More buildings linked to satellite dish

The number of University buildings receiving educational television programming from the Annenberg School's satellite dish has doubled, due to a recent boost in funding from the provost's office. Michael Palladino, a University communications administrator, said the provost's office dramatically increased the University Linking Project, which brings educational programming received by the Annenberg satellite dish to classrooms. The recent expansion has increased the number of buildings wired to the Academic Video Network from 15 to 31. Currently, the satellite dish broadcasts 16 stations to each building, including the Cable News Network, the Learning Channel, the Weather Channel and several channels showing international programming. Palladino said the additional buildings will be wired to the network by the end of October, completing the first phase of a project to share the programming. He said the second phase includes wiring individual rooms within the buildings connected to the satellite dish. Each building wired to the Academic Video Network is equipted to receive satellite programming in two separate parts of the building, Palladino said. If more terminals are needed, the school responsible for the building must pay for more wiring to allow for additional hookups. Although the wiring of the Academic Video Network is barely completed, professors have already lauded the new system's educational advantages. Lidia Messmer, director of the Audio-Visual Center in Logan Hall, said faculty have already begun to show their students international programming received by the dish. "They are ecstatic about it," Messmer said. "I have received several requests for [satellite] programs . . . The faculty are absolutely delighted." Professor Roger Allen, the College representative to a committee that helped determine how the dish would be connected to the University community, said the linking project will have "tremendous educational implications." "Programming received from abroad in foreign languages has a lot to tell the campus as a whole," said Allen. "We have got to get out of the idea that anything worth knowing is only in English." Originally, the Academic Video Network was linked to the Annenberg School, Annenberg Center, Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, Lauder Hall, Logan Hall, College Hall, Williams Hall, Myerson Hall, the Towne building, the Moore building, David Rittenhouse Labs, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, High Rise East, High Rise South, WXPN radio station, Van Pelt College House, the Class of 1925 Building and the Dental School. After the expansion, the network will also be hooked up to the University Police station, Stiteler Hall, Caster Hall, the McNeil Building, Vance Hall, the Aresty Institute, the Penn Tower Hotel, Bennett Hall, the Morgan Building, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Van Pelt Library.

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