Tomorrow, after almost exactly four months of searching, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania will announce Amy Gutmann, the provost at Princeton University, as the eighth president of the University.
After a whirlwind search, completed in less than half the time of the searches at Duke and Rice, the upper-level administrator has emerged as the top choice among the trustees.
Other candidates included current Bush cabinet member and former Stanford Provost Condoleezza Rice; Drew Faust, the dean of Radcliffe Institute; and Nancy Cantor, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, according to University administrators.
Gutmann comes with no shortage of leadership experience, and again breaks precedent as she will continue the strong tradition of female leadership at Penn. Gutmann will now make Penn the first Ivy League school to have consecutive female presidents.
Similarly to Rodin, Gutmann comes to Penn after serving as a provost at an Ivy League university.
Princeton has remained at the top of the rankings in U.S. News and World Report for the past 20 years. They have consistently been ranked No. 1 during Gutmann's tenure as provost.
The announcement came after the trustees met at the Inn at Penn late this afternoon, flanked by University Press Secretary Lori Doyle, who confirmed Gutmann was nominated by the trustees.
If she accepts the nomination, Gutmann will most likely assume office after June 30, when Rodin officially steps down.
It is unclear whether or not Gutmann will finish out the academic year at Princeton.
The choice for the next Penn President comes from behind a dark shroud of secrecy, as the trustees have remained tight-lipped for the duration of the search.
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