Arrest just one more stain on school's image

Penn's rise to national prominence has been long and steady - but not always pretty.

As the University climbed toward the top of the U.S. News and World Report's rankings in the late 1990s, a recent string of faculty misconduct cases has thrust Penn into the national spotlight in a less desirable context, the latest being the arrest of Economics professor Rafael Robb last week in connection with the death of his wife.

And while Robb's arrest alone is unlikely to shake Penn's reputation, public-relations officials say that these faculty misconduct cases could cause damage to the school's reputation and call its hiring practices into question.

"As each negative thing happens, it's going to be almost a deeper cut each time," said Peter Madden, president of the Philadelphia-based marketing firm AgileCat. "In the end, any professor at any university - and that includes Penn - is an extension of the brand. And if they get caught up in something negative, the brand is going to take a hit."

"In a case like this, a school's policy or procedures could be called into practice," added Charles Bakalay, a senior counselor at Edelman Public Relations, which has done past work for academic institutions. "Universities like Penn in particular [are] held in a high position of trust, and with that comes a lot of responsibility."

And Robb's arrest comes on the heels of prolonged criminal proceedings involving two other Penn professors that have perpetually stayed in the news over the past year.

Wharton Marketing professor Scott Ward was fired in August after being charged with importing child pornography from Brazil. His trial is scheduled for this February.

Meanwhile, former Neurology professor Tracy McIntosh was re-sentenced in November after being convicted of sexual harassment in 2005.

Those incidents have been joined by various staff transgressions over the years, including the conviction of Donald Patrick Ford - a psychiatric resident at the School of Medicine - in 2001, for killing his girlfriend's baby.

And past cases exist that bear some resemblances to current ones: In 1994, English professor Malcolm Woodfield resigned over sexual-harassment charges after having sex with a female student, while Paul Mosher, former vice provost, admitted to having downloaded pornographic images of children onto his computer in 1993.

"I think when you see . professors getting arrested, it starts to show a pattern that would require perhaps some messaging, some attention," said Ken Gaebler, president of Chicago-based public-relations firm Walker Sands.

But Penn officials have said they don't expect Robb's case to affect Penn's reputation or its ability to attract top faculty and student talent.

"We're probably the size of a small city, . and I think that every now and then, difficult situations happen," University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman said.

Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations John Zeller added that he doesn't believe any past transgressions on the part of University staff would affect the school's ongoing fundraising campaign.

Professors at Penn and its peer institutions agree, saying that cases like Robb's haven't affected the esteem in which they hold a Penn professorship.

"I think very highly of those faculty members that I know, and . I know very good work comes out of that university," Rutgers sociology professor Benjamin Zablocki said of Penn, adding that similar cases can happen at other universities.

Communications professor Monroe Price, who was offered a teaching position at Penn three years ago, said Robb's arrest would not influence his decision to teach at Penn if he were considering a job at the University today.

"Penn has been around for a really long time," he said. "It's not even a hiccup."

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