At the Stated Meeting of the Executive Committee of the University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees on December 14, Penn President Amy Gutmann thanked those who went to the Campus Conversation at the end of October. She said that the capacity of the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) has been expanded to accommodate more students, more quickly. She also said that Penn will be launching a Campaign for Wellness in response to the feedback. President Gutmann said that Christopher D’Urso and Adnan Zikri Jaafa— the two students who were recently named Rhodes Scholars (Almanac December 5, 2017); “are working to make a profound difference in the world.”

Provost Wendell Pritchett announced that the Vice Provost and Director of the Libraries Carton Rogers will be retiring at the end of the academic year after a 43-year career at Penn. The Provost noted that there have been many enhancements that Mr. Rogers has spearheaded during the past 13 years at the helm, including the Information Commons at Franklin Field and the renovations in Van Pelt-Dietrich Center and expanded community outreach programs to public schools. 

In the Penn Medicine report, Dr. Larry Jameson said that the new Hospital Pavilion being built next to the Penn Museum is on schedule with the steel having gone up (Almanac May 9, 2017).

Mr. Osagie Imasogie, chair of the Budget & Finance Committee, presented two resolutions that were approved. The first involves the strategic alliance of Penn Medicine and Virtua developing a new single site proton therapy joint venture for a facility to be located in Voorhees, New Jersey. At a prior Trustees meeting in 2015, a resolution was approved to create the new limited liability corporation. Penn Medicine will hold 51% equity interest and Virtua will hold 49%. The facility is expected to be completed by January 2020. 

The second one approved the consolidation of taxable business operations: the merger of Penn Tower Hotel, Inc. and certain taxable corporations of the Chester County Hospital.