In the nearly three years since he became president of Philadelphia University, Stephen Spinelli Jr. has nurtured a relationship with U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, who lives within blocks of the school.
They talked about the importance of the senator’s papers and his impact on the nation, the city, and the neighborhood, Spinelli said in an interview Wednesday.
After Specter was defeated in the May Democratic primary, the conversation intensified into talk of a library to house the collection, and Philadelphia University applied to the state for funding.
“As a normal part of that conversation, we had a discussion about where his stuff would go. We thought it should go in a special place,” Spinelli said.
And so it will.
With the state chipping in half the $4 million price, the Arlen Specter Library could open as early as fall 2011.
Gov. Rendell signed the $298 million capital budget bill – which includes money for the library plan, among dozens of other handpicked projects – at a Pittsburgh technical center that is slated to get as much as $10 million to create “green job training.”
Some editor at the Philly Inquirer sounds skeptical about the latter ….
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