Sandy Smith

A famous television ad from the late 1960s showed Abraham Lincoln being rejected for a job because he lacked a college diploma. Gayle Collins (ASC'98) can relate.

Thanks to a generous grant from the family of a College of General Studies alumnus, successful adults from all walks of life now have the opportunity to get a Penn degree tuition-free.

Cynics may snicker when they hear the phrase "scholar-athlete," but John Bishop (W'97), the All-Ivy safety and captain of Penn's 1997 football team, sees no contradiction at all in the term.

Penn is interested in helping Penn staff advance their careers and cope with the demands of home, work and family, according to Executive Vice President John Fry.

For cancer patients, their family and friends, and for those hoping to reduce their risk of cancer, the University of Pennsylvania Health System offers support and encouragement through workshops and educational programs.

Penn's Recreation Department is not just for students. Besides running Penn's intramural and club sport programs, the department offers fitness programs and classes for faculty, staff and community residents, young and old alike.

A team of Russian physicians visited the Medical Center this month with news about an open-heart surgical procedure that leaves patients cold. The news and the team were warmly received by their Penn anesthesia department hosts, who have received a University grant to begin a collaborative research project with the Russian doctors.

Anyone who remembers last year's controversy over the Oakland school board's decision to use "Ebonics" as an instructional tool knows that the subject of "black English" in the classroom is very much a live issue -- and an extremely sensitive one.

More than a half century of breeding, exhibiting and judging show dogs has finally brought M. Josephine Deubler to this: She will determine exactly who is top dog this year.

Should teaching hospitals accept government subsidies to shrink the number of residents they train? Probably. Will for-profit management of university hospitals jeopardize the quality of care? Maybe, maybe not. Should academic medical centers speed up their clinical research to satisfy pharmaceutical companies? Probably not.