When University President Judith Rodin steps down on June 30, Penn will not be alone in the loss of its leader.
In addition to leaving her post in College Hall, Rodin will step down from her position as chairwoman of the Knowledge Industry Partnership. Though University President-elect Amy Gutmann will not lead the organization, Penn will continue to play an active role in the initiative.
Rodin played a key role in the creation of KIP, an organization dedicated to attracting students to the Philadelphia area and encouraging them to stay after they graduate.
KIP Lead Partner David Thornburgh said Rodin's support for the program was critical.
Rodin has "been a great source of leadership and ideas," Thornburgh said. "KIP, it's fair to say, wouldn't have been created without Penn's leadership and her leadership."
Rodin leaves the organization after implementing the first year of a two-year plan. Her colleagues, however, say that the organization will thrive even after Rodin departs.
"What [Rodin] does is add the leadership that's necessary to initiatives, but she really believes in empowering the people around her, so I think that the programs have built very good infrastructures and networks," KIP Achieve Lead Partner Richard Bendis said. "All of the initiatives will continue on because of the strong foundation that's been built."
Rodin agreed that KIP is poised to carry on without her.
"We have ample resources to keep that initiative going for a couple of years, and then it will need to have demonstrated its effectiveness in order to raise more funds, and I'm certain that it will," Rodin said in January. "That won't depend on me being here or not being here."
Veronica Wentz -- project manager at Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, which collaborates with KIP -- commended Rodin's "selfless support" to the program.
"What was so outstanding about Dr. Rodin is that Penn would most likely be fine without involving itself in the program like this," Wentz said.
Though KIP is currently searching for a new leader -- who Rodin said should be a sitting college president -- the partners still hope Rodin will continue to offer her support to the organization after she steps down from her official post.
"We hope that we have the ability to keep [Rodin] engaged and involved in those initiatives she desires to" remain involved in, Bendis said.
The partners also cited Penn as a key player in the process and hope to work closely with Gutmann when she arrives in July.
"For all of the people who have met her, they're very impressed and believe that she subscribes to a lot of the philosophies that Dr. Rodin had as president, so I hope that it will be a seamless transition," Bendis said.
Though Gutmann, as a new president, will not head the organization, the KIP partners are confident that Penn will continue to be a strong player in the program.
"I think one of the things that's certainly true about Penn ... is that there's a very dispersed leadership," Thornburgh said. "I think that we'll continue to see active involvement from a lot of folks at Penn."
