The University's review of hiring and admissions practices is nearing completion, though it is unclear what specific changes will result from the recommendations.

College sophomore Anne Ryan died early yesterday morning of meningitis after being hospitalized on Saturday afternoon, University officials announced yesterday. It is still unclear how Ryan, 19, contracted meningococcal meningitis, a bacteria infection that affects part of the brain.

You saw her on Hollywood Squares, you laughed at her in Sister Act and you cried with her in The Color Purple. And, if you're lucky enough to score a ticket, you may just get to see her at Irvine Auditorium next month. Whoopi Goldberg will be this fall's keynote speaker, according to a press release issued today by the Connaissance committee of the Social Planning and Events Committee.

For those who have been involved with Penn since the beginning of the ranking system, the University's increase reflects a major transformation within the school - although changes to the ranking criteria have played a role as well.

The Sayre Health Center, based out of Sayre High School at 58th and Walnut streets, had its official grand opening Friday. The health center, which was created out of a partnership with Penn, will act as a community health facility offering both clinical and preventative care for both Sayre students and residents of the area.

An electrical fire broke out at the corner of 41st and Walnut streets Friday afternoon, the second time in a week that a fire has occurred near that intersection.

Common Pleas Court Judge Rayford Means excused himself from the resentencing of former Penn professor Tracy McIntosh, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday. McIntosh, who pled no contest to charges relating to a 2002 sexual assault, was originally sentenced by Means to only 11 1/2 to 23 months of house arrest, partly due to McIntosh's societal value as a neurobiology researcher.

Freshmen were already welcomed to Penn during Convocation, but second welcomings were widely available last night. Many Penn students were greeted once again yesterday as a number of Penn's student minority organizations invited the incoming class and returning students.

The UA is all for YouTube, but students have yet to be impressed. Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Jason Karsh promised students last year in his campaign platform that he would use YouTube clips to communicate UA updates. However, he admitted that his first attempt was a "flop.

A female undergraduate was brought back to safety after attempting to jump off the roof of the 10-story Fresh Grocer parking garage on 40th and Walnut streets yesterday afternoon. Penn Police, the Philadelphia Police and Fire departments and University and city psychological counselors negotiated with the student for about two hours until she eventually climbed off the ledge and onto the roof’s platform at about 5:20 p.m.

An electrical fire broke out at the corner of 41st and Walnut streets this afternoon, shutting off power for some houses near the 4100 block of Walnut Street. The fire, which started at about 4:40 pm, spread up an electrical pole. Police arrived shortly thereafter and secured the area by blocking off any pedestrian and vehicle traffic around the intersection.

The campus saw jumps in total crime for both the summer and the entire year, but Division of Public Safety officials maintain that the increases are too small to be significant. There were 281 crimes during the months of May, June, July and August, compared to 252 in summer 2006, a jump of 11.

Six of the 17 Penn students who were sent pre-litigation letters from the Recording Industry Association of America in April are still in hot water. The RIAA has decided to proceed with plans to sue those six students, who have not yet settled with the organization in face of allegations of illegal music downloading, RIAA spokeswoman Cara Duckworth said.

A small fire broke out on the roof of Hutchinson Gymnasium last night, causing little damage. No injuries were reported, and, according to Penn spokesmen, no one was in the gym at the time of the fire. The fire was called in by an Allied Barton security guard at about 7 p.

According to Nursing students, the first days of classes went smoothly but for a few interruptions caused by building construction, leading professors to complain out loud about the sounds of jackhammers.

College sophomore Anne Ryan died early this morning of meningitis at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, University officials announced this afternoon. An candlelight vigil for Ryan will be held this evening from 10 p.m. - 11 p.m. at 3924 Pine Street. There will be a University-sponsored gathering tomorrow at 12 p.m. in Bodek Lounge in Houston Hall.

When former Wharton Dean Patrick Harker left Penn, eight others followed, forcing the business school to rebuild much of its upper administration. But don't be surprised by the exodus: It was to be expected, experts say. Three administrators - Monica Taylor, executive director of external affairs and the Wharton Fund, Patricia Plummer Wilson, Wharton chief of staff and director of faculty administration and Scott Douglass, vice president for finance and treasurer for the University -- followed Harker to the University of Delaware, where Harker has assumed the presidency.