Daily Pennsylvanian

Larry Jameson has been selected as executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and dean of the School of Medicine, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced Thursday.

He will begin his term on July 1, 2011. He will succeed Arthur Rubenstein, who announced in March that he will step down in 2011.

Jameson is currently the vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Prior to joining Northwestern’s faculty in 1993, Jameson served as an associate professor of medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Thyroid Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston

Jameson is an editor of Harrison’s Principle’s of Internal Medicine. He has authored hundreds of scientific articles, studies and texts.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, Jameson has built a “sterling track record” as a clinician — a characteristic which distinguishes him as an ideal match for Penn Med, Gutmann said in a press release.

“He is across-the-board strong,” Gutmann said. “He has a strong ethical compass and demonstrated leadership skills.”

Though records of the candidate search are not yet public, Penn Provost Vince Price, who chaired the search, said the committee was charged with seeking national and international candidates, and had “a large selection of outstanding nominees.”

In reviewing candidates, Price added, the committee looked for “someone who would give equal attention to the core missions of research, education and clinical excellence, as represented by Penn Med. Dr. Jameson comes to us with the kind of experience and track record that gave us the confidence that he would be able to do just that.”

Similarly, Jameson said he was attracted to Penn Med for its focus on both research and clinical care.

“At Penn Med, we can bring research to the bedside of patients in a very direct way,” he said, adding that Penn is unique in its opportunities for interdisciplinary research in particular.

“A lot of important discoveries sit between traditional disciplines,” Jameson said. “I’m a strong proponent of trying to connect faculty in different domains because the opportunities to have breakthrough discoveries emerge from that.”

In his new role, Jameson will be responsible for the oversight and management of Penn Med. University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Ralph Muller will also report to Jameson.

“It is by far the biggest deanship at Penn,” Gutmann said of the position.

Though Rubenstein is currently Penn’s highest-paid administrator, Gutmann said Jameson will not inherit Rubenstein’s salary, as each administrator’s pay is determine by a variety of factors, including market value and experience.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees David Cohen said Jameson is an “outstanding hire for Penn Med and the University of Pennsylvania. I have no doubt that under his leadership, the upward trajectory of Penn Med will continue, and he will be an excellent successor to the outstanding leadership Arthur Rubenstein has provided over the last decade.”

Rubenstein said he was delighted about the decision: "Dr. Jameson is a wonderful choice. I couldn't have though of a better choice."

For the first time since 1995, the Penn field hockey team = will have new blood leading it on the sidelines after Val Cloud stepped down from the program at the conclusion of last season.

Philadelphia area native Colleen Quinn Fink will take over after a four-year stint at Haverford. Coach Fink sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss her new position.

Daily Pennsylvanian: So, tell us a little about yourself.

Colleen Quinn Fink: I’m from the area. I grew up in a suburb right outside of Philadelphia called Bala Cynwyd. [I] grew up in a coaching household. My father is the head track and field coach at St. Joe’s University in Philadelphia, and he coached the men and women’s team — I think for over 40 years.

I kind of grew up in that environment of coaching and athletics. I was introduced to field hockey in middle school and then went on to play for four years at Merion Mercy Academy. And then I went on and played for four years at St. Joe’s University.

I’m pretty familiar with the local college field hockey scene, Big 5 basketball obviously, and all that kind of stuff.

DP: And how does Philly rate in the world of field hockey?

CQF: We’re pretty lucky. Pennsylvania — and obviously, the East Coast in general — is such a hot bed for field hockey. So we’re in a really strong area for field hockey.

DP: What do you think of your newly inherited program?

CQF: In terms of pleasant surprises, the girls are pretty much in the right mindset. They came in pretty fit, ready to go [and] determined to try to chase down some of the goals they set out in the spring.

In terms of just specific players, the two senior captains, Laurel McGarvey and Annie Matthews, [have] really stepped into a leadership role very nicely.

DP: And what were some of the players’ goals?

CQF: In the spring last year, [the players] decided they wanted to either win in regulation or feel prepared enough that they can win in an overtime period.

I think that they’re serious about trying to transform some of those close or near losses into some wins and contending for an Ivy League championship. I think they are realistic about the fact that Princeton is a pretty powerful force in our conference, but I think that they are open to trying to make a run at it.

And then, the last goal of the three was to try to come out strong. They really would like to win their first three games. I guess historically in the last couple of years, they haven’t been that successful in the beginning of the season, and they had felt that kind of put them at a disadvantage.

DP: Speaking of disadvantages, the team lost a strong senior class. How are you reacting to that?

CQF: I know they were probably leaders on the field, but they were probably some of the biggest statistical leaders we’ve had. Now we’re faced with trying to foster experience in a practice setting for some of these kids stepping into roles.

We will probably have a handful of freshman starting this year, and then even some of the upperclassmen — because we lost such a big, talented class — they might not be as experienced as they could be. So in that way, I definitely think it was a big loss.

I’m a big proponent of trying to avoid any excuse making. The minute we start using that as an excuse for why we can’t or why we shouldn’t, I think the team will probably embrace that attitude as well. So we’re just looking forward, we’re living in the moment and staying focused on the task that’s lying ahead of us.

The Penn women’s golf team added some new hardware last season — two pieces to be exact — but it doesn’t seem to be enough.

“We won two tournaments last year and I think we’re capable of winning more than that this year,” said Penn coach Mark Anderson.

The Quakers — the reigning Ivy League and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) champions — had their best season ever in 2009-2010 (314-308-307 — 929, +65) and are looking to build on this success going into the 2010 fall season.

