Council Meeting Coverage

At the March 28 Council meeting, President Judith Rodin called the recent Tree Planting Day "an enormous success" thanks to UCGreen, the UA and all those who participated.

President Rodin then turned to the main item on the agenda, namely the annual presentation on the budget planning process.

Michael Masch, vice president of budget and management analysis, provided an orientation to financial planning at Penn, touching on the necessary constraints, the trends and challenges facing the University during FY 2001 (July 1, 2000-June 30, 2001) and beyond. (Click HERE for more on the Budget presentation.) Mr. Masch said Academic Planning and Budget meets bimonthly and reports to the Provost. He noted that when it comes to undergraduate tuition and fees, the dispersion of charges is narrow from most to least expensive school among Penn's peers. Due to Penn's need blind admissions approach, there is an aggressive financial aid effort to calculate and meet the need for matriculants. While donors are generous to Penn, he said, the University needs even more generosity, partnerships and joint ventures. Endowment income is increasing steadily.

Provost Robert Barchi expressed a debt of gratitude to Mr. Masch and his colleagues for all their work on the large and complicated budget. Provost Barchi suggested that Penn would look toward such non-traditional sources of revenue as tech transfer. He noted that there are constraints and opportunities that lie ahead.

The 1999-2000 Committee on International Programs presented revised recommendations on the need for space to house the Office of International Programs when Bennett Hall undergoes renovation in the future and space for short-term housing for international faculty and scholars. It was agreed that it would be beneficial to spread the word about the short-term housing that is needed through the Office of Off-Campus Housing and PFSNI listserv and other pre-existing channels.

The Penn Online Calendar has recently undergone some changes in response to comments from users and suggestions from students. Randall Couch, of ISC, described how the user interface and provider tools have been improved to make it easier to find and add information about events. There are new options, including the customized calendar views.


Almanac, Vol. 47, No. 28, April 3, 2001

| FRONT PAGE | CONTENTS | JOB-OPS | CRIMESTATS | 2001 SCUE WHITE PAPER | COUNCIL: University Budget 2000-2001 | CHARLES ADDAMS HALL | TALK ABOUT TEACHING ARCHIVE | BETWEEN ISSUES | APRIL at PENN |