The University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees met (virtually) on June 11 and 12. Committees met on Thursday and the Stated Meeting was on Friday, at which time the Chaplain Rev. Charles (Chaz) Howard expressed thanks for those who are working to help everyone weather the storm and provide a new chapter of hope.

Then, Chair David L. Cohen welcomed attendees in the various time zones and thanked everyone for their flexibility. He presented a memorial resolution for Trustee Emerita Deborah Marrow (Almanac October 8, 2019).

Mr. Cohen was re-elected for another year as chair, a position he has held since November 7, 2009 (Almanac December 9, 2008). Robert M. Levy was re-elected as vice chair and Scott L. Bok was elected as vice chair; the executive committee was elected along with the Investment Board. William P. Carey II was elected  a term trustee and Janet F. Haas was elected a charter trustee. 

President Amy Gutmann quoted from a recent speech given by last year’s Commencement speaker, Bryan Stevenson, a civil-rights lawyer and the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative: “We need to reckon with our history of racial injustice. I think everything we are seeing is a symptom of a larger disease. We have never honestly addressed all the damage that was done during the two and a half centuries that we enslaved Black people. The great evil of American slavery wasn’t the involuntary servitude; it was the fiction that Black people aren’t as good as white people, and aren’t the equals of white people, and are less evolved, less human, less capable, less worthy, less deserving than white people.”

President Gutmann noted that Penn has recently announced three major initiatives to deal with racial justice and social equity: 1) Penn has created a set of collaborative projects, to be funded by an initial fund of $2 million; 2) Penn has declared 2020-2021 to be the Year of Civic Engagement and 3) Penn has promoted the Campaign for Community (Almanac June 9, 2020). She said, “from pain we will forge our purpose” while being resilient and responsive. She noted that some Penn people have taken their protests to the streets.

The Trustees approved the two resolutions Dr. Gutmann presented pertaining to Wharton. The first was a resolution of appreciation for outgoing dean, Geoffrey Garrett, whose time at Penn she described as a landmark tenure. The second was a resolution to appoint Erika James as incoming dean, effective July 1 (Almanac March 3, 2020). 

Provost Wendell Pritchett noted that Herman Beavers, the new faculty director of Civic House (Almanac June 2, 2020), is well suited to build the Year of Civic Engagement. Provost Pritchett also announced that on June 8 some research resumed at Penn, following the CDC social distancing guidelines and protocols.

EVP Craig Carnaroli gave the financial report with forecasted results for the period ending June 30, 2020, and a summary of the FY 2021 budget. For FY 2020, total net assets for the Consolidated University are forecasted to decrease $1.8 billion to $17.6 billion ($12.1 billion Academic Component/$5.5 billion Health System) primarily due to market volatility and the operational downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An increase in net assets from operations of $202 million is projected for the Consolidated University. For FY 2021, total net assets for the Consolidated University are budgeted to increase $627 million to $18.2 billion ($12.5 billion Academic Component/$5.8 billion Health System). Mr. Carnaroli explained that Penn has contributed $500,000 to the Philadelphia COVID-19 Fund, $1.5 million to support local businesses in the University City District and $3 million to help 1,500 people though Penn’s emergency fund.

In the Penn Medicine Report, Larry Jameson, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and the EVP for the Health System, said that they have remained on a steady course although it has been a year unlike any other. He acknowledged that many Penn Med people participated in the recent White Coats for Black Lives event on Franklin Field.

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda gave the annual Admissions Report in which he described the Class of 2024 as diverse: 54% women, 1 in 7 First Gen, 1 in 5 eligible for a Pell grant, 14% international and 16% legacy. Mr. Furda said that there was a 63% yield and 100 students have been approved to defer a year.

The Academic Policy Committee presented two resolutions to establish degrees, which were approved: a Master of Oral Health Sciences in the School of Dental Medicine and a Master of Science in Animal Welfare and Behavior in the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Penn’s donor community has stepped up for the COVID-19 response, Lee Doty, chair of the Development Committee, announced. The Campaign which concludes next year, has already exceeded its $4.5 billion goal.

The Facilities and Campus Planning Committee reported that FRES is planning for increased campus occupancy with social distancing signage and other measures. Many campus construction projects have been delayed about seven weeks due to the pandemic, causing them to move into the first quarter of the FY 2021.

Local, National and Global Engagement Committee explained that Penn was very involved in getting Penn students home safely from Study Abroad this spring. A WXPN documentary on “Gospel Roots of Rock & Soul” (Almanac February 5, 2019) was nominated for a Peabody; it was the first time a radio documentary was nominated for that honor.

Student Life Committee’s Claire Lomax reported how Penn quickly evolved to help students virtually, coordinating travel all over the world, and securing WiFi and food. Penn Global has been handling student and scholar concerns about long-term travel restrictions, employment visas and many other issues including bias and stigma.

Alumni President Ann Reese described the virtual Alumni Weekend, which can still be watched online. She said that there are more than 36,000 alumni volunteers around the world working to keep alumni connected to Penn.

The Trustees passed 11 resolutions presented by the Budget & Finance Committee: authorize the spending rule for the endowments for 2021: 5.3% for financial aid endowments and 4.9% for non-aid endowments; the operating budget for the academic component will be $3.509 billion, which includes $282 million of traditional undergraduate student aid for Academic Year 2020-2021; the capital plan for FY 2021, representing estimated project costs of $238 million; the operating budget and the capital budget for UPHS; declare University’s intent and UPHS’s intent to reimburse capital costs with proceeds of borrowings; Coxe/Harrison wings’ Museum renovation phase 1, additional $2.887 million; 5-year lease renewal for Wharton San Francisco, $16.976 million; ISC space renovation and staff consolidation at 3401 Walnut Street, $10.430 million; and Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology design development, $7.525 million.

There were numerous appointments to Penn Medicine, Overseer and other boards.