Exec. VP John Fry runs U.'s financial world

As executive vice president, Fry reports directly to University President Judith Rodin on all the non-academic functions of the University. Provost Stanley Chodorow is his counterpart for academics. He supervises the University's $2.2 billion annual budget. He oversees vice presidents for areas like finance, business services, facilities and the Public Safety Division. Fry also has a large staff of his own in the Executive Vice President's Center. He has embarked on several major projects that keep him in the office for more than 10 hours most days. The administrative restructuring program Fry spearheads has resulted in the loss of about 200 jobs so far, while at the same time helping to bring costs down across campus. Some employees have criticized Fry harshly for the decisions involved in restructuring, but many upper-level administrators laud the way he has gone about the paring-back process. His business-oriented approach to the University's operations has yielded significant savings and boosted efficiency. At the same time, it has brought a corporate culture to many areas of the University that had gotten used to a looser atmosphere. Fry has also directed efforts to revamp the retail climate around campus, getting involved in negotiations to bring restaurants, shops and other merchants to University City. Fry was the prime mover behind the deals this spring to bring La Terrasse and Mad 4 Mex to campus; both restaurants will be open by the fall on Walnut Street between 34th and 36th streets. His "40th Street Task Force" has focused on cleaning up 40th Street between Spruce and Walnut and bringing new retailers to the shopping mall there. In the fall semester, the group supervised painting, tree-planting and lighting improvements. And most University initiatives that do not focus solely on academics end up in Fry's portfolio somehow -- including the proposed changes to the residential life system, the construction of new classroom facilities and the future of Dining Services on campus. Fry arrived at Penn after 10 years with the consulting firm Coopers and Lybrand, where he directed the branch that consulted for educational and other non-profit institutions. He led an audit of Penn's operations -- that has provided the basis for most of his actions as EVP -- just before leaving Coopers for Penn. He graduated from Lafayette University in 1982, after an active undergraduate career in student government. He received his MBA while also working full time for Peat Martwick, another consulting firm. Penn selected Fry as EVP after a 5-month national search in which he bested a pool of six other finalists.