Schools' fortunes differ under Agenda for Excellence

The schools have seen improvements in minority hiring and research, but limited action on facilities. Although Penn's four undergraduate schools are struggling to fulfill the expectations of a University-wide wish list, the ever-ticking Agenda for Excellence clock may wind down before the projects are completed. University President Judith Rodin and Interim Provost Michael Wachter consistently sing the praises of the Agenda, a five-year strategic plan which governs nearly every stage of campus development. And all four of Penn's undergraduate deans agree, lauding the Agenda as a comprehensive navigation tool for the next millennium. The four schools released individual strategic plans last year, identifying as key issues minority faculty recruitment, endowed chairs, interdisciplinary and master's degree programs, facilities development and increased funding for research. But members of several departments, while admitting that they have not been marginalized by the all-encompassing agenda, say progress is nevertheless stalled on some key endeavors, such as facilities renovations. Rodin, however, responds that since the plans take on a slew of complex issues, prioritizing is vital to their success. Balancing the scales In an effort to diversify departments, each school has pledged to recruit more minority faculty members. Only 9.4 percent of the School of Arts and Sciences' 460 faculty members are minorities. SAS has hired a total of nine minority professors since 1996, SAS Dean Samuel Preston said. The school hires about 20 professors each year. Following the Agenda's release in 1996, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, which has a standing faculty of 96, hired its first two black professors, according to Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington. And the School of Nursing recruited two new minority faculty members in 1996, part of its standing faculty of 50, Nursing Dean Norma Lang said. Fewer than 9 percent of nursing professors nationwide are black, prompting Penn to create a program with Hampton University -- a historically black institution in Virginia -- designed to increase the number of black nursing professors with doctorates, Nursing spokesperson Susan Greenbaum said. The University will allow Hampton faculty members to enroll in doctoral courses and participate in research opportunities at Penn, and will help Hampton create its own doctoral program. The Wharton School's efforts to recruit minorities have been undermined by faculty attrition in the last two years, Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick said. The school has added four new minority faculty members to its standing faculty of 189 since 1996, but the appointments did not actually increase the number of minority faculty because of retirements and resignations. Criss-crossing disciplines Under Agenda directives, administrators and faculty members urge students to cross departments, schools and the Locust Walk divide to take advantage of a proliferation of graduate and interdisciplinary programs. SAS, which has already established master's degree programs in Bioethics, Biotechnology and Environmental Science, is in the process of developing a graduate program in Museum Studies, Preston said. And on the heels of last fall's announcement of the $10 million Vagelos Scholars program in molecular life sciences, Engineering will debut this fall an interdisciplinary undergraduate program in Digital Media Design with the Graduate School of Fine Arts and the Annenberg School for Communication, Farrington said. Nursing has also successfully implemented several joint initiatives, including a Health Care Management program with Wharton last fall and a Nursing Informatics computer science program with Engineering this fall. Next year, the school will announce an International Studies program with SAS, Greenbaum said. And Wharton will kick off a dual concentration in Marketing and Communications with the Annenberg School this fall, building on existing joint-degree programs such as the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business with the College and the Management and Technology program with Engineering. The school is also exploring a joint minor with Engineering in Business and the Environment and a Health Care Systems and Biological Basis of Behavior minor with SAS. The waiting game Although a long list of accomplishments may qualify the Agenda as an administration success story, the emphasis on some priorities inevitably leaves others ignored. For example, refurbished facilities for the Psychology, Music and English departments are all cited in SAS' strategic plan as top priorities. But an unforeseen domino effect, spurred by a tragic fire, has forced the Music and English departments to linger in sub-par facilities. The Graduate School of Fine Arts was destined to move to the Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall last August, following renovations to the former Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church at 33rd and Chestnut streets. But the March 1997 four-alarm blaze, which destroyed the building, seriously complicated matters. GSFA lost its bid for the space after the University decided to demolish the building over winter break, citing excessive renovation costs. And the Music Department, set to occupy the recently vacated Morgan building after GSFA's relocation, remains in inadequate facilities with no indication of the University making good on its promises any time soon. "There have been no plans made" to relocate [the department]," Music Department Chairperson James Primosch said For more than two decades, administrators have assured members of the Psychology Department that they will be moved out of their dated facilities, which are currently dispersed around campus. But Psychology Professor John Sabini said that although blueprints were drawn up for a new $30 million to $35 million Psychology facility last year, "everything came to a dead freeze in August." According to Sabini, administrators told members of the department -- now housed in three buildings -- that the new building would occupy the northeast corner of 34th and Chestnut streets, next to the now-demolished church. But the fire intervened. Preston, however, said SAS is already spending $40 million to $50 million on a new Biology facility, and will wait until the building is on "firm footing" before it begins to consider relocating the Psychology Department. He added that the Biology Department has blueprints in hand. But while Sabini complained that administrators "have been telling us how much they love and respect us for at least 20 years," Rodin stressed that "there is only so much that a University can bite off at any particular moment." She added that SAS established a facility-granting hierarchy in its strategic plan: Chemistry, Biology, then Psychology. The Roy and Diana Vagelos Laboratories of the Institute for the Advancement of Science and Technology completed the first rung of the ladder. The building, which opened in November, houses labs for chemistry and chemical and medical engineering. And Preston said SAS has already raised several million dollars for the renovations to the English Department headquarters in Bennett Hall -- a facility SAS' strategic plan says is in "deplorable condition." He added that officials have not yet determined a timetable for renovations. But English Professor Paul Korshin said he doubts that Bennett Hall is a top priority, noting that faculty members have been bombarded with strategic plans for more than 30 years. Strict timetables are also not characteristic of the new Wharton classroom building planning process. Last year, the school hired architects to draw up blueprints for the building, to be built on the current bookstore site at 38th Street and Locust Walk. But repeated retreats back to the drawing board have delayed construction. Discoveries on home turf While the thought of financing multi-million dollar facilities leaves some administrators dazed, officials have made considerable progress in increasing Penn's research dollars. A combination of federal, foundation, industry and corporation research grants account for all of the University's research funding. SAS has seen a 7.7 percent increase in its research dollars since the adoption of the agenda, while Nursing has seen a 17 percent boost since 1996. Wharton's funding has remained constant.

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