Herbert Levine, Economics professor at Penn from 1960 to 2006, died in June, succumbing to complications from leg surgery after battling prostate cancer for the past 15 years. He was 78. Receiving his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University, Levine specialized in Soviet economics.

A string of robberies and assaults committed by juveniles occurred on and near campus at the beginning of July. Police credit an increased presence with ending the crime wave quickly. Juveniles allegedly committed two robberies, three assaults, an indecent assault and a theft in the Penn patrol zone between July 3 and July 10.

Friends and neighbors of Ellen Robb have installed a garden gazebo in her honor outside of Roberts Elementary School in Wayne, Pa. Robb, who was found bludgeoned to death in her Wayne home last December, was an active volunteer at the school, and had a daughter who attended the school as well.

The Wharton School has awarded the Dean's Medal to Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica. The Dean's Medal is the highest award given by Wharton. It was created in 1983 to recognize leaders in business, public service and academia who have successfully used their management talents to make a positive impact on people's lives.

When classes start next week, there will be two notable professors missing from campus. Elijah Anderson, a Sociology professor for over 32 years and a noted specialist on urban inequality, will join the sociology department at Yale University this fall, while Religious Studies professor Michael Eric Dyson will teach at Georgetown University.

Penn Health System officials announced plans in June for a 10-story research tower, with hopes that the new facility will raise the bar for regional biomedical research. Located next to the $232 million Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine on Civic Center Boulevard, the new $370 million biomedical research facility is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2010, Penn Medicine spokesman Marc Kaplan said.

Students arriving at Penn this week may not recognize the campus, which has undergone plenty of groundbreakings and renovations over the past four months. Some noteworthy - and hard to miss - projects include: n Demolition and utility relocation is underway for a new building at 36th and Locust streets: The Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Construction is proceeding on schedule on the Radian student-apartment building, according to a spokeswoman for the building's developer, Inland American Communities Group Inc. Located on the 3900 block of Walnut Street, the high-rise building will house 500 students in 154 apartments and will also feature two stories of retail space totaling 40,000 square feet. (1 )

One daily routine for many college women recently became much more expensive. Many drug companies are no longer offering universities discounts on birth control because of government legislation.

Martin Meyerson, Penn's sixth president, died of prostate cancer June 2 at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. He was 84. Meyerson, who served as president from 1970 to 1981, saw Penn through a severe fiscal crisis and set about uniting a sometimes fractious faculty and student body.

Diplomats don't have to be politicians, but being a president helps. Penn President Amy Gutmann took a trip to Botswana this summer to visit the University of Botswana, which Penn has partnered with for the past six years. On her trip, Gutmann met with the president of the university, the president of Botswana and the U. (1 )

Is the South Street Bridge falling down? The question is on the minds of Philadelphia residents, Penn students and local officials, especially in the wake of the fatal Aug. 1 rush hour collapse of the heavily traveled Interstate Highway 35 West bridge in Minnesota.

Tom Sollecito, associate dean for academic affairs at the Penn School of Dental Medicine, will act as dean of the school until current dean Marjorie Jeffcoat recovers from an illness. Jeffcoat was admitted to the emergency department at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in July.

It's back to the top five. After dropping to the seventh slot on the U.S. News & World Report's national university rankings last year, Penn has climbed back to tie the California Institute of Technology for No. 5. (2 )

Following a large-scale, six-month search that ended in late June, Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ron Daniels announced that Thomas Robertson will become the dean of the Wharton School.

The School of Veterinary Medicine announced last week the opening of the new Rosenthal Imaging and Treatment Center at its veterinary hospital. "We are very excited about the opening of the Commonwealth's only oncology and imaging facility devoted entirely to veterinary medicine," Veterinary School Dean Joan Hendricks.

A change in dean is often accompanied by further changes in a school's faculty and administrators. What follows is a list of who is leaving Wharton along with former dean Patrick Harker, who will assume the presidency at the University of Delaware: - Former Undergraduate Dean Barbara Kahn was appointed the Dean of the University of Miami Business School.

