LANCASTER, Pa. -- With a skyline that consists of a factory and a few silos, and with a student body of fewer than 1900 undergraduates, Franklin and Marshall College contrasts starkly with Penn.
So Executive Vice President John Fry, who announced last Wednesday that he will become the next president of F&M;, will probably have quite a few adjustments to make when he makes the big move from his Walnut Street office to Lancaster, Pa.
The most obvious and significant change for Fry will be the jump from a large university in an urban setting setting to a small, liberal arts college environment.
"I know the names of about two-thirds of the groundskeepers here," F&M; spokesman Ray Betzner said, explaining that Fry will probably have a great deal of contact with F&M; students and faculty on a regular basis. "We get to know each other a bit better, and the community seems a little bit tighter because of it."
F&M; freshman Kelly Byrne chose F&M; because of its size and friendly atmosphere.
"The classes are really small," Byrne said. "And the professors are really out to help you."
Although the size of F&M; may allow for an amiable small-town feel, many students also admit that life on campus can be, well, boring at times.
"There's not a whole lot to do, to be honest," said senior Alison Gross, who mentioned that students often take road trips to Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York and Washington when they crave the feel of a big city. "I came from a small town, so I liked the atmosphere [when I applied here], but now I'm ready to live in an urban place."
Most students also said that even though it is a liberal arts school, F&M;'s independent fraternities and sororities play a major role in the campus social scene.
"Everybody gets drunk because there's nothing else to do," remarked Akiko Abe, a sophomore from Japan who is spending a year abroad at F&M.;
But beyond the nights of student revelry and mass inebriation, there is more about F&M; that will be familiar to Fry.
Statues of Ben Franklin -- the namesake of Franklin College, which merged with Marshall College to form F&M; in 1853 -- dot the campus. Students can be spotted wearing peacoats, gulping lattes and smoking Marlboro Lights as they stroll to class along chalked sidewalks. And F&M;'s sports teams, although less of a force than at Penn, have an equally unintimidating mascot -- the Diplomat.
But more importantly, F&M;, located in the city of Lancaster, is becoming an increasingly urban campus, which is a key reason why F&M; chose Fry to officially take the reins on July 1 from current F&M; President Richard Kneedler, who announced his retirement last April after 14 years as the college's leader.
"John Fry's experience with community work is a tremendous asset for us, because we have, on a smaller scale, the same concerns as Penn," said Betzner, who was secretary of the presidential search committee. "People envision cows and Amish people riding their horses and buggies up and down the roads, but it's really a small urban environment."
Betzner says that he hopes that Fry's experience at Penn will help him solve some of F&M;'s recent safety concerns. This academic year, the college's surrounding neighborhood, where one-third of the student body lives, has experienced a sharp increase in crime, especially in muggings.
And because the neighborhood has seen a decline in property value over the past few years, Fry's skill in luring lucrative businesses to campus will most likely come in handy at F&M.;
While the choice of Fry as F&M;'s new president has been criticized because of his lack of academic experience, strong academic credentials turned out not to be the liberal arts school's highest priority.
"John Fry encompassed everything that we were looking for," F&M; senior and presidential search committee member Jessica Bassis said, mentioning that James Powell, the F&M; president who preceded Kneedler, did not have a doctorate either.
So perhaps it will be the little things that will pose the biggest challenges for Fry.
"We're an all Macintosh campus," Betzner warned. "That's something John will have to get used to."
And Fry better not be planning to bring along Penn's Pepsi affiliation with him to F&M.;
"F&M; is a Coke campus, and we won't give up our Coke," Betzner joked.
But for the most part, F&M; is doing its best to make Fry feel welcome, down to the smallest details.
"John plays racquetball, and we just put in some new racquetball courts," Betzner said. "So that will make him feel at home."
And as Fry sits at his new Macintosh and sips on a Coke, he need only peer out of the window of his new office and catch Ben's stony, bespectacled gaze to remind him of his seven years here at Penn.
And who knows? In time, maybe F&M; will have its very own Smith Bros. and Freshgrocer, too.