“I’d love to leave the team with a good practice regimen and instill hard work as a good foundation,” said sophomore Isabel Han. “Our overall goal is to practice hard, work hard and win the Ivy League Championship again.”

It seems as though high achievement has become synonymous with women’s golf at Penn. In early August, Han, freshman Michelle Lee and recent graduate Meredith Kotowski participated in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, the United States Golf Association’s (USGA) most prestigious event for women amateurs — quite an accomplishment for a small but expanding golf program.

“That was amazing,” said Anderson. “It was so exciting to watch that tournament and to have three of our players in the field.”

Particularly of note was first team All-Ivy selection Han, who was the only Quaker to advance to match play, making her the first in Penn history to do so. In match play, Han was partnered with the top seed, Ohio State sophomore Rachel Rohanna, and nearly caused an upset, although she ultimately dropped the match, 1-up, in a hard-fought round.

“I had so much fun, it was a huge confidence booster and definitely one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had,” said Han. “I can’t wait to go again next year and actually win it.”

The team also has much to be excited about with its other players, particularly the three freshmen recruits — ­Olivia Chang, Michelle Lee and Rui Li — who all have had significant Junior Golf experience and may have the chance to “start right away.”

“I think they can make a huge impact,” said Anderson. “I think we’re going to pick up right where we left off.”

Thus, with continued high level of play, the young Quakers squad — half of the team consists of sophomores and there are no seniors currently on the roster — hopes to continue its recent string of success.

“We’re a young team, but that doesn’t mean we’re at a disadvantage,” said Han. “I think that will be an advantage for us being such a young team and so good. We can only get better.”

If Han is correct, it looks like there the grass will soon be much greener.

Last fall, the volleyball team made quite a splash around the Penn community, winning the Ivy League title and reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program’s history.

One year later, the Quakers are ready to capture the attention of the entire Philadelphia region — and fans won’t have to leave their couch to see the team in action.

The Quakers’ season opener on Sept. 3 against Temple will be broadcast around the Philadelphia region by the Comcast Network.

While cameras are a familiar presence — the team’s games are frequently webcast — being on television adds a whole new level of intensity.

“I think it heightens the excitement of our first home game for everyone involved,” said head coach Kerry Carr.

The contest is billed as a major showcase game for the Big 5 Tournament, which, in its second year, is already drawing attention to the area’s volleyball talent.

“Four of the five [member] schools have top Division I volleyball teams … they’re not just basketball schools,” Carr said.

After beating Temple, 3-2, last season en route to a perfect 3-0 record at the tournament, the Red and Blue should have the upper hand if their attack performs up to its ability. According to Carr, the team boosts “some great hitters that will absolutely put the ball on the floor.”

But having lost six seniors to graduation, this season’s Quakers are a very different team from last year.

The team returns All-Ivy selections Megan Tryon, Madison Wojciechowski and Lauren Martin, and Carr will be adding several new faces to the mix.

Freshmen recruits Dani Shepherd, Kristin Schoonover, Kristen Etterbeek, Brie Trotter, Taylor Permenter and Susan Stuecheli all may see playing time early on in the season.

The team is still trying to find its stride, and the players have dedicated extra time in the gym to be in peak physical condition as their slate gets under way.

“I think the girls are just most excited that it’s our first game, and that it’s against Temple, and that it’s on our home court, and that we’ve been training so hard for it during preseason,” Carr said.

Each incoming class at Penn is said to be better and brighter than its predecessors — this is once again true for the class of 2014.

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda confirmed the freshman class is “by objective measures, the best class we’ve ever seen.” The acceptance rate for this class was an all-time low of 14.3 percent.

The average SAT score for the class of 2014 is 2152 — up slightly from 2147 last year — according to Furda.

“As good as every other class was, this incoming class is even better,” Penn President Amy Gutmann explained.

Furda highlighted the students’ multiculturalism and diversity.

According to Gutmann, approximately 40 percent of the incoming class is of minority background, and 11 percent of the class is international.

The class includes residents of all 50 states, unlike the class of 2013, which did not have anyone from Alaska. The most represented state is Pennsylvania, with 375 students in the class of 2014. Just over 300 come from New York, 255 from New Jersey, 214 from California and 115 from Massachusetts.

The class breakdown by school is consistent with previous years. Of the 2,420 freshman, 1,460 are in the College, 390 in Wharton, 360 in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, 90 in Nursing and 120 in coordinated programs, Furda said.

Just over half — 51 percent — of the class is female.

Approximately 200 will be varsity athletes at Penn — a figure in line with previous classes.

According to Furda, 316 of the freshman are descendants of Penn alumni.

But Furda explained no one of these figures can capture the essence of the class of 2014. The Admissions Office aims to combine accomplishment and promise, not to choose the most selective or the most diverse class.

“The beauty of this is going to be the chemistry when they’re all together,” he said.

“Don’t Let Me Go,” could easily have been written as a plea from Penn to former student Josh Bennett, who graduated from the University this spring.

At Penn, Bennett performed with the spoken-word poetry project, Excelano, and had a substantial fan following. But this summer, he transformed verse to lyric and performance to production, writing and recording 14 hip-hop tracks in three months.

Bennett’s single, “Don’t Let Me Go,” was released online August 26 and quickly gained popularity. The track features fellow poet and musician AmJay Jimenez, who met Bennett two years ago at New York City’s Urban Word summer program.

“We both found our voices there,” Bennett explained. AmJay contributed vocals, keyboard, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass, single-handedly creating the instrumental foundation of the song.

