Bennett. Pyramid or "Ponzi" schemes promise victims huge returns on their investments and produce the illusion of financial success by paying off early investors with the money donated by later victims. The scheme eventually collapses when no more investors can be found. -- or the operator disappears with the pooled funds. The state froze New Era's assets on Tuesday and moved to freeze Bennett's bank accounts on Wednesday. A six-count complaint filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office Tuesday in Commonwealth Court claims New Era "misled contributing donors with regard to the extent of donor participation and the nonprofit matches" and charges the charity with violating the state's Charity Act, Consumer Protection Law and Nonprofit Law. University spokesperson Barbara Beck said Tuesday that the University General Counsel's Office is providing authorities any information they need to investigate. Beck said the University invested in New Era on the advice of several individuals close to the institution and after hearing of the tremendous returns other nonprofits were reaping from the charity. "We were invited to participate by people close to the University who have a great deal of credibility and attested to the success they had had with New Era and had others attest to the soundness of this investment," Beck said. She added that the University was aware that New Era was "slightly unorthodox," but trusted advisors close to the University. "I think it's one of our jobs to be suspicious of everything," Beck said. According to an article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, Vivian Piasecki, a member of New Era's Board of Directors as well as the chairperson of the Nursing School's Board of Overseers and a University Trustee, confirmed that she helped convince the University to double some of its money with the charity. A source for The Daily Pennsylvanian said Piasecki first approached Nursing Dean Norma Lang about investing in New Era. Lang and Piasecki then convinced former University President Sheldon Hackney that the University should deposit money with the charity. Hackney approved an initial investment of $600,000, the source said. In April 1993, the University wrote a $600,000 check to New Era. Two months later, the University invested an additional $300,000. In both cases, the money was doubled within six months. New Era's 1993 federal tax return, the most recent available since the charity filed for an extension on its 1994 return, states that it paid the University more than $2.1 million during that year. The charity also gave a $50,000 grant to Lang's School of Nursing, $1,000 to the Wistar Institute and $90 to the University Museum. Neither Piasecki or Lang could be reached for comment. With a $1.4 billion endowment, the University's level of involvement in New Era is far less than many smaller nonprofits that invested large portions of their total assets in the charity, Beck said. "I don't want to minimize the seriousness of this at all," she said. "I don't know the situation at other institutions that have placed a great deal at risk, but the University's level of activity is pretty small." While University's investment relative to its total assets is not substantial, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia had deposited $2.7 million with New Era -- one-tenth of its endowment. The Esperanza Health Center, a clinic in an impoverished Hispanic neighborhood in Philadelphia, had invested $100,000, and Spring Arbor College in Spring Arbor, Mich., had turned over $1 million of its $6 million endowment to New Era to be doubled within nine months. The small college also has several hundred thousand more dollars with New Era that the charity was supposed to double in six months. A lawsuit against New Era filed by Prudential Securities Inc. in federal court on May 11 and a front page article in Monday's Wall Street Journal detailing New Era's suspicious financial dealings were the first indications that the the money many nonprofits had invested in the charity might be at serious risk. "I don't think we knew about the level of seriousness until the Journal article was published," Beck said. Prudential's suit claims New Era had borrowed $44.9 million on margin and failed to repay it on demand. The collateral for the loan was the brokerage account into which the University and other nonprofits had placed the money. The status of this account is now in dispute, as the money was used to buy treasury bills that Prudential liquidated on May 12 when New Era refused to repay the loan. Neal Colton, one of New Era's attorneys, has asked the bankruptcy court to appoint the accounting firm of Coopers and Lybrand to audit the charity's records "on an expedited basis." Auditing the records may prove a difficult task, as many accounts describe New Era's bookkeeping as lax and potentially misleading. "By their own admission, [New Era staffers] acknowledge that their books and records are disorganized and may be inaccurate," the state Attorney General's complaint states. Colton has asked that the list of New Era creditors -- numbering about 300, including up to 150 wealthy philanthropists according to bankruptcy documents -- be kept under seal to avoid unnecessary embarrassment to any of the organizations or individuals. Many who had money with New Era were shocked to learn that they may have been involved with a Ponzi scheme. Some said they were still hoping that the pool of secret donors Bennett claimed supported the foundation would come forward to bail out the charity. Beck said that if the University was taken in by New Era's claims of lavish profits, it was in good company. According to New Era's 1993 tax return and the Pennsylvania Attorney General's complaint, among the more than 2,000 nonprofits that have invested in the matching funds program since its inception in 1989 are the Boy Scouts of America, the Environmental Defense Fund, Haverford College, One to One Partnership Inc., Planned Parenthood, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Stanford University Medical School, the United Way and Yale Law School. New Era also attracted money from scores of Christian churches and evangelical groups -- particularly during the early years of the program. Bennett, a former substance abuse counselor, was a well-known figure in religious and charitable circles, serving on the boards of several Christian organizations. And many are finding it hard to believe that he may have defrauded them. "I think he will have good answers," said wealthy mutual-fund trader John Templeton in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Monday. Templeton, who like Bennett is connected to conservative Christian groups, served as a trustee of New Era's London affiliate. His son, John Templeton Jr., a surgeon at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, also donated large sums of money to New Era. University officials believed John Templeton Jr. was one of the donors matching its investment when the University first deposited money with New Era, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. But Templeton denied he was one of the anonymous philanthropists and said he only invested in New Era in order to double his own contributions to charities. Since last weekend, Bennett has severed all ties with New Era and is not being represented by the foundation's lawyers, according to New Era attorneys.
(05/03/95 9:00am)
Sixteen determined runners assembled in the lobby of High Rise East at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, ready to begin a climb -- billed as "450 Steps to Glory" -- up the building's center stairwell to the Rooftop Lounge. Engineering junior Jean-Philippe Gouigoux, a French exchange student from Compiegne, organized this first annual International Program High Rise Stairwell Challenge. Before the race began, he warned participants to "please warm up, because it's very tiring." A runner himself, Gouigoux occasionally completes his daily track workout with a sprint up to his room on the 19th floor. John McDonald, director of the Living Learning International Program, began the race by announcing that the winners would hold the standing world record for this event. The race was run in a time trial format, with runners starting at one minute intervals from the outside door leading into the center staircase. Engineering junior John Blouin won the race with a time of one minute, 49 seconds. Blouin, a member of the track and cross country teams, said he ran up the stairs twice in preparation, but that it only tired him out "for a few minutes." College junior Ayako Tsuzuku brought up the rear with a final time of five minutes and 35 seconds. Tsuzuku, one of the two female participants, said she had "intended to walk up." Although McDonald cautioned that "after 14 floors you start breathing like you're 100 years old," all runners arrived at the top without injury. Of the 16 participants, five were members of the International Program. But McDonald stressed that the event had been open to the entire University community. Blouin and College junior Scarlett Goon, the men's and women's first-place runners, received gift certificates for dinner for two at the New Dehli restaurant. The second and third place runners received gift certificates to Boston Chicken and McDonald's respectively. The event was sponsored by Residential Living, which provided bagels and juice for the contestants. The race was beset by a few problems. McDonald had initially planned to begin the race in front of High Rise North but modified the plan due to the narrow staircases and the potential inconvenience to High Rise East residents. In addition, when McDonald arrived at the Rooftop Lounge at 9 a.m. he found eight people asleep there. The police removed them before the event began. McDonald said he hopes to repeat the event in the fall, with computerized score-keeping and more publicity. Gouigoux said he had tried to organize races in his university and city in France, but had found little support. "This is the result of a French idea, American organization, and international participation," he explained.
