Social Work, Education schools may relocate

Penn officials conceded the facilities are inadequate, but said they have no concrete plans for future renovations. Although University President Judith Rodin first announced plans to relocate the School of Social Work and the Graduate School of Education last week, the administrators and faculty of those schools have long recognized the need for new facilities. In discussing those buildings, Rodin focused on their more superficial problems, noting, for example, that "the buildings are ugly--not the kind of buildings Penn wants in the middle of its campus." Vice President of Facilities Management Art Gravina said the University has "opted to put those buildings on their disposable list." Both facilities are almost 30 years old. But representatives from both schools explained that the buildings' deficiencies go beyond appearance. Social Work Associate Dean Peter Vaughan explained that the two schools are dealing primarily with a limited amount of available space in their current locations. "We don't have adequate office space, [the] few classrooms are not adequate for the size of classes or sufficient in number [and] we don't have adequate research space in the building," Vaughan said. Graduate School of Education Dean Susan Fuhrman said in order to double the school's research capacity, it has resorted to renting six other spaces on and near campus. Fuhrman explained that the school is forced to "pay fairly high rent" on the various research facilities, which also prevent the consolidation of resources --Esuch as staff and equipment. She added that having separate facilities also hurts the school by "not integrating our research and teaching efficiently" into one building. Social Work Professor Kenwyn Smith said research facilities cannot be spread among different locations, adding that they should all be "in-house." He explained that the school's current building is "bursting at the seams," with many classrooms filled beyond capacity. Students from other areas of the University are often turned away from Social Work classes because of the lack of classroom space. Smith said the current Social Work facility also lacks space for adjunct professors and doctoral students, who do not receive individual carrels or other specific areas. Other schools, including the Wharton School of Business, have the space to provide those amenities. "We've squeezed [out] every possible office space in the building," Smith added. Fuhrman noted that the age and quality of the buildings themselves also pose problems, citing the poor heating and cooling system of the Education building as an example. Gravina said the University is considering destroying the buildings because renovating them would cost millions of dollars. But he added that the administration is still at the very beginning of that planning process and has not yet determined the specific needs of the two schools within the overall "master plan" for future campus development. Gravina said the University recognizes, however, that the current facilities "don't work to cover the current programs or future plans" of the schools. A time frame for addressing the two schools' concerns has not been established, he added. The construction of new buildings would take at least three years beyond the time it takes for the University to finalize plans and funding, Gravina said. Fuhrman said she hopes interim plans will be made for the two facilities during the planning and construction stages.

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