Medical School

THEY HAVE the blueprint already. Within the words of the Board of Trustees and the president of the school that fired him, within the mixed and tortured emotions of students and alumni who saw in Joe Paterno the human embodiment of all that made their school special - in his own words even - this one is an easy call. "We grieve for the loss of Joe Paterno, a great man who made us a greater university," read the statement released by Penn State president Rodney Erickson Sunday night.

Ernest F. Rosato, 75, of Ardmore, a professor of surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, died of pancreatic cancer Friday, Jan. 6, at home. Dr. Rosato spent his career, spanning 50 years, at the hospital. In a tribute, Jeffrey Drebin, chairman of the department of surgery, wrote that Dr. Rosato was recognized as "the premier general surgeon at HUP for decades. " After graduating from Penn's medical school in 1962, Dr. Rosato interned and completed his surgical residency at the hospital.

A pilot program that would let private management groups build and operate a limited number of public schools in Camden, Newark, and Jersey City will be the subject of state legislative hearings Thursday. Supporters of the Urban Hope Act would like to see the bill win passage Monday during the final hours of the Legislature's lame-duck session. "We're trying to re-create the way education is delivered in our urban centers," said Sen. Donald Norcross, who, with Assemblyman Angel Fuentes, is a primary sponsor of the bill.

To totally change one's life's work - the very definition of who we are in terms of what we do - is to take a bold step. A radical career shift can seem even more daunting in midlife. As the blank slate of 2012 arrives, meet several men and women who have taken the leap into new, more-satisfying careers.   Bettina Herbert Age: 57. Used to be: Stockbroker. Worked as a securities principal in San Francisco. New career: Physician. Director of integrative pain management at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine ( www.jeffersonhospital.org/ integrativemedicine)

Congress needs another spending resolution by next week or the government will stall. Usually, that means a routine vote on borrowing more money. But this time, there is an extra complication: The 2010 2 percent federal payroll-tax cut, unemployment compensation extension, and capital-spending tax breaks all end Dec. 31, if Congress doesn't act to renew each, as veteran Philadelphia stock-watcher James F. Meyer reminded clients of Boenning & Scattergood Inc. in a note Monday.

Robert D. Harwick, 88, a former chief of surgical oncology at Temple University Hospital, died of a myocardial infarction on Friday, Oct. 14, at his home in Wyncote. Born in Utica, N.Y., he studied at Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, in an accelerated World War II program for premedical students, before entering Cornell's medical school. Though a Cornell underclassman, he was captain of the golf team and was good enough, daughter Elizabeth Green said in an interview Tuesday, that "he had to choose between a pro golf career and medicine.

SCRANTON - The Commonwealth Medical College has a new home in downtown Scranton. The college dedicated its $115 million Medical Sciences Building on Pine Street Saturday. "This building is wonderful. It represents so much . . .," interim president and dean Lois Nora said at the dedication ceremony. "It screams out proudly that TCMC is here and is pointing towards the future. " The 183,000-square-foot building is divided into two wings, one housing classroom space and the other housing laboratories.

Arthur M. Feldman, who has been chair of the department of medicine at Jefferson Medical College, is moving to Temple next month. Effective Sept. 1, Feldman will become executive dean of the Temple University School of Medicine and chief academic officer of Temple University Health System. That makes him the second-in-command on the academic side of the health system to Larry Kaiser, who took charge of the system and medical school in April. Feldman, 61, earned a doctorate in biology and physiology before going to medical school and becoming a cardiologist.

Arthur M. Feldman, who has been chair of the department of medicine at Jefferson Medical College, is moving to Temple next month. Effective Sept. 1, Feldman will become executive dean of the Temple University School of Medicine and chief academic officer of Temple University Health System. That makes him the second in command on the academic side of the health system to Larry Kaiser, who took charge of the system and medical school in April. Feldman, 61, earned a doctorate in biology and physiology before going to medical school and becoming a cardiologist.

In August 2002, Travis sat on the lawn at Fairleigh Dickinson University waiting for Spiderman to roll on the outdoor screen when - thunk! - he was beaned with a Tootsie Roll Pop, thrown by the student body president. "I thought it was annoying," said Travis, then an incoming freshman. "I thought it was quite effective," said Mark, then a junior. Travis was a little confused by the attention. Wasn't Mark straight? Nope. But he wasn't out yet, either. "Before Travis got to the university, I was actively dating girls," Mark said.