Bite out of crime

Crime in University City took a dive in 2002, plummeting 19 percent, according to an announcement by the University City District. The figures obtained from the Philadelphia Police Department reflect a four-year downward trend in the area bounded by 50th Street, Spring Garden Street, the Schuylkill River and Woodland Avenue. Crime categories that experienced the most dramatic drop include homicide, down 50 percent; residential burglary, down 62 percent; and auto theft, down 7 percent.

GSE tracks KIDS

An $800,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation to the Graduate School of Education is making possible the nation’s first integrated municipal database for children. Named the Kid’s Integrated Database System, the database will merge information that was once separately maintained by public schools and by the city’s human services and public health departments. Researchers will use the database to examine childhood development issues, school readiness, foster care, school success, and the effectiveness of special education and behavioral health service systems. Collaborators on the project include the Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, and the Cartographic Modeling Laboratory.

Wharton three-peat

For the third year in a row, the Wharton School tops the Financial Times’ list of international MBA programs. The annual survey rates schools according to three categories: purchasing power in the marketplace, diversity of experience, and research qualities. Harvard, Columbia, Stanford and the University of Chicago make up the rest of the top five.

Oops!

Patrick French was mistakenly identified as Rick Bulley (“At Work With,” Current, Jan. 30). An assistant manager in the University Records Center, French has been at Penn 11 years.