Executive Vice President Janet Hale, who is resigning from her position as of August 15, has faced many difficulties since she took office in February 1993. Hale -- who served as a finance and budget official during the administrations of former United States Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush prior to her stint at the University -- encountered friction during her first days in office. The conflict arose when it was learned that she was connected to a series of scandals which shook up the U.S. government in the late 1980s. Hale testified before Congress during the summer of 1989 about her role in two Department of Housing and Urban Development controversies -- the funding of a Durham, N.C. housing project and the management of a home-loan insurance program. She approved a key rent-ceiling waiver for an $11 million HUD project in Durham, despite objections from HUD staffers who said that there was environmental waste buried near the site. Former University President Sheldon Hackney, who appointed Hale, said in February 1993 that while he knew Hale worked for HUD, he was unaware of her role in the investigations of the HUD scandals. Hale's involvement in the controversies prompted a rash of criticism from members of the University community before she even moved into her office in the Franklin Building in April of 1993. Campus-wide discontent was also stirred up during Hale's tenure because of the slowed negotiations between the University and the City of Philadelphia over the acquisition of the Philadelphia Civic Center. Hale, who played a big role on the University's end of the negotiations, first announced last September that the University intended to purchase the Civic Center in order to turn it into an ambulatory care site for the Medical Center. At that time, a finalized contract was projected for the beginning of this year. In January, the date was pushed back to the spring, and in the spring, the date was pushed back again to late summer. As of yet, the deal has not been completed. Medical Center Senior Vice President Gordon Williams said in late April that "we're not even trying to predict [when negotiations will be finalized] anymore." Although Hale blames the halted negotiations on the city and on the fact that the purchase of the Civic Center is a "complicated real estate deal," the delays have called into question her efficiency as a leader. Students in particular became annoyed with Hale this year when she did not close the University during exceptionally icy winter days until Pennsylvania Governor Robert Casey declared a state-wide "state of emergency" in January which shut down the entire state -- and finally the University -- for two days. Before Casey's declaration, the University was one of the few institutions in Philadelphia to remain open during the dramatic ice and snow storms which struck the East Coast earlier that week. Staff writer Daniel Gingiss contributed to this article.
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