“Don’t Let Me Go” will constitute the first track of the larger album, the Cain Marko Mixtape. After many Gchat deliberations, AmJay and Bennett decided on the name when they realized Marvel Comic’s Juggernaut was named Cain Marko. The literary connotations of the word were deciding factors for the two poets. A “juggernaut” technically is a force regarded as unstoppable.

“Once the Juggernaut starts moving it can’t be stopped, just like I hope my music will be!” Bennett said. And placing first on Twitter charts is certainly a start.

But how does a poet find his way to hip hop? For Bennett, the progression was natural.

“I was always a freestyling machine at Penn,” Bennett said, crediting his musical inspiration to B.o.B, Electronica, Drake, and Kirk Franklin. He also cites Mos Def and Lupe Fiasco, saying, “those two made me unafraid to be lyrical.”

However, the poetry-to-rap transformation was not entirely smooth. As Bennett pointed out, “In hip hop, what is considered your weakness is your strength in poetry: vulnerability.”

But when 2008 Penn graduate Nana Kwabena offered studio time, and 2010 classmate RJ Ferguson signed on as producer, Bennett rose to the challenge.

This fall, Bennett will matriculate at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom on a Marshall Scholarship, where he plans to earn a Masters degree in Theater Study. He will then pursue a PhD in English at Princeton University.

With the Cain Marko Mixtape scheduled to drop mid-September, Bennett aims to reach more people: “I want to tell a beautiful story that people who may have never seen themselves in music before can see themselves in.”

The Panhellenic Council is one step closer to adding an eighth sorority to campus next spring.

Out of 18 National Panhellenic Conference sororities not already at Penn, 12 submitted packets to the Panhel extension committee and are currently under review, according to Stacy Kraus, Panhel advisor and associate director of programming at the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. The committee will evaluate the packets and choose which sororities will be invited to make presentations on campus.

The number of 18 sororities not already on campus does not include Phi Sigma Sigma, which closed its Penn chapter at the end of last academic year.

Kraus was unable to provide the list of sororities that submitted packets, but explained that each member of the extension committee — made up of presidents and representatives from each Penn sorority — looks through all of the packets. Each committee member is also assigned one or two prospective sororities on which she must become an “expert,” Kraus said.

At the committee’s meeting, each member will lead the discussion on her assigned applicant.

“There is of course a lot of interest from groups to come to Penn,” Kraus wrote, adding that the level of enthusiasm is from Penn’s reputation of having an “outstanding” Greek community.

“Twelve groups submitting packets is great and offers the fraternal community a chance to make the best possible choice,” she wrote.

According to Kraus, the deadline for prospective groups to submit packets was Aug. 20. Presentations for selected groups will be held between Oct. 4-15 and will be open to both sorority-affiliated and -unaffiliated members of the community. Kraus said between three and five groups will be invited to campus to present.

The question of adding another sorority to campus was originally brought to Panhel’s attention in April 2009 following an increase in recruitment. Last September, however, the majority of sorority presidents voted against an extension.

The idea of extension was revived after sororities experienced a record eight-percent increase in rush registration this spring. Sororities saw an average increase of five women per new pledge class last semester.

The extension committee was formed in March with the aim of researching and evaluating relevant statistics regarding recruitment, and voted to add the new sorority in April. In May, the committee voted to add the new sorority to campus in 2011 rather than in 2012. The decision followed the announcement that Phi Sigma Sigma would close.

In May, Kraus told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the new sorority will recruit women from all four classes. She said she anticipates that the sorority will seek an “even mix of freshmen, sophomores and juniors.”

About 28 percent of undergraduates at Penn are involved in Greek life. As of this year, OFSA advises 50 student groups, encompassing the Interfraternity Council, the Multicultural Greek Council and Panhel.

With an expanding array of outlets for purchasing textbooks, students will encounter more reasonably priced options when buying course materials this semester.

Additionally, a law enacted over the summer aims to make textbooks even more affordable for students. Effective July 1, the Higher Education Opportunity Act included a mandate that all “bundled” course items be sold individually, that college and university professors publicize a list of requisite textbooks for their courses before classes begin and that book publishers disclose pricing information when offering textbooks to professors.

These stipulations — in addition to a clause encouraging colleges to disseminate information on all of the options for buying textbooks — bring national backing to campus-wide efforts to reduce costs.

Online Options

The Undergraduate Assembly and the Interfraternity Council have partnered to launch the Penn Book Bazaar, an initiative to make textbooks more affordable for students.

By visiting the Undergraduate Assembly’s website, Penn students can list textbooks they want to buy and sell in a Craigslist-style marketplace, according to College junior and UA Secretary Cynthia Ip. Once students connect with one another on the website, they settle on a price and make the exchange in person.

“We’re eliminating the middleman costs of bookstores,” said Ip, who used her web development background to create the program. “People who are selling can sell for a higher price, and people who are buying can buy at a lower price.”

Ip added that she expects the Book Bazaar to put downward pressure on other outlets’ prices. “I think most Wharton students would agree that competition is good in the market,” she said.

Though it does not buy or sell textbooks on its own, BigWords.com is also finding ways to help students save money.

According to BigWords.com CEO Jeff Sherwood, the website — which now has an iPhone and iPad application — allows students to compare prices from all online textbook venues at one time.

In determining the best-priced options for students, Sherwood added, BigWords.com evaluates book rentals, e-books and international editions. It also takes price, seller’s reputation and available discounts into consideration — and allows students to actually purchase those books from within the app.

Temporary Transactions

There are also several options for students who prefer to discard their textbooks at the semester’s end.

This semester the Penn Bookstore is debuting a textbook rental service.

The program allows clients to rent books for only one semester at 45 to 50 percent of the cost of purchasing a new textbook.

