Thanks

If you were one of the 5,500 who dined at the Staff Appreciation Day picnic—that figure comes from Marilyn Kraut, Human Resources Quality of Worklife manager and the person who organizes the picnic—you have an inkling of how many people it takes to run a University.

As for what the picnic cleanup entails, it’s about 150 plastic trash bags filled with about a ton of trash, said Ken Neborak, the urban park supervisor in Facilities, who was standing next to one of the 40 trash cans he and the cleanup crew used to keep the green tidy. Neborak estimated that the plastic recycling would add up to about 500 pounds.

The trash came from the picnic lunches—about one-third were the veggie lunch, and two-thirds were chicken.

That’s what it took for the University to say thank you.

Master MDs

Rest assured. You’re in good hands if your doctor is with the University of Pennsylvania Health System. The May 2002 “Top Docs” issue of Philadelphia Magazine saluted 179 doctors from Penn’s Medical Center, more than from any other hospital. Physicians and surgeons at Pennsylvania Hospital and Presbyterian Medical Center, which are also part of Penn’s Health System, were also recognized, placing those hospitals among the top 10 in the region.

One easy call

If you’re like us, you may not know if your problems require counseling from the Employee Assistance Program or advice from the Work/Life Benefit. Well, you no longer need to know, because now you can call one number—1-888-321-4433—for both of these programs from Human Resources. The person on the other end of the line will figure which program will suit you best, and may discover some ways to help you that weren’t even on your mind. As before, all these services are free and confidential. Info on the Web is at hr.upenn .edu/quality.

New veep

Lori Doyle was named vice president of University Communications by President Judith Rodin at the June meeting of the Trustees. Doyle, who joined Penn as director of University Communications in February 2001, has developed and overseen the University’s long-term communications plan and crisis management strategy. Prior to joining University Communications, Doyle served for eight years as chief public affairs officer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Modems hang up

Penn’s express modem pool, which offered remote access to PennNet and the Internet, has terminated. The termination affects about 1,200 individuals, most of whom use the service sporadically, said Mike Lazenka, information technology project leader at Information Systems and Computing.

Students, faculty and staff who relied on the modem pool as their primary Internet service provider (ISP) can learn about alternatives at www.upenn.edu/computing/remote. A chart for comparing service options and prices is available at www.upenn.edu/computing/remote/help_chart.html.

Singapore here

Penn is gearing up to host as many as 30 undergraduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) this coming year. Called the “NUS College in Philadelphia,” the new initiative will enroll students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and offer internship opportunities at companies in the Philadelphia area. The curriculum, which includes courses designed specifically for the program as well as regular Penn courses, will expose students to topics in technology and entrepreneurship. The first cohort of 10 to 15 NUS students is expected in January 2003.