Former Penn President Judith Rodin has been named the next head of the Rockefeller Foundation -- one of the country's largest philanthropic organizations.
Rodin will assume the presidency of the $3 billion, New York-based organization in March, after the foundation's current president steps down at the end of this year.
"I am deeply honored to be given this opportunity to lead an organization committed to using knowledge-based initiatives to improve the lives of poor and excluded people throughout the world," Rodin said in a press release. "Over the years, the Rockefeller Foundation has used its resources effectively to develop groundbreaking initiatives designed to address some of the world's most pressing problems by focusing on the root cause of social ills."
At Penn, Rodin was a prolific fundraiser, who also devoted herself to urban social issues, a field in which the Rockefeller Foundation is one of the nation's leaders.
Rodin "shares the foundation's commitment to the principle that both public and private institutions are obligated to leverage their resources to improve the lives of those less fortunate, particularly the poor and excluded," said Jim Riepe, chairman of Penn's Board of Trustees, in an e-mail statement. "Judy will bring her extraordinary talents to bear on the Foundation's work in all four of its focus areas -- culture, health, nutrition and work."
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