“It’s the same book, the same usage, a fraction of the cost,” Vice President for Business Services Chris Bradie said.

Students can also convert their rentals into purchases within the first few weeks of the semester, according to Business Services Spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger.

At the same time, both the Penn Bookstore and the Penn Book Center continue to offer buy-back options in which they purchase textbooks from students after they’ve been used.

Digital Deals

Despite developments in the e-book market, such as this year’s release of the iPad, textbook vendors are divided about the digital book’s potential to eclipse tangible course materials.

Bradie acknowledged that e-textbooks have been experiencing increasing interest from the media and that the Bookstore’s e-book offerings have grown tremendously in the past year.

The number of e-books available to students depends on how many textbooks are sold by publishers in digital form, Bradie said.

Nevertheless, this year the Penn Bookstore offers ten times as many e-books as it did last year — and that number increases every week, he added.

The Penn Bookstore is also now offering NookStudy, a free downloadable e-reader which allows students to access e-books on their computers, as opposed to on a Nook or Kindle.

On the other hand, vendors such as the Penn Book Center choose not to offer any digital options because of their clientele’s preferences.

“Our book market is different,” Penn Book Center owner Michael Rowe said. “We don’t have a lot of classic, $200 textbooks anyways.”

Moreover, he added, many of the Penn Book Center’s offerings are not as widely available as mainstream textbooks, so they are not published in digital format.

Ip, who discussed e-books on the Student Technology Advisory Board last year, said she thinks some students still prefer tangible books to digital copies. Despite today’s increasingly digitized industry, she said, “there’s still a need in the market for a physical textbook.”

The criminal trial for two Christian evangelists ­— who plan to file a federal suit against the University after being arrested outside the Masjid al Jamia mosque at 4228 Walnut St. ­— was delayed to a Nov. 12 Philadelphia Municipal court date.

Michael Marcavage and Kenneth Fleck were arrested on July 3 for disorderly conduct and obstruction of a highway. However, according to Marcavage, he and Fleck were peacefully preaching outside the mosque. The arrest by Penn Police was “in violation of our free speech rights as missionaries to come share the word of god,” Marcavage said.

Marcavage and Fleck now plan to file a lawsuit to “prevent the [University’s] police department to be able to do what they’ve been doing and stopping us in engaging in free speech activities on the public sidewalk,” said Marcavage, adding that they plan to “resolve the criminal trial before continuing” with a lawsuit.

According to University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman, Penn has not received any notification regarding any impending lawsuit from Marcavage and Fleck. “No one at Penn or Penn’s counsel has heard anything,” she said.

Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Stef Cella had previously declined to comment on the active case.

On Aug. 10, the originally scheduled trial date, Marcavage said he was “set for trial,” but prosecuting assistant district attorney Steven Dickinson requested a “minimum of two hours to put on the case,” resulting in a rescheduling.

Dickinson, who was unable to discuss the merits of his case, confirmed that a disagreement over the length of the trial was the cause of the delay but said he requested a maximum of two hours as opposed to a defense counsel’s request of four. Marcavage’s “defense counsel estimated 15 witnesses” in the summary offense trial, Dickinson said, adding that “four hours is too long.”

Dickinson also said the Nov. 12 trial was chosen because “it was the only open date — the courts are handling a lot of cases.”

Despite the recent move of the New Jersey Nets to Newark, basketball will indeed be returning to the Meadowlands this winter — at least for one day.

On Dec. 4, the Penn men’s basketball team will take on Army at noon in the first game of a doubleheader, with Duke and Butler squaring off in the nightcap — a rematch of last year’s national championship.

The Red and Blue faithful who plan to travel to East Rutherford, N.J., will have to fork over $78.50 — the entrance fee is good for both games — but for hoops nuts, the two matchups should prove well worth the money.

The Duke-Butler rematch is one of this season’s most anticipated games and will be televised live on ESPN. Last April, the Blue Devils captured the NCAA title with a thrilling 61-59 victory over a Butler team that came within inches of pulling off a Cinderella story for the ages.

Nonetheless, the rematch should be hotly contested, even if the some of the game’s key players may no longer be there — most notably, Bulldogs star Gordon Hayward, who was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the ninth pick in the NBA draft.

And yet, before Duke and Butler add another chapter to their budding rivalry, Penn and Army will rekindle a rivalry of their own, one that dates back more than a century, when the teams first met in 1907.

The Quakers are 20-12 all-time during that span and won the most recent installment, 71-56, on December 3, 1999.

Despite the fact that the two teams have not met this millennium, Patriot League contender Army has been a familiar foe for several Ivy squads. The Black Knights went 5-0 against Ivy competition last season.

“The style of play displayed in the Patriot League compares to the Ivy League play very well,” senior forward Jack Eggleston said. “[It’s] a similar type of basketball [and has] a similar talent level, so I think playing Army is going to prepare us well for the Ivy League schedule.”

Though it is too early to predict how Army’s freshmen will contribute to the team’s output, a look at this year’s roster shows that three of the team’s top four scorers from last season have since graduated.

For a team like Army, though, it seems that reputation precedes personnel.

“It’s going to be a hard-fought game,” Eggleston said. “The two service academies [Army and Navy] have a reputation for being very physical.”

Taking place in northern Jersey, the game will also be a homecoming of sorts for junior guard Zack Rosen, a Colonia, N.J., native.

Last year’s leading scorer in the Ivy League, Rosen is looking forward to see some friends and family in the stands, but he remained all-business in his assessment of the upcoming game, noting it will be just “one out of 14” nonconference games to be played this season.

