U. grants Wharton use of Book Store site

Rodin also announced plans for a new Bio complex and to move the Education and Social Work schools. The Wharton School of Business will build a new facility on the current Book Store site, University President Judith Rodin announced at University Council yesterday. The administration gave Wharton the go-ahead to begin construction at 38th and Walnut streets, once Barnes & Noble builds its superstore at 36th and Walnut streets. Wharton will be responsible for funding the construction, according to Executive Vice President John Fry. Earlier estimates priced the project at $100 million. Both Wharton and the Psychology Department had petitioned for use of the Book Store site. But Rodin said the Psychology Department must make decisions about its future before considering a new facility. She added that the Book Store site will fulfill Wharton's significant need for space. The school's dramatic change in curriculum -- emphasizing team-building techniques -- requires an additional 250,000 square feet of classroom space, she explained. Wharton Deputy Dean Janice Bellace said studies by an independent consulting firm in 1992 concluded that adding space onto existing structures would be impossible. The studies determined that new construction would be more economical than renovating Vance Hall. The Psychology Department had wanted the space to consolidate its offices, laboratories and classrooms, which are now scattered in four separate buildings. But Rodin said there hasn't been a serious conversation about the possibility of a new Psychology building on Locust Walk for a long time. "The Psychology Department is wrestling over a variety of questions, including whether to stay together as a department," Rodin said. She said planning a new facility would not be practical until Psychology decides whether to split into two branches -- one biology-focused and the other focused on computer science. Psychology Chairperson Robert Seyfarth said he is currently working with the president's and dean's offices to formulate a statement about the future of the department. "A new building -- a place that makes sense given the future of the discipline -- is of highest priority," he added. There are no plans for a specific location, but Rodin suggested that Locust Walk would be an impractical site for research facilities. Also at yesterday's meeting, Rodin announced plans to build a new Biology complex. The project would entail some renovation and some new construction, she said. Phase two of the IAST project is also in the planning stages now, Rodin said. As work on the Roy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories nears completion, work will begin on phase two -- the cognitive and computer science component of the project. Vice President of Facilities Management Art Gravina said this portion of the project will require the renovation of the Morgan Building, the Music Building and the Music Annex. Funds for phase two are already committed, Gravina added. IAST phase three will entail the creation of a science library, which Gravina said will likely use the top floor of Hayden Hall. And Rodin announced plans to relocate both the Graduate School of Education and the School of Social Work. Rodin said she is working with the deans of both schools, but had not yet determined a location for either. "The schools of Education and Social Work are in terrible spaces," Rodin said. "The buildings are ugly -- not the kind of buildings Penn wants in middle of its campus." But Fry said no matter what happens to the buildings, they will not be demolished for more Wharton expansion.

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