At Council March 24

All of the Council officers who delivered opening statements at Council last week began with condolences to the family of 1994 alumnus Michael Tobin, and President Judith Rodin's remarks foreshadowed the suspensions and other new steps that she and the Provost would announce later in the week. [See statement, here.]

News emerging from their reports:

· President Rodin announced approval of the Consultation Policy (Almanac December 8, 1998) and the CCTV Monitoring Policy (Almanac January 19, 1999), to be published Of Record.

· Provost Robert Barchi announced that work on the Library's Rosengarten Reserve Room will be accelerated. Setting aside a rule that requires full funding to be in hand before work can begin, the University will start the $2 million construction project this summer and complete it in the summer of 2000. As with earlier Library renovations, he noted, work is confined to summers to avoid closing facilities.

  • Dr. Barchi also described a new outreach program in educational planning in University City, open to Penn and the community, to be detailed more fully in a future issue.
  • GAPSA Chair Doug Hagan announced new legal advisory services for graduate students in disputes with off-campus landlords
  • Undergraduates living off-campus will also have access to the services for landlord disputes, UA Chair Bill Conway said.
  • PPSA Chair Terri White announced an upcoming lunchtime program to inform staff of University-based education and training that are open to them, from baccalaureate and advanced degree enrollment to professional development activities and supports in place for employees who are also students. The two-hour program, 12-2 p.m. on April 8, is open to support staff as well as to the PPSA's administrative and professional (A-1) membership.

She also announced that the PPSA annual election meeting will be held May 20.

Report on Public Safety

Vice President Tom Seamon addressed the multiple issues given on the agenda, in a report to be summarized in the April 6 issue. At the request of Penn NOW co-chair Erin Healy, Associate VPUL Barbara Cassell responded briefly, asking that ten recommendations by the students be read into the record; they will also appear next week.

Report on Graduate Housing

A GSAC representative commended the GAPSA report (Almanac February 23), and in response to Mr. Hagan's summary at the meeting, Dr. Larry Moneta of Housing Services said his office is working with GAPSA and GSAC on the questions raised. He cited plans to cluster graduate activities around space that has been created as part of Sansom Common.

Minority Presence

Dr. Phoebe Leboy's compilation of existing data (Almanac March 23) was praised by the President and Provost as well as by a delegate of UMC. Mr. Hagan urged that the ownership of this data be pinned down, for future updates; and a speaker asked that a longitudinal study of Asian faculty members be developed.

Library

Dr. Karin McGowen's upbeat report on the Library's merits and needs will appear in a future issue of Almanac.


Almanac, Vol. 45, No. 26, March 30, 1999

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