Even so, the game has obvious ramifications for the program as a whole. After Penn stumbled to a 6-22 record last season, the Quakers have an opportunity to put themselves back on the map and maybe even surprise some casual basketball fans who take advantage of the Penn-Army appetizer before the main course of Duke and Butler.

“We’re going to play a really exciting style,” Rosen said, referring to head coach Jerome Allen’s system. “We’re going to get out there and we’re going to get after it and compete.”

If Penn freshman and former Michigan all-state sprinter Aaron Bailey had to choose one sport to play at Penn, it would be — without hesitation — football.

But luckily for Bailey and the Quakers, he doesn’t have to choose.

When the football season ends, Bailey, who is slotted to play wide receiver for the Red and Blue this fall, will follow two-sport sophomores Patrick Foley, Allante Keels and Anthony Stroffolino onto the track.

“It’s just going to be more work for me,” Bailey said. “It’s year-round practice, practice, practice.”

Athletes that choose to participate in two sports are forced to be proactive with their training regimen in order to balance two varsity sports and a full academic slate.

In spite of the challenges associated with the time commitment, players like Bailey believe that training for track in the offseason will pay off when football season rolls around.

“The lifting is more explosive in track season,” Keels said. “It gets your body ready for football.”

Not only do the two sports compliment each other in training, but they are also a practical pair for the athletes’ schedules, though not exactly a perfect fit. While there is no true overlap between the two sports, the track schedule interferes with spring football workouts.

“Track is the only one that actually matches [with football],” football coach Al Bagnoli said. “In the past we’ve had an occasional wrestler, but their season now begins so early, so it’s hard. We’ve had an occasional baseball player, but again, they play so much in the fall now, that that’s becoming harder to do.”

In spite of the challenges associated with dedicating himself to two teams, Bailey can rely on the support and companionship of his peers.

Yet he also has full support from his coaches.

“He’s a tremendously fast and explosive kid,” Bagnoli said. “I don’t mind those kids running track because it’s such a component of everything. … I think it’s been a good double.”

Bagnoli — along with Foley and Keels — emphasized that while it may be difficult, he’s okay with his players double-dipping.

“Provided [they] do okay in school, that’s my biggest concern,” Bagnoli said. “[Bailey] really doesn’t have a semester off. He’s always in-season.”

“It’s a huge time commitment,” Foley added. “You’re in season the whole year, and you have to be ready and prepared.”

But Bailey is not worried about the commitment. He knows that he will never get a break from workouts and that his time management skills must be refined and perfected.

Two-sport athletes challenge themselves because their love and dedication to their sports outweigh the sacrifices and time commitments.

For Foley, the greatest benefits include the camaraderie of two athletic teams and staying in shape throughout the entire year.

Bailey enjoyed major success in both sports in high school — he was named to the all-state team in both — and couldn’t give up either in college.

And for a dual athlete, Bailey is modest. He doesn’t flaunt his success on the football field or the track.

“He’s the Michigan sprint champion,” Bagnoli said. “It’s not like he’s a kid who’s gonna do it for the hell of it.”

And Bailey won’t be the only decorated athlete that combines a track with a high-profile sport at Penn.

Freshman Maalik Reynolds, who was recently named to the USA Today All-America team after his performance in the high jump at the International Association of Athletics Federations’ World Junior Track and Field Championships, told The Daily Pennsylvanian that he hopes to walk-on to the basketball team in the fall.

Last season, Penn football coach Al Bagnoli ended a five-year championship drought — the longest of his Penn career — with a rotating cast of often-injured quarterbacks.

This year, he enters the season with clear plans as to who will be under center for the Quakers.

Well, sort of.

Senior QB and captain Keiffer Garton returned from the offseason healthy and ready to lead the team after an injury-ridden junior year. However, he may not be the team’s passer in the season opener Sept. 18 against Lafayette.

“He’s been cleared to do everything,” said Bagnoli, “but it’s more me really trying to be selective of how much we use him early — how quickly we adjust him to game.”

Elbow and knee injuries sidelined Garton throughout the 2009 season, causing him to miss five games during Penn’s run to the Ivy title.

“Last year was rough,” Garton said. “It was great for the team, but I had some personal difficulties with injuries, and I’m excited and ready to go.”

Bagnoli used then-freshman Billy Ragone and senior Kyle Olson in Garton’s place.

Garton went down again during spring practice after tearing his ACL.

Despite the setbacks, Garton’s rehab went smoothly, and he was cleared to play ahead of schedule.

“I’m feeling really good — haven’t had any problems practicing out there,” he said Monday, a week into training camp.

But that isn’t keeping Bagnoli from being careful when it comes to putting his vetted leader in the huddle.

“We’ve gotta be really cautious with him,” said Bagnoli, who is steering the program towards an elite 800th win.

Bagnoli described fighting “mini-wars” with Garton regarding how much the senior can practice. For now, Garton has been limited to just one of the two daily practices.

“We’re going to gradually get him in, and my hope is by week two or three or four, he’s feeling really good about himself, he’s comfortable, he’s healthy. And I think that’s a win-win for us at that point.”

Until then, Bagnoli feels comfortable with the depth he has at the position. First on the list of the potential replacements is sophomore Billy Ragone.

While Ragone broke his collarbone in last year’s game against Dartmouth and missed the rest of the season, he racked up 62 yards rushing and a touchdown in the game — as well as Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors.

With game experience behind him, the sophomore is ready to take charge should his name be called.

“I think I’m confident right now,” he said. “I’m comfortable with the offense and ready to go game one, get a ‘W’.”

Also in the mix are sophomore Andrew Holland and freshman Ryan Becker — though neither has seen collegiate action to date.

