On the eve of homecoming and the official kickoff of Penn's capital campaign, the University Board of Trustees met yesterday at the Inn at Penn for their second round of meetings this year. The Board of Trustees is the University's top governing body and is responsible for major budget and hiring decisions.

The University's capital campaign kick-off this weekend is arguably the most important event in Penn President Amy Gutmann's tenure. But as the tents go up and officials prepare to reveal their multi-billion dollar goal for the campaign, the University remains demonstrably less public about another turning point from this semester: the abrupt departure of former Admissions Dean Lee Stetson.

Penn's Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics will receive $4 million to continue research into infection therapies, according to a press release. "This award allows us to continue and expand our work in improving the use of antibiotics, incorporating the new tools of health IT," said Penn CERT director Brian Strom.

It's never too late to do some back-to-school shopping. Hundreds of alumni coming back to campus this weekend will be greeted by, among other things, a bookstore revamped for their return.

The major construction projects and what their completion will mean for the University.

With tomorrow's launch of the long-anticipated public phase of the University's capital campaign following the acquisition of 24 acres of postal lands this summer, it seems like the stars are aligning for Penn. Is it possible that the timing is nothing but a coincidence? Actually, yes, says Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli: The two projects were developed apart from each other, but they managed to fit together quite nicely.

As alumni and administrators gear up for one of the most ambitious fundraising campaigns to date, many students aren't exactly sure what the weekend's festivities are all about.

Deep below the surface of the earth, scientists are researching the best ways to dispose of nuclear waste left over from defense projects without harming the environment. As an inaugural speaker for its 2007-2008 lecture series, the Institute for Environmental Studies invited Laurence Brush from the Sandia National Laboratories to talk yesterday afternoon at the Lynch Auditorium in the Chemistry Building.

Penn is getting a little more Hollywood. From one alumnus who directed treadmill-oriented music videos that are viewed 20 million times since its release on YouTube to another who became a singer-songwriter, Penn alumni like these were featured last week at PennFest - an annual alumni festival that takes place in Los Angeles, Calif.

Peter Galbraith refused to beat-around-the-Bush during his lecture on America's involvement in Iraq on Wednesday, calling the war a mistake and a failure in front of 100 students and faculty members who gathered in Silverman Hall to hear his speech. Galbraith, the former United States ambassador to Croatia, delivered a decisive and resounding seminar for 45 minutes.

Economics professor and accused murderer Rafael Robb plans to use surveillance-camera footage at several locations he visited the morning his wife was killed in order to provide an alibi at his November trial, according to court papers filed Friday. In the papers, defense attorney Frank DeSimone outlines Robb's activities on the morning of Dec.

A 41-year-old woman not affiliated with the University was robbed Sunday near the intersection of 39th and Market streets, Philadelphia Police officials said yesterday.

According to the rhetoric of some of the Western world's most visible political leaders, poverty and lack of education are to blame for terrorism. But when Princeton economist Alan Krueger came to the Penn Bookstore last night to promote his new book, What Makes a Terrorist, he told an audience of 22 people that both associations were false.

Universities usually don't hold black-tie galas in empty parking lots. But that's exactly where hundreds of Penn alumni will be celebrating the kick-off of Penn's multi-billion dollar Capital Campaign this Saturday.

This Saturday, Penn will launch the public phase of its five-year capital campaign with a celebration on College Green and a highly anticipated public declaration of financial goals.

Penn Medical School's Department of Dermatology was ranked as the number-one academic dermatology program, according to a report published this month in The Dermatology Online Journal. This report is the first to rank dermatology programs based on academic achievement.

Those can't-live-without-'em college essentials - Word, Excel and Outlook - are now available for almost half of what Penn's Computer Connection charges. The promotion, available at Microsoft's Web site theultimatesteal.com, offers the Microsoft Office software for $59.