Almanac Between Issues
June 27, 2007
A message from President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ron Daniels:
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We are delighted to announce that David C. Schmittlein, the Wharton School's current Deputy Dean and the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Marketing, will serve as Interim Dean of the Wharton School during the month of July, pending the arrival of Tom Robertson on August 1st. Dave knows the Wharton School intimately and is passionately committed to realizing its bold strategic ambition to be the world's leading creator and provider of management knowledge. Dave has been a faculty member at Wharton since 1980 and Deputy Dean since 2000. He also served as Chair of the Marketing Department from 1994 to 2000 and as Vice Dean for Doctoral Programs from 1993 to 1995.
We are grateful for Dave Schmittlein's willingness to serve during this brief period of transition, and we are confident that Dave will bring his legendary commitment and attention to detail to ensuring that the Wharton School's forward momentum continues unabated.
—Amy Gutmann, President
—Ron Daniels, Provost
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Statement by President Amy Gutmann Opposing Boycott of
Israeli Academics
A small leadership group of the new British University and Colleges Union has recommended a boycott of Israeli universities and scholars by British universities. This proposed boycott represents a direct assault on a core principle of academic freedom. University scholars must be free to produce and disseminate knowledge and understanding, without threat of interference or penalty, regardless of the policies of their national governments. This freedom is a sine qua non of higher education’s global—and globally recognized—mission.
The proposed boycott therefore amounts to nothing less than an attempt to hold hostage the academic freedom of Israeli students who wish to study abroad, their British counterparts who want to host them, and the Israeli scholars who wish to engage in the normal academic process of collaboration. Indeed, it directly threatens the moral foundation of each and every university.
I join my fellow university presidents in adamantly opposing this effort to ostracize Israeli academics and universities from the global community of scholars of which they are an important and highly respected part.
—Amy Gutmann, President, University of Pennsylvania
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Multicast of the Live Earth Concerts by MAGPI: July 7 & 8
Please join MAGPI and the University of Pennsylvania for a live multicast of the Live Earth concert series! The global concert event is a 24-hour, 7-continent series of 8 concerts taking place on 7/7/07 that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Multicast coverage of the concerts from the concert satellite feed begins at 4 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 7 and runs until 2 a.m. EDT on Sunday, July 8. View the Live Earth Concerts via DVTS or MPEG2 Streaming Video www.magpi.net/globalconcert.html.
Live Earth is a project of the SOS campaign , which is using a powerful multimedia platform—films, television, radio, Internet, books, wireless and others—to move people to combat the climate crisis. It marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group and other international organizations to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve global warming. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is the Chair of the Alliance and Partner of Live Earth.
Via the DVTS and MPEG2 multicast streams over the MAGPI network, view concerts and performances from Giants Stadium in New York; Wembley Stadium in London; Aussie Stadium in Sydney; Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro; Maropeng at the Cradle of Humankind in Johannesburg; Makuhari Messe in Tokyo; the Steps of the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai; and HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg. For a full concert line-up, please visit: http://liveearth.msn.com/concerts/US.
Please note that the MAGPI/University of Pennsylvania Global Concert Multicast project is part of the Friends of Live Earth Global Screens Program and is not directly affiliated with the Live Earth Concert.
MAGPI and the University of Pennsylvania would like to thank our project partners: Penn Video Network, Montgomery County Community College, Defenders of Wildlife and Internet2.
For more information/technical instructions: www.magpi.net/globalconcert.html.
Interested in hosting a viewing event on campus? If you are interested in hosting a Penn community event in conjunction with viewing the Live Earth Concerts Multicast, you may be able to bring the Philadelphia Zoomobile to your event! Please email globalconcert@isc.upenn.edu for more information or for technical assistance in setting up your event.
Questions? Please email globalconcert@isc.upenn.edu.
—Heather Weisse
MAGPI, Applications Coordinator
Posted 6/27/07