New comm. director, JIO are named

Kenneth Wildes has been appointed to the position of director of University communications, University President Judith Rodin announced last Friday. He will begin his term July 1. And Provost Stanley Chodorow announced this week that Michele Goldfarb, a member of the Law School's clinical faculty who has served as acting Judicial Inquiry Officer since August 1, will now assume the position of JIO. Wildes will serve as a central spokesperson for the University and will develop and manage a University communications strategy. He will also "oversee the University's internal and external communications and public relations operations [and] enhance communication of the many contributions Penn's faculty, students and staff make to the advancement of education, research and society," according to a press release. And he will advise Rodin and other senior officials on public relations and communications issues. Goldfarb will direct the Student Dispute Resolution Center, where she will be responsible for the investigation and resolution of alleged violations of the codes of Student Conduct and Academic Integrity, according to Almanac. The position of communications director has been vacant since March 1994, when Carol Farnsworth left the post after being named vice chancellor for communications at the University of Denver. Wildes, who is currently the vice president for community relations at Northwestern University, said he is coming to Penn for two reasons -- because it is an "extraordinary" institution and because of the people he will work with. "I think [Rodin] is a terrific president," he said. "I am interested in working for her staff. The people I have met have been really good people. I have gotten a really good feeling about where the education is heading." Wildes said his first order of business will be to "get to know the University better and to get to know the people better." Wildes has been in charge of communications at Northwestern for 14 years. Prior to assuming his present position, Wildes was director of newspaper promotions and public relations at Parade Publications, Inc.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.