A few generations ago, it was inconceivable for a woman to attend the University -- let alone serve as its president.
But about 125 years later, Judith Rodin, described by a peer as "aggressive, ambitious and driven," dispelled any lingering doubts about a woman's place in the Ivy League when she became the first permanent female president of an Ivy League institution in 1994.
"She came to this place that is dominated by male scholars and has done a spectacular job," History and Sociology of Science Professor Susan Lindee said.
However, despite the attention Rodin received for facing gender barriers, her sex has little to do with her success, according to Professor of Sociology Janice Madden.
"A man with the same talents would have done the same," Madden said. "A man with lesser talents would have done less."
In fact, Rodin pointed out that her status as a Penn alumna seemed "much more important" to alumni and students than her gender did.
"I never felt... that gender was an issue," Rodin said.
Professor of Biochemistry at the School of Dental Medicine Phoebe Leboy -- co-chairwoman of a Penn gender equity committee and a member of the University's presidential search committee -- agreed that the position of president is not a gender-specific one, but she added that Rodin's appointment had larger implications.
"In terms of the activities that a president does, I'm not sure there's really a difference" regarding gender, Leboy said. "In terms of what [her appointment] said as a public statement about Penn and its commitment to diversity, it was important."
Choosing Rodin as its president sent a message that Penn "is forward thinking, and not a stodgy Ivy League institution that waits for other institutions to make the first move," Leboy said. "Penn really places itself in a position where it's known as the first to do something, and this was one of those cases."
In fact, Princeton and Brown universities were not long to follow Penn's lead -- both Ivy League institutions appointed female presidents in 2001, and invited Rodin to speak to members of both search committees.
"I wonder if Rodin's appointment didn't make it more reasonable for [Princeton and Brown] to make this choice," Lindee said. "I think once you have one woman president in the Ivy League, it makes it more acceptable to have others."
In addition to influencing other Ivy schools, Rodin's rise to the top also sent a powerful message to Penn's faculty, staff and students that "women can do anything men can do on this campus," Madden said.
Penn Women's Center Director Ellie Di Lapi voiced her agreement on Rodin's positive influence on Penn women.
"The fact that she is a woman provides all of us with a significant role model," Di Lapi said.
Di Lapi added that during her presidency, Rodin "addressed a number of issues that were both campus-wide and certain concerns of the women's community," such as her involvement in Penn's "Take Back the Night" walk through West Philadelphia.
Lindee noted that Rodin has in no way been "held back" by any gender constraints.
"She is aggressive, ambitious, driven, comfortable in the spotlight," Lindee said. "She's a great role model. I think young women could learn a lot from studying her career."
However, despite her authority and influence, Rodin's peers said that she does not strike them as a heartless, cutthroat, all-business president -- there are feminine qualities that influence her leadership style.
"She walks that fine balance between being extremely competent and also being clearly female," Leboy said.
Madden also suggested that being a woman may have made Rodin more attuned to members of the campus' needs in their personal lives.
"There was a new sensitivity to family issues for faculty, staff and students," Madden said. For instance, a revised family leave policy for faculty and staff members was put into effect in February 1998.
Despite Rodin's awareness of family issues, though, after five years with a female president, Penn remained a male-dominated school as far as faculty and administration.
Though measures have since been taken, in a 1999 Penn Gender Equity Report, the percent of women -- who accounted for only 15 percent of all full professors--declined with each increase in rank.
The study "suggests that Penn, like other Ivy institutions, is a very male place where women face certain barriers," Lindee said.
In spite of the "barriers" which women in academe are still facing, Leboy remains hopeful for another female president in Penn's future.
"I would hate to think that it was a situation where we've tried it and now we don't have to do it again."
About this series Penn is a very different place now than it was back in 1994, when University President Judith Rodin first took the helm. And now that Rodin has announced that she will leave her position in June, the University is apt to see more changes in the future. For the next week and a half, The Daily Pennsylvanian will examine a variety of issues, events and people on and around campus that have been affected under Rodin's decade-long tenure. Topics will range from Penn's reputation in higher education to the build-up of retail around campus to expectations for Rodin's successor.
