In letter to U. Trustees, Rodin indicates plan to stay at Penn

As she nears the end of her first five years in office, University President Judith Rodin recently signed a "letter of understanding" with the University Trustees suggesting the broad, overall direction in which the University should head over the next five years. Though the letter is not a binding agreement, it signifies that Rodin has plans to stick around -- at least for the next five years, through 2004. The document is similar in intent to the two-page letter she signed upon taking office five years ago, which laid out her salary and benefits and outlined individual goals for Rodin as president and more general goals for the University as well. Rodin called the five-year time period "arbitrary" and said it served only as a concrete period of measurement that administrators and Trustees could use to gauge Penn's progress. The "letter of understanding," which Rodin said contains mostly "pro forma" material, is not at all intended as a binding contract. Either Rodin or the Trustees could terminate the agreement at any time. Although the agreement does not require her to stay at Penn, Rodin said it does reflect her immediate commitment to the University. "It was not written contemplating my departure," Rodin said. She insisted yesterday that she has never seriously considered any other career opportunities and has the full intention of remaining as Penn's president for at least the next five years. "I really haven't considered the next job," Rodin said. "I came very late to administrative roles. Never did I set out early in in my career to be a university president." Prior to coming to Penn, Rodin was a renowned psychology professor at Yale University and later served as the school's dean and then as provost. In recent years, though, her name has popped up repeatedly in the political realm. She was named last fall in a listing of the top 20 women leaders by a group called The White House Project, while Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell said Rodin would have been a "dynamite candidate" for mayor if she had decided to run. Rumors have been circulating for years that Rodin is a sought-after personality in the Washington, D.C., political scene. But Rodin has repeatedly said she is dedicated to being president at Penn and is not planning on pursuing local or national politics in the near future. "I am not seeking a political appointment," Rodin said. "That is absolutely for sure? There is so much to do here." University spokesperson Ken Wildes said he imagined that Rodin would want to stay at Penn while certain programs -- the West Philadelphia Initiative, for instance -- mature. "I think we need Judith Rodin here and engaged in that perspective to help [the West Philadelphia Initiative] be as successful as it needs to be," Wildes said. "I know the Trustees very much want her to stay," he added. Provost Robert Barchi said he "fully expect[ed]" Rodin to stay as president for the next five years so that she could build on the "extraordinary work" that she has already done. "During her first five years as Penn's president, Dr. Rodin has been widely recognized as one of the premier -- if not the premier -- university presidents in the country," said Barchi. Rodin's immediate future, so it seems, will not lead her far from College Hall. What's further down the road, however, not even Rodin can say for sure. "I never say never about anything," said Rodin, when asked whether she would ever accept an appointment in Washington while Penn's president.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.