One for the books

Once again, the Penn’s Way workplace charitable campaign has surpassed its fundraising goal. The final tally for the charity drive, announced by President Judith Rodin at a thank-you lunch for Penn’s Way volunteers Feb. 12, is $466,761, which exceeds the $465,000 goal by $1,761. Representatives of the charitable organizations that benefit from Penn’s Way contributions called the drive a model for combined campaigns and praised the online donation system implemented this year for its ease of use.

Supplement trial

A new clinical trial being conducted by Assistant Professor of Medicine Philippe Szapary seeks to gauge the effectiveness of chromium picolinate, a dietary supplement, as a defense against the pre-diabetic condition known as metabolic syndrome. The School of Medicine is looking for men and non-pregnant women ages 18 to 75 who are overweight and have one or more of several conditions related to high cholesterol or blood pressure to participate in the study, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Interested volunteers should contact Sheri Volger, research coordinator, at sheriv@mail.med.upenn.edu or 215-898-8672.

Write on…online

Poets, fiction writers and those interested in Penn’s contribution to the creative written word can now browse the new Creative Writing Program web site: www.writing.upenn.edu/cw/. The site presents general information about the program, which is offered as both a major and minor, and also lists faculty biographies, upcoming courses and student poetry and prose. Soon to arrive: Deadlines and procedures for all of Penn’s creative writing contests.