Jonathan Margulies: Is a businessman the right fit for a college presidency?

John Fry -- Penn's deal-making executive vice president; the man who brought you a diner, a supermarket and a diner again -- has been named as a finalist for the presidency of the University of Vermont.

In related news, Provost Robert Barchi has been appointed CEO of Universal Pictures, Judith Rodin has been signed to play second base for the St. Louis Cardinals and I was recently called about the vacant emperorship of Sweden.

Don't believe me?

Why not?

You believed it last week, when news first broke of Fry's candidacy at UVM. You believed it last spring -- well, most of you believed it -- when The Daily Pennsylvanian tagged "Fry will resign to become NYU president" as the lead headline of its annual joke issue.

So why not believe it now? If the image of Fry as a college president is so plausible when considered independently, why should it differ when juxtaposed with the image of our proper provost at Julia Roberts' dinner table or of Rodin taking batting practice at Busch Stadium?

The fact is that John Fry is one of this university's most competent and accomplished administrators. In just a half dozen years, the 1986 MBA graduate of New York University's Stern Business School has significantly revitalized the quality of Penn's non-academic programs and initiatives. He is responsible for the retail cheerleading -- Pod, Freshgrocer, Sansom Common -- that has helped turn our neighborhood's economic fortunes around. He is a leading figure in a community development initiative -- the University City District -- that works to keep streets clean and local restaurants full. And from public safety to public schools, he has left his mark on virtually every major University undertaking since arriving here in 1995.

Beyond his accomplishments, though, Fry is also a remarkably suave businessman -- well-informed, to-the-point and admired by student interest groups and Wall Street investors alike. He has almost singlehandedly streamlined the way Penn does business, and with only minor opposition, managed to put the University on a course for even greater development in the years ahead.

With such impressive credentials, it was just a matter of time before he was tapped for a higher, better, more prestigious post. Like director of a multinational non-profit group. Or chairman of a Fortune 500 company.

But president of a major research university? About as believable as my donning the imperial garb in the Land of the Inexpensive Furniture Store.

College presidents, after all, don't generally come from the ranks of the B-schools and consulting firms (Fry has ties to both). They are an ancient breed of administrator, born in the classroom, bred in the laboratory and nurtured by years of study, research and writing. They learn the ways of academia by building careers around it. They rarely have much formal experience, if any, in property management or budgetary streamlining. They wear bow ties and tweed jackets to work, not pinstripes and cuff links.

Sure, that's something of a fading generalization, but even the most modern, progressive college presidents -- Rodin comes to mind -- can trace their roots to Ph.D. dissertations, TAing and a body of work not principally devoted to the institutions of academia. Fry, on the other hand, is still working on his doctorate. It's on the history of American higher education.

Obviously, that kind of background distinguishes Penn's top businessman from the other UVM candidates. It may put him at immediate odds with a faculty likely looking for a kindred spirit to lead their institution. But it may also help him gain an edge in the fundraising and administrative roles that are coming to dominate the lives of other presidents.

Indeed, Fry's candidacy represents much more than the talent and potential of just one man; it indicates a fundamental shift in the expectations that colleges place upon their leaders. Just as universities grow out of the realm of pure academia -- and into the realm of community development, real estate speculation and heavy, heavy fundraising -- their presidents are being called upon to demonstrate more of those Management 101 skills and less of the knowledge gained pouring through medieval literature or burning the midnight oil in the lab.

Fry may be the first in that new breed of college presidents, a trailblazing executive in a state known for its progressiveness and willingness to take risks. He may also prove unsuitable for the UVM job, a bottom-line-oriented businessman in a generation still not ready to shed its ornamental traditions.

The success or failure of Fry's candidacy may say a lot about that ultimate direction. Of course, if the UVM job doesn't pan out, Fry can always rest easy in the knowledge that there will always be a place for him here at Penn. After all, there are a couple of empty storefronts on Walnut Street, Dining Services is still a mess -- and I heavily doubt that Judy Rodin can hit a curve ball.

Jonathan Margulies is a senior Management concentrator from North Bellmore, N.Y., and outgoing editorial page editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian .

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