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Trustees' Meeting Coverage

At the Stated Meeting of the University Trustees' on June 20, Chairman James Riepe announced that the Hon. Marjorie Rendell would be stepping down from the Board as of that meeting, although Pennsylvania's First Lady would continue to serve as chair of the Overseers of the School of Nursing. 

The Trustees approved the resolution to amend Section 10.5 of the Statutes of the Trustees concerning the "Policy for the Establishment, Merger, and Closing of Departments, Divisions, and Similar Entities Within Schools"  (Almanac April 30, 2002) which was approved by the President, Provost and the Faculty Senate and requires trustee authorization as provided in the Statutes.

President Judith Rodin noted that the first Arts Day on May 8, conceived of by Trustee Leonard Lauder, was extremely successful. She also mentioned the high quality of the Class of 2007 and the Knowledge Industry Partnership, which was launched recently to recruit and retain students to this area.

The Trustees approved the appointment of three deans, whose resolutions were presented by Dr. Rodin: Dr. Richard Gelles as dean of the School of Social Work; Dr. Marjorie Jeffcoat as dean of the School of Dental Medicine; and Dr. Michael Delli Carpini as dean of the Annenberg School for Communication.

President Rodin also presented resolutions to appoint three of Penn's vice presidents as Senior Vice Presidents; all were approved effective June 20, 2003--Omar Blaik as Senior Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services; Craig Carnaroli as Senior Vice President for Finance and Treasurer; and Wendy White as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Penn and UPHS.

Provost Robert Barchi spoke about the substantial increase in new faculty at the Law School, 15 within the last two years, many of whom hold secondary appointments in other schools at Penn adding to the interdisciplinary options. Dr. Barchi also noted that the GSE efforts to improve literacy in Philadelphia's public schools have succeeded; the schools that GSE was involved with outperformed all the other schools in the city for reading and writing. He also mentioned KIDS, the country's first database of its kind, which is a resource created by the Center for Educational Leadership.

James Riepe was reelected as chair of the Board of Trustees for another one-year term, effective July 1, 2003-June 30, 2004. Jon Huntsman, Sr., Natalie Koether, and Michael Tarnopol were reelected as vice chairs of the Trustees for the same time period.

The following trustees were elected to serve on the Executive Committee for the coming year: Madlyn Abramson, Christopher Browne, Gilbert Casellas, John Clark, David Cohen, Jon Huntsman, James Riepe, Alvin Shoemaker, Michael Tarnopol, George Weiss, and Paul Williams. Mr. Riepe expressed thanks to Susan Catherwood for "heroic service" having served on the Executive Committee for almost 20 years before the Trustees established a rotation policy.

The following were appointed to the Investment Board for a one-year term: Christopher Browne, Howard Marks (chair), Edward Mathias, Paul Miller, Jr., David Silfen, and Mark Wilnkelman. The Investment Board will soon establish a rotation policy as well.

Leonard Shapiro, who has just completed a three-year term as president of the Alumni Society, has been elected a Term Trustee; Andrew Heyer, chair of the Overseers of the School of Social Work, was also elected a Term Trustee.

EVP Clifford Stanley presented the University's Financial Report for the period ended April 30, 2003. He reported that the total net assets of the Consolidated University  (academic and health services) decreased slightly to $5.2 billion with net assets from operations increasing $11.5 million compared to an increase of $13.6 million for the prior ten-month period. Total operating revenue increased by 7.5% to $2.936 billion and total expenses increased by 7.7% to $2.925 billion. On the Academic Component, total net assets decreased slightly, to $4.667 billion whereas net assets from operations increased $5.7 million compared to a $2.6 million decrease for FY 02. Total revenue and other support increased 8.9% due to increase in sponsored program activities, tuition and fees and other income. Contributions increased by $42.5 million. The University's total endowment decreased slightly from $2.841 billion to $2.814 billion. The Health Services  Component experienced a $3.3 million increase in total net assets to $489 million. At the four owned hospitals, overall utilization remained strong with adult inpatient admissions increasing 3.4%.

Dr. Arthur Rubenstein gave the Penn Medicine Report in which he noted two major endeavors in cardiovascular and cancer research. There has been a 10% increase in applications with 52% of the entering class consisting of women. He said 20% of the class is pursuing a combined degree. He also proudly announced that a heart transplant patient returned to the hospital to deliver a healthy baby boy.

Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson's Report noted a record number of applicants for undergraduate admission--18,829 of whom 2,440 were accepted to Penn and an all time high yield of 64% of them choosing to attend Penn. He said that with 10% of the incoming class coming from 62 countries, Penn has the highest percentage of international students in the Ivy League. Dean Stetson noted that the Class of 2007 hails from all 50 states, 51% of the Class is female, 12% alumni, 36% students of color and the average SAT score is 1409.

Committee Reports

Leonard Shapiro reported that Paul Williams from Nuveen will become the new president of the Alumni Society. There was a record-breaking attendance for Alumni Weekend.

Dr. Tom Ehrlich presented two resolutions on behalf of the Academic Policy Committee. The Graduate School of Fine Arts (GSFA) received Trustee approval to change its name to the School of Design, to reflect the fact that it is not exclusively a graduate school nor is it only teaching fine arts. Dean Gary Hack said that this name change has been debated for some 40 years. The School of Arts and Sciences received approval to establish a department of criminology, becoming the first Ivy League institution with such a department.

Paul Kelly, chair of Audit and Compliance Committee, said that Penn is establishing a university-wide system to comply with HIPPA.

The Budget and Finance Committee presented 14 resolutions, including the FY'04 Operating Budgets for Penn and UPHS, and the FY'04 Capital Plan for the University, which represents estimated project costs of $184 million; and the FY'04 Capital Budget for the Health System in the amount of $79.9 million.

The Trustees approved a resolution to authorize acquisition of the Postal Service complex located in the vicinity of 30th and Market Streets. The properties comprise four separate parcels: the main building, the annex, the garage and a 14-acre parcel of largely vacant land. The properties would be acquired for $50.6 million; closing is expected in 2007 when the new Postal Service facility is completed.

Renovations to the Old Vet Quad and to the SEAS Graduate Research Wing were also approved. Another resolution authorizes the disposition and redevelopment of the two-story former Eastern Apparatus factory property at 126 South 30th Street as biomedical research labs.

Leonard Lauder gave the External Affairs Committee report noting the award Ira Harkavy and the Center for Community Partnerships received recently from the National Academy of Sciences and the William T. Grant Foundation (see honors). He also mentioned the initiative to promote Penn-branded merchandise. 

Bill Mack announced, on behalf of the Facilities and Campus Planning Committee, that the first floor of the West Philadelphia Trust Building, recently known as the Mellon Bank building, will become an Ann Taylor Loft in October. He also said that a Marathon Grill will open in the vacant space in The Bridge in November.

Investment Board chairman Howard Marks noted that the fiscal year performance turned positive, in line with benchmarks and that Penn should be doing well compared to peers. He credited Craig Carnaroli with  Penn make money while others' endowments have shrunk.


  Almanac, Vol. 50, No. 1, July 15, 2003

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