With the news that the House of Representatives passed a bill that would authorize $80 million of federal aid to study-abroad students - particularly those seeking to spend a semester in non-traditional locations -the future of international study seems to have brightened.

President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ron Daniels announced today that Thomas Robertson, currently affiliated with Emory University, will become the next Dean of Wharton, effective Aug. 1.

Bloggers beware - if the NCAA has its way, reporting on sporting events still in progress could be a thing of the past. A reporter for the Louisville Courier-Post, Brian Bennett, was ejected from an NCAA Tournament baseball game between Louisville and Oklahoma State on June 10 after posting live updates of the game on a weblog.

For the past year, Al Gore has been the darling of environmentalists, as his popular documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, made their case about the dangers of global warming to people worldwide. But now, Scott Armstrong, a Wharton Marketing professor, wants Al Gore to put his money where his mouth is.

80Number of presidents of liberal arts colleges in the Annapolis Group, the majority of whom intend to bow out of the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings. Source: The New York Times

The winds of change have been blowing through the Ivy League in the past few months. Sydney Johnson and Tommy Amaker were hired to coach men's basketball at Princeton and Harvard, respectively. Two weeks ago, the Crimson snatched Traci Green from Temple to lead its women's tennis team.

With the summer in full swing, many of Penn's improvement projects planned for the coming months are also moving into full gear. However, there is one such project that has been stalled. The demolition of the former Hillel building, located next to the ARCH building at 36th Street and Locust Walk has been pushed back yet again.

With a death grip on my Fodor's map, I tentatively took a right. It was my first day in Munich, Germany, and I was determined to put my footprint (literally) on my home for the summer.

Vincent Price, the Steven H. Chaffee professor of Communication and Political Science, will assume his position as the associate provost for faculty affairs on July 1. Price received his bachelor's degree from Santa Clara University and his Ph.D. in communication from Stanford University and has served in various other leadership positions, including as chairman of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan and chairman of the Faculty Senate at Penn.

Next time you think about grabbing that sugary snack, you might want to think again. Research conducted at the University of New Hampshire of 800 undergraduate students showed that not only is excess fat a problem plaguing college students, but many of them have high blood pressure and high cholesterol and suffer from a deficiency of nutrients such as fiber, calcium and iron.

llion grant has been awarded by the Rockefeller Foundation to the School of Design's Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence to aid in the reconstruction of New Orleans. The center supports urban redevelopment leaders by "placing promising young professionals in fellowships with top redevelopment organizations nationwide," according to the program's Web site.

Assault June 12 - At around 6:30 a.m., two people unaffiliated with the University - Vincent Mitchell, 56, of the 6900 block of Woodland Avenue, and Shaketa Harrell, 37 - were arrested for allegedly assaulting each other. Fraud June 12 - Two suspects were reported leaving Chestnut Dorm, located at 3900 Chestnut St.

Remember telling your friends that in 10 years we'd all be driving solar powered cars? Well, you might have been right. Armed with part of a $22.7 million grant from the Department of Energy, Penn Chemistry professor Andrew Rappe and a team of researchers from the Penn Energy Research Group are looking to change the way we use our sunlight.

Penn has 26 varsity head coaches. Only one won a national coach of the year award during the 2006-07 season: women's lacrosse coach Karin Brower. Led by Brower's self-described "straightforward and honest" coaching style, the Quakers achieved their best season ever, including their highest national ranking.

Palestra documentary to air on ESPN ESPN will air the feature-length documentary film "The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball" on two of its channels starting in July. The documentary is the work of Mikaelyn Austin, a filmmaker and former Penn women's basketball player.

For many students the only exposure they have to Japanese culture is sushi and anime, but this summer rising College junior Aya Nakanishi is immersing herself deep into that nation's customs. Nakanishi, along with rising College senior Gurpreet Kalra, is about to embark on a month-long journey to Japan to participate in the 59th Japan-America Student Conference.