But Bagnoli won’t reveal his plans for the season opener just yet.

“We’re still trying to decide. All those young kids have gotten a lot of reps.”

And for the long haul, Bagnoli says it is Garton’s leadership and experience that he wants on the turf this season as the Quakers look to upset preseason favorite Harvard for the title.

“Kids have a lot of confidence in him, and he carries himself very well. Kids rally around him,” Bagnoli said.

“It’s that understanding of getting us in and out of good plays, that presence in the huddle, that confidence factor, that leadership quality that I think is harder to replace.”

In Birmingham, Alabama, football and baseball reign supreme.

Young boys begin playing on organized teams not long after they start walking, cultivating their talents for a future of high school competition under Friday night lights.

So it is no surprise that men’s soccer recruit Alex Reddy launched his athletic career on the baseball diamond.

“When I was 3 or 4, my parents signed me up for tee ball,” the freshman recalled. “But it was really poorly run. The coaches were just awful, so it pushed me to soccer, and then it took off from there.”

As the only player listed on the Penn roster from the Deep South, Reddy’s high school experience differed somewhat from his teammates, with soccer games in his hometown often overshadowed by other events.

While his entire school regularly turned out for football games, no more than 50 people — mostly friends and family — would come to see the soccer team.

Fortunately for athletes who are passionate about soccer but live in areas where the sport is not as popular, new developments at the national level have helped talented players like Reddy climb to the collegiate ranks.

The U.S. Soccer Federation Development Academy, which has flourished since its creation in 2006, brings the top 80 club teams together for national showcases, making it much easier for coaches to scout top talent across the country.

This is how men’s soccer coach Rudy Fuller found Reddy and many of the other six incoming recruits — all of whom hail from different states, including Oregon, California and Florida.

“Club soccer has grown tremendously in the past 20 years, and you do have soccer being played nationally in every state and in every nook and cranny,” Fuller said. “The challenge for us is getting to all those spots to try and see them.”

“The Development Academy has essentially taken the cream of the crop and then made it much more organized and structured, so it makes it a bit easier for us to see teams from Alabama or Florida or California. In the past, it was even more dispersed.”

With a roster full of players from around the country, Fuller often has to deal with playing styles that differ based on geographic locale.

“You have areas of the country like Florida or California where you can play year round,” he said. “It can also be hotter, so there is not as much running and there is more ball movement and passing, whereas in the cooler climates, it is more industrious and more of a physical style.”

Though Fuller says that the diversity of playing styles on the field can have a negative impact on the macro level — the absence of a national playing style has been an obstacle for the men’s national team as well — Reddy and Fuller both agree that at Penn diversity on the field is not necessarily a bad thing.

“Playing with people from different places is a great learning experience as a soccer player because they definitely have different styles … and I think that I’ve improved a lot because of it.” Reddy said.

“There’s a lot more skilled players that I’m playing with — light passes, knock it around, combination play — whereas before people would be just good athletes down in the South, hit the ball over the top and just run on to it.”

For players like Reddy, who were standouts competing against a limited talent pool, the transition from the high school level to fast-paced Division I soccer is often difficult.

Reddy enters the program with a list of credentials, including a state championship and recognition as a finalist for the Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year award. Yet at Penn, he will most likely have a diminished role on a team that returns the majority of its starters from last season.

When asked what role he expects to play this season, Reddy replied, “Probably coming off the bench, hopefully being an impact player there, offensively just trying to get us started and be a spark.”

With seven other Penn recruits facing similar challenges, senior captain Tobi Olopade noted that upperclassmen leadership on the team is essential to helping the new players get acclimated, no matter where they call home.

“It starts in the locker room. As soon as you feel comfortable in the locker room you’ll feel comfortable on the field,” Olopade said.

Although the players bring different skill sets to the table, they all share a passion for the game. Reddy, Fuller and Olopade all agree that this bond will help return the Ivy title to the team that earned it in 2008.

“We are all here to play soccer and we all love to play soccer, so I think that really translates onto the field as freshman,” Olopade said. “As soon as you feel comfortable in that environment you can play to your full potential.”

This year, 13 Penn students — including recently graduated seniors, alumni and graduate students — were admitted into the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Run by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education, the Fulbright scholarship program is one of the most selective post-graduate programs in the country.

The program offers fellowships for U.S. students to study or conduct research abroad for one academic year and includes round-trip transportation to the host country of the student’s choice, living costs for the academic year and limited health care benefits.

Though the application process is said to be grueling, the University “does pretty well with encouraging kids to apply for Fulbrights and making their applications good enough to be accepted,” Director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Harriet Joseph said.

Ruth Erickson, a fourth-year art history doctoral student and one of the scholarship winners this year, agreed with Joseph and insisted that her advisor was the only reason she even applied for the program.

“Penn’s support is the only reason I got the award,” Erickson said.

The students who received Fulbright awards are those students who have been doing research since they were undergraduates, Joseph said. Though the Penn provides the opportunities, the success of an application is ultimately up to the student.

2010 College and Wharton alumnus Julia Luscombe began her undergraduate research on community currency through University Scholars, Penn’s undergraduate research mentorship program. After first conducting her research locally and making a documentary film on the subject, she will be going to Ecuador to deepen her understanding.

The Fulbright program “will give me many more insights into the challenges and potential for these currencies,” Luscombe said.

Kara Gaston, a 2006 Princeton alumnus and graduate student at Penn’s Department of English, also said the opportunity to travel will help her with her research — a study of how 14th century English writers were influenced by Italian Renaissance poets such as Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio.

“It was really important for me to go to Italy to get access to Italian scholarship,” Gaston said. “This kind of project requires learning the Italian language” — a task she has already undertaken in addition to her research.

