Philanthropist Leonore Annenberg was honored wiht the 2006 Philadelphia Award on June 18, recognizing her steadfast dedication to the arts and education. The Philadelphia Award was established in 1921 by Edward Bok, who was a longtime editor of The Ladies Home Journal.

The Penn School of Design's Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence received a $2.2 million grant in June from the Rockefeller Foundation to aid in the reconstruction of New Orleans. The projects will be centered primarily in areas of the region that were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

One daily routine for many college women recently became much more expensive. Many drug companies are no longer offering universities discounts on birth control because of government legislation.

College freshman Nate Adler made 100 friends before New Student Orientation even began. Granted, they are Facebook friends. Wanting to meet his future dorm mates in Hill College House, Adler, joined the Hill House-Class of 2011 group on Facebook.com and subsequently friended many of its members over the summer.

Division I basketball saw an unusually large number of transfers this year, and the Ivy League in general seemed to be fertile ground for new players. Penn just didn't get in on the party. Brian Grimes, a rising sophomore at La Salle and a 6-foot-7 forward, elected to transfer early on in the summer and, Explorers coach John Giannini told the media, had winnowed his list down to Penn and Columbia.

The newest campus bagel shop - serving cream cheese, lox and the theory of relativity. Einstein Bros. Bagels, a chain based out of Colorado, will open in the basement of Houston Hall this fall. The store represents the first bagel store on campus since Univerity Bagels closed in 1998.

A number of American universities are lashing out against a British proposal to boycott Israeli academics. The British University and College Union, which represents over 120,000 British professors, issued its proposal in protest of perceived Israeli civil rights violations.

Following one of the worst betting scandals in recent memory, one economics expert is calling a foul on current sports betting regulations. Justin Wolfers, whose work is based in applied economics, similar to the type of research made popular by the best-selling book Freakonomics, made a name for himself last spring when he released a study indicating a racial bias among NBA referees.

Penn Health System officials announced plans in June for a 10-story research tower, with hopes that the new facility will raise the bar for regional biomedical research. Located next to the $232 million Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine on Civic Center Boulevard, the new $370 million biomedical research facility is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2010, Penn Medicine spokesman Marc Kaplan said.

Not too long ago, wide-eyed freshmen had a virtual guarantee, known if not spoken: Play football for Penn and an Ivy title ring will be yours. Nick Cisler saw that reality. He wanted to play for Penn - to win - so much that he swore off football near his Michigan home for the northeastern, non-scholarship brand.

After years of anticipation, it's finally happened. Penn announced today that it had closed on its purchase of the postal lands west of campus. It will collaborate with Brandywine Realty Trust on development of the area between Market and Walnut streets, which will feature a 40- to 50-story office tower on Walnut Street and a 25- to 30-story residential tower on Chestnut Street.

One daily routine for many college women has recently become much more expensive. Across college campuses, women have been witnessing rising birth control costs as many drug companies are no longer offering universities discounts due to government legislation.

The presence of an Advanced Placement class on a student's transcript may mean more than ever this coming admissions cycle. In January, the College Board hired the Educational Policy Improvement Center to review the syllabi of every AP class taught around world to make sure they all include the courses' requirements.

Assault July 29 - A 12-year-old boy unaffiliated with Penn reported that while riding his bike on the 3200 block of Chestnut Street he was assaulted by several other juveniles on bikes at about 8 p.m. The victim sustained cuts and bruises to his shoulder and arm and was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was treated and released.

Nick Cisler never thought his summer job would lead him to calling Bingo numbers at a senior citizen's home. And he never thought he'd be getting tips on how to properly call the Bingo numbers. But that's where his position as a marketing intern with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball took him.

There is a reason why the city of Philadelphia is in a crisis. You can blame countless organizations, lacksidasical policies and corrupt leaders, but what it comes down to is the cold shoulder that so many Philadelphians give to their city everyday. We, as a whole, are ignoring the problem.

Penn President Amy Gutmann will be traveling to Botswana at the end of this week to visit the Penn in Botswana program. The program combines students and faculty from Penn's Medical, Nursing, Wharton and Annenberg schools, among others. During her visit, Gutmann will meet with Botswanan President Festus Mogae, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.