News Archives

Penn Names New Vice Provost and Director of Libraries

H. Carton Rogers III named Vice Provost and Director of Libraries at the University of PennsylvaniaJuly 20, 2004PHILADELPHIA - H. Carton Rogers, III, has been named Vice Provost and Director of Libraries at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Robert Barchi have announced.  Rogers has been serving in an interim capacity since April 2003.

Will Bush win? Ask Polly

If the presidential race has you in its thrall, you can keep tabs on who’s winning by tracking and comparing the national polls by Gallup, Fox, the Associated Press and others. Or, you can go to politicalforecasting.com, whose creators—including Wharton marketing professor J. Scott Armstrong—have done the job for you.

Ask Benny: Why wait to inaugurate?

Dear Benny,Since Dr. Gutmann arrived at Penn at the beginning of July, why is her inauguration not happening until October? — Impatient for Inauguration

News briefs

No violence at home Thanks to a generous donation from Robert C. Ortner W’49 and his wife, Evelyn Ortner, the School of Social Work now has an interdisciplinary program dedicated to domestic violence education, policy, practice and research. The Evelyn Ortner-Unity Program in Family Violence creates a domestic violence resource library, a course in domestic violence open to graduate and undergrads, an annual lecture, a fellowship and a biennial domestic violence symposium.

Let them eat crêpes

A White Dog Cafe tradition for 22 years, the annual celebration of Bastille Day on July 14 gives Francophiles, natives and folks just looking for fine food a chance to eat, drink and be merry on Sansom Street. For $38, patrons can sit down to a Provençal feast under a tent. If you’re just in the mood to dance to French and American songs, make sure to drop by after 10 p.m., when admission is only $5. Don’t miss “The storming of La Bastille,” where “revolutionaries” free a pack of imprisoned white French poodles.

A soldier reflects on his war

As Andrew Exum C’00 told a Penn Bookstore crowd June 14, midway through his Penn career, he faced a hard decision. “I was told, ‘You can just muddle through or you can be a leader.’ ” Then part of Penn’s ROTC program, Exum opted for the latter, joining the infantry after graduation and serving as platoon leader in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Summer months bring younger scholars to Penn

People new to Penn are often surprised at how busy the campus remains over the summer months. Lines at the Magic Carpet food truck still put off all but the most devoted fans. College Green is still home to impromptu Frisbee games and tanning sessions. And just try getting an outdoor table at University Square around noon on a balmy day.

Bookquick/“Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance”

Modern beer has little in common with the drink that carried that name through the European Middle Ages and Renaissance. Looking at a time when beer was often a nutritional necessity, was sometimes used as medicine, could be flavored with everything from the bark of fir trees to thyme and fresh eggs and was consumed by men, women and children alike, “Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” presents an extraordinarily detailed history of the business, art and governance of brewing.

Civil liberty v. security—post 9/11

Set to a hip-hop rhythm, the video opened with an arresting image of a hooded man gesturing with a machine gun in time to the beat. The music was catchy, the lyrics unambiguous: “Kill the crusaders. Be prepared for battle with the infidels. Throw them in the fire.”

At Work With...Don Shepherd