Erickson, who is traveling to Paris to work on her Ph.D dissertation, is just as driven. Her project involves looking at French art collectives of the 1970s and their role in the political activism of the time.

“This topic pulls together a lot of aspects of my life,” she said, “both intellectual and emotional.”

The Fulbright fellowships are not only opportunities for academic growth but for personal growth as well.

As Joseph put it, “it’s an all-around wonderful post-graduate experience.”

While students were away enjoying their summers, Penn’s campus saw several changes and renovations.

Renovations on the Weiss Pavilion, the Penn Law School, the Nursing School’s Fagin Hall, the Quad facade, Sansom West and the high rises are only a few of the summer projects, according to Facilities and Real Estate Services.

Penn Law began its renovation project with the transformation of Pepper Hall.

The original one-story tall building will be succeeded by Golkin Hall — a multi-story, multi-use facility equipped with a new 350-seat auditorium, a state-of-the-art court room, new offices, breakout spaces and even a rooftop garden.

The project is the first but not final expansion for Penn Law, following a series of interior renovations to the rest of the law school campus.

“This major expansion in our academic facilities will ensure our continued role as a leader and innovator in legal education,” Penn Law Dean Michael Fitts said in a statement.

Fagin Hall also underwent construction this summer, including renovations to its second floor to include new classrooms, break out spaces and offices.

Mike Dausch, executive director of design and construction, confirmed that this is one phase of a series of renovations that will last several years. Many offices and laboratories in other parts of the building have already been renovated.

Penn also concluded construction on the Weiss Pavilion this summer, and its facilities are now open to public use.

Previously parking spaces occupied the space under the bleachers of Franklin Field, but now the Pavilion boasts three stories of fitness facilities. The underground level is reserved for varsity athletes, but the upper levels are accessible to anyone with a new gym membership or an existent Pottruck membership.

In addition, the shelf space of the Pavilion features study lounges and retail stores.

The residential buildings on Penn’s campus have also undergone significant renovations.

Residents of Sansom West will be pleased to know that all rooms have been updated with new flooring and wall finishes — upgrading from dark brown carpeting to a fresh light-grey vinyl tiling. New lighting and furniture have also been installed.

Both Sansom East and Wests’ elevators underwent renovation this summer as well.

The completed renovation on Harrison’s fourth elevator also marked the completion of the multi-year highrise renovations.

Not to be left behind, the historical Quad buildings underwent masonry restoration that includde cleaning, repairs and repointing of brick and ornamental stone.

With the release of U.S. News and World Report’s university rankings, Columbia University eclipsed Penn for the first time in recent memory.

The report, which came out in mid-August, ranked Columbia fourth — four spots ahead of its ranking last year. Penn dropped from fourth to fifth this year and tied with Stanford University for the second year in a row.

Steven Goodman, educational consultant at Top Colleges, said there are two reasons why Columbia appears to have “jumped out of the blue.”

In addition to long-established criteria, this year’s ranking relied on two new components: graduation rates and the opinions of high school college counselors. Both favored Columbia, according to Goodman.

The ranking committee looked at the difference between expected and actual size of graduating class. Since Penn has been a “much stronger” school in the last 20 years, it has a smaller graduation differential than Columbia, Goodman explained.

“It’s almost like an Olympic athlete,” he said. When someone who wins three gold medals was expected to win four, their exceptional accomplishment is almost disappointing. By contrast, when someone who isn’t slated to do well wins two gold medals, the achievement seems admirable, he said.

One of the other main reasons for Columbia’s success has to do with its location in New York City. For the first time, college counselors’ opinions were included in the assessment ranking, and these counselors expressed their students’ increasing interest in the city over the last decade.

“Urban institutions have recently enjoyed a great renaissance,” Dean of Admissions Eric Furda said. Columbia began experiencing a real shift in the early 1990s as the school began promoting New York as a resource. Furda, who is beginning his third year at Penn, worked in admissions at Columbia from 1991 through 2008.

Director of IvySelect College Consulting Michael Goran believes rankings aren’t actually that important to most students.

“The general prestige of a top-20 school factors into some students’ analysis, but beyond that point, they’re not scrutinizing these numbers,” he said.

Furda agreed but added that international students in particular strongly consider rankings in their college decisions.

“Disproportionally, the report carries greater weight further away,” Furda said. Parents of international students sometimes only pay for an expensive American education if their child is accepted into one of the top five schools, for example.

At the end of the day, however, Furda, Goodman and Goran all encourage students to look past the numbers.

“The rankings generally influence students to a degree, but thankfully once we get past the numbers we really do look at what schools are about, what schools are a better fit based on an array of factors,” Goran said. “It really is silly to base a school on what number it is.”

Although this past summer saw an overall reduction in crime, the Division of Public Safety launched its new Bike Theft and Safety Campaign in response to a slight increase in bicycle theft.

The campaign consists of safety fairs at each college house, as well as other campus locations including the Penn Bookstore, in an effort to reduce the growing prevalence of bike theft.

“It is not an epidemic, but still a cause for concern,” Penn Police Chief Mark Dorsey said.

There were two more bicycle thefts this summer than last summer, according to Dorsey.

“Bikes are an important means of transportation to our students and we feel its important to remind them that they are in an urban environment, that they need to [...] properly lock them,” DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella wrote in an e-mail.

According to Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush, freshmen and sophomores are particularly at risk for bike theft. She pointed out that some freshmen may be new to an urban environment, while some sophomores may be unaccustomed to less security off campus.

