While some children choose to attend their parent's alma mater, College junior Elisabeth Muller's dad is following in her footsteps.
Ralph Muller was named the new chief executive officer of the University's Health System last week, replacing current CEO Robert Martin, who announced in October that he would be stepping down from the position in June. Muller will be moving to the area next week and officially stepping up to lead the Health System in July.
"It is funny because nobody in my family has gone to Penn, and now it's like they are following me here," Elisabeth says.
"I love the university atmosphere in terms of the range of people and the exchange of ideas," Ralph Muller says, noting that he was attracted to Penn because "in addition to having an excellent hospital and medical school, my daughter loves it."
Completing his undergraduate studies at Syracuse University with a degree in economics, Muller went on to Harvard University to earn his master's degree in government.
From Harvard, he went to work for the state government of Massachusetts as its budget director and, later, as deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Welfare, where he was responsible for the state Medicaid program.
He moved to the University of Chicago in 1980, where he served in a number of roles, becoming the school's hospitals and health system president and CEO in 1986.
Under Muller's leadership, the University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System were pulled out of the red, the construction of a new outpatient facility was completed and plans were put in place for a new children's hospital.
"He was just ready to do something else, to go to a different place," says Paula Wolff, University of Chicago Hospitals and Health System Board of Trustees chairwoman. "I think the same kinds of skills he brought to Chicago will be useful at Penn -- his intensity and excellence."
After leaving Chicago in 2001, Muller and his wife moved to London, where Muller took a job working for King's Fund, a nonprofit healthcare research institute.
"When you go abroad, you get a better perspective on where you came from," he says.
Returning to the United States last year, he has since been working for the healthcare consulting firm Stockamp & Associates.
Now, Muller will be the fourth person to serve as CEO of Penn's Health System since 2000, but he predicts his term will outlast those of his predecessors, citing his 17-year term at the University of Chicago.
"I think that is a good indicator that I love these settings and stick around to get them done."
Elisabeth cites her father's strong financial background as a factor that likely enhanced his appeal to Penn officials, as the Health System continues to recover from its major economic losses in the late 1990s -- namely, a nearly $300 million debt.
"I was very instrumental in Chicago correcting financial problems," he says, noting that the next few years will likely see further cuts in government funding.
Those close to Muller extol his professional abilities.
"He is extremely high energy, very strategic and absolutely enthralled with running an academic medical center," Wolff says.
Muller's daughter says above all, he is "competitive."
"He tries to race me.... He is really into sports," Elisabeth notes, adding that when he was at the University of Chicago, he participated in the over-40 basketball league where he was "always getting knocked down in violent plays."
But Ralph Muller's competitive drive does not end on the track.
"He is extremely competitive and will make Penn the best place in the world," Wolff says.
And Elisabeth is not phased by the fact that her parents will soon be living 15 minutes away.
"I think it is great," she says. "They are excited to be here for my senior year," adding that "if they had moved when I was a freshman, I would have been upset."
