An agenda for success

A lot has changed at Penn since University President Judith Rodin and then-Provost Stanley Chodorow announced the five-year Agenda for Excellence in 1996. The streets of West Philadelphia are noticeably safer. More than ever, the University's classrooms and laboratories are serving as venues for inquiry and research. And a definitive improvement has swept this campus in virtually all other conceivable ways -- ranging from the atmosphere of the dormitories to the stature of the University among the nation's elite. With that said, it's difficult to find much fault with the progress Penn has made on advancing the Agenda's nine goals. The University has expanded the breadth of its academic programs, and it has likewise fostered a more supportive and enriching residential environment. To that degree, the Agenda for Excellence has been a success. But other areas of Penn's overall development still leave room for improvement and must be addressed in coming years in order for the University to preserve its new-found place in the upper reaches of American academia. Real strides, for example, have been made recently to raise general funds for the University's programs. But with Penn now competing with the likes of Harvard, Princeton and other endowment-heavy institutions, the University must make a renewed, concerted effort to expand its financial aid offerings so that we may truly stay in step with the nation's best. Other issues still linger. The expansion of undergraduate research opportunities is still in its infant stages, for instance, and the true impact of Penn's international partnerships still remains to be seen. But not withstanding those issues, the Agenda has clearly provided a workable framework for the growth and development of the University. We can only hope that Penn administrators outline a new, broad plan -- reached in concert with faculty, staff and students, and devoted to the individual needs of the individual schools -- to help guide the University forward into a new period of advancement.

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