Tobin funds will benefit frat housing

Two funds designed to aid fraternity and sorority houses with renovations will be established this fall in memory of 1994 College alumnus Michael Tobin, who fell to his death following an evening of drinking at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at 3619 Locust Walk in March, 1999.

The two funds have been created as part of a settlement agreement reached between the Tobin family and the University in June, according to University officials, who announced the creation of the funds earlier this week.

Tobin's family filed a wrongful death suit against the University and FIJI two years ago, alleging that Penn's failure to maintain the stairs behind the house led to Tobin's death. Tobin's body was found lying in a garbage pile that had accumulated behind the University-owned fraternity house. His family originally sought $5 million in damages, a figure based on Tobin's potential earnings.

The details of the settlement reached between the University and the Tobin family remain confidential while specifics regarding the size of the memorial funds will not be released until this fall, when the funds are established.

One fund, the Michael E. Tobin Memorial Fund, will support maintenance and repair projects at University-owned residences, including fraternities and sororities over a five-year period. The other fund, the Michael E. Tobin Greek Housing renovation Fund, will be desgined as a revolving fund, from which fraternity and sorority houses can borrow funds for capital improvements.

In 2000, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology agreed to a $6 million settlement with the parents of Scott Krueger, a freshman who died while taking part in a fraternity pledging event at MIT's Phi Gamma Delta chapter in 1997. The school agreed to endow a $1.25 million scholarship in Krueger's memory, and pay $4.75 million to his parents.

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