Cheerleading pays off

Y ou could say George Weiss lost a $14 million bet. The Penn trustee who made millions in the financial industry promised University President Amy Gutmann that the football team would roll over her former school in New Jersey a few weeks ago. When the Quakers lost, Weiss paid.

At least his check, which came as a pleasant surprise to Gutmann, is going to a very worthy cause: financial aid.

Weiss' gift is of particular note because it is the first major donation related to the financial aid prong of Gutmann's "Penn Compact."

And the president is optimistic that it is only the tip of the iceberg. Giving of this sort has been contagious in the past, and that is what the University is banking on -- more smaller checks to help kick off its next big fundraising project in the next few years. Weiss is certainly setting a good example, and others should heed his call for 100 more financial aid gifts of $2 million.

More than just the money, though, this is affirmation that the Penn Compact, while somewhat ambiguous to most undergraduates, is a great fundraising tool. It is easy for alumni to relate to the goals it lays out -- access, integration and community relations -- and it provides the kind of vision it takes to make people open their wallets.

When he made the announcement, Weiss jokingly gave Gutmann flack for acting like a cheerleader. She might not have the pom-poms to go along, but the president has done a commendable job of rallying support around her central mission.

The $14 million from Weiss is the largest contribution directly to the Penn Compact's goals since an anonymous donor gave $10 million toward joint faculty appointments in February. Given the average return on Penn's endowment, that $14 million could translate into the equivalent of 40 full-tuition grants next year if the dollars were used that way.

It will make the University more affordable for a lot of students -- and as Weiss put it, that is more important than having a name on a building.

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