With one significant administrative post now filled, University President Amy Gutmann still must address a handful of important vacancies, including University provost and vice president for development and alumni relations.
"My guess is the provost search will take the longest," Gutmann said. Former Deputy Provost Peter Conn has been serving as interim provost since Robert Barchi left the position in July to become president of Thomas Jefferson University.
Administrative turnover in 2002 created a longer-standing vacancy in Penn's fundraising department, with then-Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Virginia Clark stepping down to become director of external affairs at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Medha Narvekar has been acting as interim fundraising head for the past two years, and Gutmann speculated that someone may not be assigned permanently to the post for some time, noting that there are still "a lot of people to be interviewed."
The qualifications for the position are complex and demanding, but one overarching characteristic seems to define the perfect candidate.
"You want someone ... who loves to raise money," Clark said of the person who will follow in her footsteps.
Management and communication skills are also a must, as the vice president for development and alumni relations must have "the ability to work with alumni and volunteer leadership," according to Clark.
The search for a new School of Arts and Sciences dean to replace Samuel Preston will probably be concluded before a new vice president for development and alumni relations is found, according to Gutmann.
The Penn president estimated that the search committee, headed by School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Eduardo Glandt, will probably make its selection by the middle of the fall semester.
"We're going full steam now," Glandt said, adding that his committee "has narrowed [the list] down substantially."
Though the SAS dean search committee seems to be progressing along smoothly, the committee to find a permanent provost has yet to be formed.
New Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli's promotion has also left the University without a treasurer and vice president for finance. Carnaroli said he will be working to fill the position, as well as to hire a new vice president for budget and management analysis. This article appeared as part of the "Amy Gutmann: Changing of the Guard" series.
