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Foreign exchange Nearly 3,000 of Penn's students come from other countries. That makes Penn 11th in foreign enrollments among U.S. research institutions, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported Dec. 12. The research institution with the highest number of foreign enrollments is Boston University, a school that actively recruits, followed by NYU and USC. In terms of percentages, Penn ranks fifth highest: 2,949 foreign students translates to 13.3 percent of students here. Tops in percentages is Columbia, followed by Harvard. Penn is second among U.S.
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SAS appoints new dean
After conducting a national search, the University named one of its own, Samuel H. Preston, Ph.D., as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Dec. 18. Preston, the Frederick J. Warren Professor of Demography, known internationally for his population studies, has been on the faculty of the Department of Sociology since 1979, and is long-time director of the Population Studies Center here.
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Rodin to Clinton: More money for research
Penn President Judith Rodin last month asked President Bill Clinton to increase federal investment in basic research. Noting bi-partisan proposals that would double federal support for research in the next 10 years, Rodin called upon Clinton "to take the lead on this issue." Rodin, who serves on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, urged Clinton to boost budgets for science across the board. She noted that investments in science today will determine the quality of our lives in the future.
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Skeleton may be Maya king
Two clues from an ancient skeleton led a research team headed by Professor of Anthropology Robert J. Sharer to think they had an extraordinary find. The researchers were burrowing under the mound of a major Mayan ruin deep in a tropical forest, participating in the Early Copán Acropolis Program, a cooperative effort between the University of Pennsylvania and the Honduran government to explore the mound's interior.
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What's On
PERFORMANCES / LECTURES / EVENTS January 14-28 EDITOR'S PICKS Professor of Chinese Literature Victor Mair's discovery of 3,000-year-old, blonde-haired, blue-eyed mummies in northern China is the subject of a documentary feature on PBS' "Nova" series Tuesday, Jan. 20. "China's Mysterious Mummies" airs at 8 p.m. and again at 11 p.m. on WHYY (Channel 12).
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Penn sells Gutman Farm
Through an agreement with the Heritage Conservancy, a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving natural and historic resources, and local neighbors, the University has sold the 211-acre Gutman Farm in Bucks County for $3.75 million. The resources will be used by the Graduate School of Fine Arts.
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"It's sort of like going to see a tightrope walker. The audience appreciates that you're taking a risk."
TOM MCMANUS Position: Senior Regional Director for the Office of Admissions Length of service: 3 years. Other stuff: If it's got an audience, he'll be on stage. At 25, Penn alum Tom McManus (C'94) so liked his work study job in the Office of Admissions that he found a way to stay at Penn after graduation, first working in Alumni Relations for a year, and then working in Admissions.
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Pa. Book Center finds new home
The University and the Pennsylvania Book Center have signed a letter of intent to relocate a beloved independent bookseller to the 3900 block of Walnut Street. The agreement will spell a happy ending for patrons who in forums across campus vociferously bemoaned the possible loss of the store to upcoming University development. The new store would be next to Eat at Joe's, the late-night diner scheduled to open on that block in February.
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Quoted recently
"There's no question that workers would be better off if they're allowed to sleep for 25 minutes." David F. Dinges, M.D., director of the Experimental Psychiatry Unit at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in an article about corporate acceptance and encouragement of afternoon naps in the workplace. (Washington Post, Dec. 7)
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Getting published takes drive
College junior Michael Schein headed out on the highway for a cross-country road trip with his father a few years back and a novel idea was born -- well, not a novel, but an instruction manual, with a twist. "Teenage Roadhogs," published this year, is Schein's take on the dry read that is the Department of Motor Vehicles' how-to manual for new drivers. Plugged as "written by a teen for teens," the alpha books release offers Schein's common-sense tips, humorous anecdotes and sample driving test questions.