“The first month is a pivotal time, as some [students] are new and many are excited to come back to see friends and start again. It’s our job to keep them focused on safety, especially in a different environment,” she said.

Rush cautioned against leaving bikes on porches of off-campus residences or fastening them to wooden fences, which can be less secure than using bike racks.

“Most of the bikes on porches off campus are stolen cleanly by sawing through wooden railings,” Rush added.

Rush advised students lock their bikes with U-locks, rather than cable or chain locks, which she called “equally ineffective.”

DPS spokeswoman Stef Cella emphasized that bike theft could lead to an added risk of burglary.

“You don’t want to draw anyone to your bike on your porch, because one thing can lead to another and can turn into an opportunity to burglarize a house,” she said.

Despite the increase in theft, DPS has used new technology, such as motion sensor cameras and face detection software, to make several arrests, one of which included a 15-year-old repeat offender outside Huntsman Hall.

Other initiatives include partnerships with the University City District and its network of private landlords to encourage students in off-campus housing to store bicycles indoors.

“Safety and security, however, is a shared responsibility,” Penn Police Captain Joseph Fischer said.

He added that the new campaign not only focuses on theft prevention, but also aims to enforce bike safety laws as a supplement to DPS’s Share the Road program, initiated this past summer.

DPS will continue to issue tickets to motor vehicles parked in bicycle lanes and deliver citations to cyclists who violate traffic laws, in an attempt to reduce cyclist and pedestrian complaints alike.

Taking advantage of the flood of new, wide-eyed freshmen arriving on campus, political groups at Penn are pushing for a higher voter registration rate in preparation for the midterm elections this November.

Penn Leads the Vote, a non-partisan, student-run voter mobilization group, will conduct a voter registration drive at the Student Services Expo in Houston Hall from Wednesday to Friday. The Penn Democrats will also conduct an all-day voter registration drive across campus on Thursday.

“The 2010 elections are incredibly important,” Penn Dems President and College junior Emma Ellman-Golan said. She added that move-in day is just an easy way to target freshmen that might not come from battleground states like Pennsylvania.

College Republicans President and Engineering junior Peter Terpeluk said the group is meeting with Penn Dems and PLTV next week and will conduct voter registration drives until the election.

Prior to the death of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) comprised the 60th Democratic vote in the Senate — a filibuster-proof majority — making the Pennsylvania Senate seat particularly important for Democrats to retain, Ellman-Golan explained.

The Cook Political Report, which analyzes polling data, currently lists the seat as a “toss up,” meaning that the race between the two candidates — Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey — will likely come down to the wire.

“Registering freshmen is a very important element,” explained PLTV President and College senior Jared Fries. However, freshmen are not the only individuals that political groups need to target, he added.

In some instances, students that have moved to different college houses or off-campus residences will need to report to new polling locations.

As part of the effort to resolve this problem, students living on campus outside of Sansom Place East and Sansom Place West will receive a voter registration form in the mail on Sept. 4, according to Fries.

PLTV is hoping to build on its previous efforts to maximize turnout — efforts highlighted by an estimated 89.6 percent turnout among on-campus voters in 2008.

“It’s important for students to have a non-partisan option,” Fries said. “They know that increasing the voter registration rate is our only goal, so they know they can trust us.”

Both Penn Dems, the College Republicans and PLTV will conduct additional registration drives until the Oct. 4 registration deadline.

Abdi Farah is America’s next great artist.

The 2009 College graduate and former Daily Pennsylvanian opinion artist earned the title after winning the final challenge on Bravo’s new show, Work of Art: The Next Great Artist.

Like many young artists, Farah, 23, admits he has always had “crazy delusions of grandeur.”

“The crazy part is that it actually happened to me, which is so awesome,” he said.

Work of Art brought 14 aspiring artists together to compete for a solo art exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and $100,000 cash prize. Contestants were challenged to create unique paintings, sculptures and photographs every week.

While Farah described the experience of being on a reality TV as an “artist’s life on steroids,” it was also his most productive artistic experience to date, with highlights such as having his work critiqued by renowned New York Magazine art critic Jerry Saltz.

While studying fine arts at Penn, Farah found it difficult to balance his artistic aspirations with the demands of a liberal arts degree. “I’m so glad that I’m out of school, because it was difficult to grow and develop as an artist when you have four other classes,” he said.

Yet, Farah’s work on the show was clearly an extension of the art that he created at Penn. His college final portfolio showcased his love of people and color by exploring the human body.

“We see people all day and we don’t really think it’s beautiful, but something changes when it appears on a canvas,” he said. “Artists take things, normal things around the world that we’ve forgotten are beautiful and interesting and we release it and interpret it.”

Joan Curran, a Fine Arts professor who taught Farah’s painting course, said he has always been interested in drawing the human figure. She also noticed consistent “conceptual goals” in Farah’s paintings and sculptures.

She identifies similarities between his final work on the show and his senior thesis piece, “Intruder Alert” — a “huge monumental painting” and “amazing tour de force” of himself and Obama dressed in spacesuits.

According to Curran, the main difference between Farah’s assignments on reality TV and his work at Penn is timing, as contestants were asked to create pieces more quickly.

While the term “pre-professional” rarely conjures up the image of an art major at Penn (even Farah knows this, — his three roommates were in Wharton and he endured a healthy dose of “antagonism about art”), the rigorous Fine Arts curriculum at Penn aims to instill a sense of what it takes to be a professional artist.

“In many ways it’s just as competitive as business,” said Curran. “The art world is extremely competitive. It takes great focus to succeed.”

Abdi Farah’s exhibition “Luminous Bodies” is on display at the Brooklyn Museum of Art until October 17, 2010.