As the start of the semester approaches, the Undergraduate Assembly is gearing up for what board members promise will be an eventful year. After getting back from a summer spent traveling through China and Capitol Hill, respectively, UA Chairman Jason Karsh and Vice Chairman Wilson Tong sat down for a chat with The Daily Pennsylvanian.

Following one of the worst betting scandals in recent memory, one economics expert is calling a foul on current sports betting regulations. Justin Wolfers, whose work is based in applied economics, similar to the type of research made popular by the best-selling book Freakonomics, made a name for himself last spring when he released a study indicating a racial bias among NBA referees.

Theft Aug. 24 - An employee of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania had money removed by an unknown suspect from an unsecured cabinet. Aug. 24 - A person unaffiliated with the University had a GPS system removed from his car at about 5:00 p.m. (2 )

A number of American universities are lashing out against a British proposal to boycott Israeli academics. The British University and College Union, which represents over 120,000 British professors, issued its proposal in protest of perceived Israeli civil rights violations.

When told about the University's newest e-mail service, College junior Max Glass looked a little puzzled. "Penn Live?" he asked. "What is that?" Glass isn't alone in his confusion. Penn Live, the Microsoft-run e-mail server that will eventually completely replace the oft-maligned Webmail server for School of Arts and Sciences and Wharton students, was released to students this summer. (1 )

The late Claudia Cohen has bequeathed a $1 million gift to The Daily Pennsylvanian in her will. Cohen, 57, died of ovarian cancer in June. The ex-wife of fellow Penn alumnus and billionaire Ron Perelman, she left behind a fortune totalling $60 million. She wrote in her will that the DP "meant so much to me and my career," according to The New York Daily News, where Cohen wrote a column entitled "I, Claudia. (1 )

The third trial of Irina Malinovskaya, a Wharton undergraduate accused of murder, is to begin with jury selection this Tuesday. (2 )

In the past two weeks, three robberies have occurred near campus, according to the Division of Public Safety. Two of the incidents involved a weapon, and two robberies involved victims affiliated with the University. A shooting also occurred just outside the Penn Patrol zone and a gunshot was reported just off campus, both in mid-August, according to Philadelphia Police. (8 )

College freshman Nate Adler made 100 friends before New Student Orientation even began. Granted, they are Facebook friends. Wanting to meet his future dorm mates in Hill College House, Adler, joined the Hill House-Class of 2011 group on Facebook.com and subsequently friended many of its members over the summer.

While the Fighting Quaker might not be the most ferocious mascot, Penn students should at least be thankful they are not represented by a Fighting Artichoke. In the wake of U.S. News and World Report's recently released rankings, many other sources are releasing their own lists of approval, including AOL's "Worst Mascots Ever," in which Scottsdale Arizona's Community College's Fighting Artichokes landed fourth.

After a bruising primary for Michael Nutter, the actual election should be a breeze. Nutter emerged from an extremely competitive five-way Democratic primary in May, taking 37 percent of the vote. But while experts now peg the former Councilman as a lock to win the general election, Nutter is still plowing full steam ahead with his campaign as the election enters its final stages.

After years of anticipation, it's finally happened. Penn announced today that it had closed on its purchase of the postal lands west of campus. It will collaborate with Brandywine Realty Trust on development of the area between Market and Walnut streets, which will feature a 40- to 50-story office tower on Walnut Street and a 25- to 30-story residential tower on Chestnut Street. (6 )

In an abrupt turn, Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson has announced that he has resigned from his post, effective immediately. He has been replaced on an interim basis by Eric Kaplan, who served as the Dean of Admissions at Lehigh University from 2003 to 2006. (24 )

Frank DeSimone, the lawyer for Rafael Robb, the Economics professor who will face trial this fall in connection with the death of Ellen, his wife, wants to bar expert testimony from court that claims murder was likely a personal attack. (1 )