Tuesday, Febuary 6, 2001 Volume 47 Number 21 www.upenn.edu/almanac/

$20 Million Gift for University Priorities:

Financial Aid, Student Life and Faculty Support

Penn has received a $20 million gift from Say Yes to Education, Inc. that will provide for priorities in student life, faculty support and financial aid, President Judith Rodin announced last Thursday. The gift, presented by Penn Trustee George A. Weiss, founder and president of Say Yes to Education, and 1965 Wharton graduate, is the largest in a series of gifts to Penn by Mr. Weiss and Say Yes over the past 25 years. It will be used to establish a challenge grant for undergraduate financial aid; create the Weiss House for innovative technologies for students in all four of Penn's undergraduate schools; establish an endowed professorship; and provide support for athletic priorities.

"Few people have been greater ambassadors for Penn than George has," President Rodin said. "His generosity encompasses his time and energy and his financial commitment to an extraordinarily broad range of student and campus life priorities. We are enormously grateful to him for this latest evidence of his dedication and unwavering support."

President Rodin noted that Mr. Weiss's gift supports the University's goals in its Agenda for Excellence, notably in the areas of scholarship endowment, faculty support and student life.

Mr. Weiss is president of George Weiss Associates, Inc., a money management firm with offices in Hartford, Connecticut, and New York. He is best known throughout the country as the founder of the nationally recognized Say Yes to Education program that combines academic support and intervention with an offer to pay college tuition or vocational training costs for inner city students. The program was launched in West Philadelphia in 1987 and has grown to include over 360 students in Philadelphia, Cambridge, MA, and Hartford, CT. Say Yes is based at GSE.

At Penn, Mr. Weiss is a Charter Trustee, Athletic Advisory Board Overseer and serves as Chair of the University Committee on Undergraduate Financial Aid, which is charged with raising $200 million in new endowment.

"I want to make a difference in the lives of students because I want them to make a difference in the world," said Mr. Weiss. "Walter Annenberg is my inspiration. I have always taken to heart a comment he made after making a significant commitment to the University. He said, 'It is simply a matter of good citizenship.'"

$6 million is designated for financial aid, of which $5 million will create the Weiss Challenge Fund for Undergraduate Financial Aid. This challenge fund is designed to encourage new scholarship gifts by providing one dollar for every two dollars committed by other donors. As a leading advocate for financial aid, Mr. Weiss has been particularly passionate about issues surrounding minority permanence and carrying a message about the importance of financial aid to young alumni.

A recent graduate, who experienced Mr. Weiss's enthusiasm in a face-to-face encounter, responded by creating a scholarship in memory of his grandparents. "He made a very compelling case, one that stayed with me," said the donor.

The Weiss House for innovative technologies will serve as a focal point for students interested in innovative technologies of any kind: software systems and products; telecommunications; biomedical devices, etc. It will provide a setting in which students from all four of Penn's undergraduate schools--the College, Wharton, SEAS and Nursing--can take ideas about new technologies, develop products from them, and explore how they can successfully be marketed, financed and developed into businesses. With faculty advisors from SEAS and Wharton, along with resources and expertise from such schools as SAS, Medicine and Law, the Weiss Tech House will serve as a model of interdisciplinary discussion and exploration. The House will provide hospitable social and meeting spaces, as well as appropriate equipment for students to interact, learn together and collaborate with faculty and industry experts on the development and furthering of their ideas.

The thematic concept of Weiss Tech House will follow that of several other highly successful "hubs" that help comprise Penn's College House system. Others include the Kelly Writers House, the Civic House and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

Mr. Weiss, who calls Penn "my first, second and third philanthropic interest," has given nearly $40 million to a wide variety of areas within the University. His previous gifts have included undergraduate scholarships for minority students; the Weiss Center for International Financial Research at the Wharton School; endowed professorships in folklore and music (the latter named for Weiss's father); the deanship in GSE; and support for intercollegiate athletics.

In 1985, Mr. Weiss received Penn's highest alumni honor, the Award of Merit, in recognition of his unwavering loyalty to Penn.

Penn's Way 2001: Participation Up 8% Over Last Year Dear Colleagues: The Penn's Way 2001 campaign has concluded and we are delighted to report that the campaign surpassed our goal of $350,000! As of February 2, 2001, over 1,800 Penn employees helped raise a total of $374,253 exceeding our goal by $24,253 or 7%. Total participation in Penn's Way 2001 increased this year by 8%. Once again, Penn faculty and staff continue to show that Penn cares and Penn shares. We can not express enough our appreciation for the generosity displayed by those who participated and contributed to the Penn's Way 2001 campaign. The gifts each of you made will have a tremendous impact on the many organizations of the Greater Philadelphia Region, and the people that they serve. We would also like to acknowledge the efforts of the volunteer coordinators and facilitators within each of the schools and centers. Their initiative and enthusiasm helped bring out the best in our Penn community. These volunteers helped demonstrate that Penn is committed to a strong and active workplace giving campaign and to making a positive difference in people's lives. Again, we thank everyone for their contributions to Penn's Way 2001. --David Hackney and Carol R. Scheman, Penn's Way 2001 Co-Chairs Total Participation # Solicited Percentage Participation Contributions University Centers 938 3,366 28% 10,1176 All Schools 871 7,902 11% 273,077 Total 1,809 11,268 16% 374,253

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