Joke Issue: Wharton splits from University, stirs controversy

After months of research and deliberation, Penn has finally decided to divest itself of the Wharton School.

The undergraduate, MBA and doctorate programs will no longer be part of the university for the 2013-2014 school year.

Among the variety of factors that contributed to this decision, logistics was one of the most important issues.

“We appreciate the fact that President Gutmann and her administration have finally recognized the tremendous distance our undergraduates have had to traverse in order to take liberal arts classes outside of Huntsman Hall,” Wharton Dean Thomas Robertson said, adding that the distance between Huntsman Hall and College Hall is “ridiculously far” for Wharton students.

The Wharton School will be renamed Joseph Wharton University, with Robertson serving as the school’s first president. The university’s boundaries will encompass the area between Harnwell College House and Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, and 1920 Commons will serve as the dining hall for both Penn and JWU.

In the fall, a student vote will be held to select the school’s official mascot. Two finalists have already been chosen: the Pennybags and the Financiers.

In addition, JWU has received approval from the NCAA to compete in several Division I sports for the upcoming school year.

Wharton sophomore Bruce Rolan, a current point guard on Penn’s men’s basketball team, is excited for a fresh start.

“I’m tired of sitting on the bench, so hopefully I’ll be able to start this time around,” he said.

Although many Whartonites are supportive of this new change, others believe that student input should have been taken into account when the decision was made.

“I’m in the Huntsman Program, but since I go to JWU now, I’ll have to pay double tuition so I can get my degree in international studies,” Wharton and College junior Katie Polage said. “All the dual-degree students and people working towards a non-Wharton minor will have to pay more. That sucks.”

Second-year MBA student Larry Brooks is concerned about the potential increase in undergraduate students that he may encounter on a daily basis.

“Since JWU is basically made up of Huntsman and Steiny-D, I’ll inevitably be seeing a lot more undergraduates when I go to class now because they won’t be spread out in other lecture halls like they currently are,” he said.

Overall, Robertson is optimistic that JWU will be able to attract the same caliber of students as it does now.

“Just because we will undergo a change in name does not mean the quality of our education will also change,” he said. “But if it does, it will obviously be for the better.”

This article appeared in the Daily Pennsylvanian’s Joke Issue 2013. For more information, click here.

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