News Archives

Penn Upgrades Web Site on West Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA -- West Philadelphia Data and Information Resources, the University of Pennsylvania portal for information about the West Philadelphia area, has a newly restructured and upgraded Web site.  New design features provide access to in-depth census data and statistical profiles by geographic neighborhood boundaries, as well as geographic-information systems maps that download real-time aerial photos taken from satellites.

Penn Piloting Bicycle Valet Service in August

PHILADELPHIA -- A new "bike valet" service is being offered on the University of Pennsylvania campus in an effort to encourage bicycle ridership and provide a safe, secure parking area during the workday.During August, from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, bike riders can check their vehicles at a station behind the Graduate School of Education on Walnut Street between 37th Street and Huntsman Hall.  From College Green, it can be accessed off Locust Walk behind the School of Social Work.

Study Reveals Household Falls May Produce More Severe Brain Injuries in Infants than Previously Thought

PHILADELPHIA -- Using a specially designed, highly lifelike doll, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have determined that rapid head rotations sustained when a baby's head contacts a hard surface during household falls may result in diffuse brain injuries.  The findings call into question earlier assessments of the seriousness of such falls by young infants, previously viewed by some as unlikely to cause widespread brain injury.The results appear in the July issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery.

U.S. Ranks 27th in World Social Progress; Africa in Dire Straits

FRANKFURT -- Denmark and Sweden lead the world in social progress, Afghanistan is at the bottom of the list and the United States ranks 27th among 163 nations, according to the latest Index of Social Progress.  

EPA Honors Penn's Participation in Million Monitor Drive

PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the University of Pennsylvania's Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services for participation in its Energy Star program's Million Monitor Drive. This national campaign is designed to activate monitor-power management on 1 million computers across the nation.  

Anthony Antonucci and Donald Kelley

Rodin to call it a decade in 2004

Judith Rodin (CW’66) will step down as president of the University next June 30. Rodin announced her decision at the Stated Meeting of the University Trustees on June 20. The first woman to run an Ivy League university returned to her alma mater in 1994 from Yale, where she had served as provost for two years. She set the tone for her presidency in her first year, laying out an ambitious “Agenda for Excellence” that aimed to strengthen Penn’s status as one of the nation’s top research universities and its ties to the community and the city.

STAFF Q&A/Tracy Byford

STAFF Q&A/Tracy Byford has worked for more than two decades to keep Penn’s botanical garden a place all can enjoy “It is just such a surprise to see this on an urban campus.”

Campus Buzz

See movies like a student: Now’s your chance to see first-run films in a first-class setting for chump change. The Bridge: Cinema de Lux at 40th and Walnut streets is running a special promotion for Penn and Drexel faculty and staff through Aug. 31—show your faculty/staff ID at the box office and pick up tickets for you and a guest at the student discount rate. Visit www.thebridgecinema.com or the theater for more information.

A gas station fueled Penn's endowment

Illustration by Bo Brown Dear Benny, I heard that the University once received a gas station as a gift from an alumnus. Did we? And if we did, what did we do with it? — Wants the Unleaded Truth