Penn’s Board of Trustees held its fall meetings on Thursday and Friday at the Inn at Penn. Here, The Daily Pennsylvanian gets you caught up on what was discussed during the Trustees’ individual committee meetings last week.
Budget and Finance Committee
Budget and Finance approved a resolution authorizing the University to spend $6 million on a new conservation project at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The resolution gives the Penn Museum permission to move forward with the renovation of approximately 7,600 square feet of teaching space and research labs.
The committee also approved the renewal of a $36-million Penn master lease at 3535 Market St. The 35th and Market building currently holds several offices, including the Office of Investments and space for Development and Alumni Relations.
Related: Lauder Institute donors among new college house supporters
Student Life Committee
Student Life spent most of its Thursday meeting listening to student, staff and administrator presentations on sexual violence at Penn. The presentations touched upon University resources for victims of sexual violence, Office of Student Conduct procedures for investigating and prosecuting cases of sexual assault and peer-to-peer educational programming for sexual violence prevention at Penn.
Related: Surviving Silence: a series on sexual violence at Penn
The committee also discussed Penn’s academic theme year program. This year’s theme is the “Year of Sound,” and next school year’s will be the “Year of Health.”
Academic Policy Committee
The main agenda item during Thursday’s Academic Policy Committee meeting was a discussion of Penn’s reaccreditation. Penn, which was last reaccredited in 2004, is up for reaccreditation by the the Middle States Commission on Higher Education — a regional accrediting body — this academic year.
Committee members heard presentations on the “self study” process of Penn’s reaccreditation. Penn is using its upcoming reaccreditation review as an opportunity to evaluate undergraduate education at the University.
Related: Hackney memorial to be held in March
Local, National and Global Engagement Committee
Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Ezekiel Emanuel presented to committee members about study abroad options that exist for graduate students at Penn. It is becoming more common at Penn, Emanuel said, for students at the graduate level to go abroad for shorter time periods — weeks or months at a time — rather than spending an entire academic year abroad.
The committee also listened to a presentation by Vice President for University Communications Stephen MacCarthy, who spoke about how Penn has revamped its external communication strategies and social media presence over the past few years.
Facilities and Campus Planning Committee
Penn’s Facilities and Real Estate Services outlined for the committee on Thursday the University’s construction plans for a new building located at 39th and Walnut streets — the former Philly Diner site.
The new building, FRES said, will be a 29,500 square-foot, $11.9 million project. It is expected to open in the spring of 2015. The building will include, among other administrative offices, space for the Office of General Counsel and the Office of Government and Community Affairs.
Related: Office building at 39th, Walnut to be done by March 2015
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