The nomination of Amy Gutmann as the next president of Penn certainly comes as a surprise. And while the former Princeton provost boasts a stellar academic record, her selection raises a few questions.
Gutmann has said, and we agree, that her "education is about five decades in the making and it's clearly just about to begin." She will have, and should take advantage of, the assistance readily available to her in the current staff that was assembled by president Rodin. Hopefully, she will use their experience to complement the aspects of her presidency with which she is less familiar.
Penn is clearly very different from Princeton. Besides the $5 billion difference in endowments, Penn's student body is significantly larger. And while Princeton's location is suburban and quiet, West Philadelphia is anything but.
Gutmann's lack of significant business experience -- especially in light of her predecessor's successes in that area and the current vacancy at the executive vice president position -- is certainly a concern. The same goes for fundraising -- also an area where the principal administrator left and was never replaced.
And while a serious Penn connection is not a necessity, it is a little surprising that Gutmann does not have more of a history with this institution.
Despite these immediate question marks, Gutmann is by many accounts a woman of character and intelligence, who is exceptionally devoted to higher education. Her vision is one of accessibility; her dream is a world in which more families can have access to a Penn education -- the kind of education that comes with a more expensive price tag every year.
But this goal will be fraught with difficulty, and Penn's current budget offers extremely limited flexibility. In the current economy -- and with a health system that is robust, complex, and has hemorrhaged money in the past -- bringing this dream to fruition will be quite a challenge. That being said, the goal in and of itself is perhaps the most noble course of action a University can take.
With all this in mind, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that -- while she is a phenomenal academic in her own right -- according to the early search criteria, Gutmann does not appear to be the candidate that Penn's search committee set out to find. That inescapable conclusion, coupled with the whirlwind nature of the search process, begs the question: Was Gutmann the most prudent choice?
Only time will tell. However, she has given every indication that she is a woman of vision and promise, and we look forward to seeing what she has to offer the Penn community. It is, then, with cautious optimism that we welcome Gutmann to the University of Pennsylvania.
