Penn President Larry Jameson’s second year at the helm of the University was marked by continued campus turmoil, administrative turnover, and federal scrutiny.
On March 13, the University Board of Trustees appointed Jameson as Penn’s 10th permanent president after serving for over a year in an interim capacity. Since then, he has sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian on three separate occasions, outlining his vision for the University’s future and role within higher education.
In late March, the Trump administration froze $175 million in federal funding to Penn, citing the University’s failure to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports. In an interview with the DP the following month, Jameson addressed several policies from the White House under 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump that targeted higher education, including the funding freeze.
Though he attributed Penn’s relative silence on the Trump administration to the University’s institutional neutrality policy, a DP analysis found that several Ivy League institutions took markedly different public stances in criticizing the federal government despite also having institutional neutrality policies.
“I think it’s very important that I focus on issues that are relevant to Penn’s missions and operations,” Jameson said. “When it comes to commentary about the external world, let all members of our community develop their own points of view and decisions.”
Earlier this year, the University — in response to a Jan. 20 executive order — quietly removed references to diversity, equity, and inclusion from its webpages.
In April, when asked if the scrubbed sites indicated a shift in Penn’s commitment to DEI, Jameson said they were “in compliance with the executive order” and do not “change our culture and our values.”
“I would say that Penn has a very long-standing commitment to inclusion and non-discrimination,” Jameson said. “This goes back many decades here, and our track record of support for broad populations and being inclusive is extraordinary.”
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At the time, Jameson told the DP that he had not ruled out taking legal action to restore the frozen funding.
Shortly after, a Department of Education investigation found that the University violated Title IX by allowing 2022 College graduate and former Penn swimmer Lia Thomas to compete on the women’s swimming and diving team. Penn entered a resolution agreement with the Education Department on July 1, becoming the first Ivy League university to settle with the Trump administration and earning back the $175 million in lost funding.
Following the announcement, Jameson sent a letter to the Penn community reaffirming the University’s “unwavering” commitment to “ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment for all of our students.”
“At the same time, we must comply with federal requirements, including executive orders, and NCAA eligibility rules, so our teams and student-athletes may engage in competitive intercollegiate sports,” Jameson wrote at the time.
Dozens of Penn faculty members sent a letter to Jameson expressing concern over Penn’s decision to comply with federal demands. They called on University administrators to “[reverse] this decision and [challenge] the administration in court to the fullest extent possible.”
In September, Jameson sat down for an interview with the DP to discuss his goals entering the 2025-26 academic year.
Soon after, Jameson announced a new campus-wide strategic framework — “Penn Forward” — his first major institutional effort as Penn’s 10th president. The initiative builds upon pillars established by the “In Principle and Practice” framework developed by former Penn President Liz Magill in 2023.
“In Principle and Practice” was a “conceptual framework,” Jameson told the DP in September, while the “Penn Forward” plan is a way to “develop more tangible, concrete, actionable, timely projects and activities.”
The plan outlines six working groups, comprising undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars, alongside faculty, staff, and administrative support. The working groups, Jameson said, will not recieve “specific direction” but rather will bring together “different perspectives” that “curate the very best ideas.”
In a November interview with the DP, Jameson categorized the framework as one of the “most important things that we’re doing.”
Jameson added that “not all of [the strategic plan] will roll out in a single moment.” While some recommendations might “roll out early,” he provided a tentative timeline of 2030 and beyond.
Months after the University’s July settlement with the Education Department, the White House approached Penn with a preferential funding compact. The document — titled the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” — laid out guidelines that would govern Penn’s admissions, pricing, and hiring practices.
In exchange, higher education institutions that sign the agreement will receive “multiple positive benefits,” including “substantial and meaningful federal grants.”
Over the course of Penn’s two-week-long revision process, Jameson authored two emails to the University community and met with student and faculty leaders whose advice informed his decision.
In his initial emails, Jameson wrote that Penn’s response would “rely on a set of principles drawn from Penn’s values and mission.” He pointed specifically to ideals of free expression and non-discrimination as well as “adherence to American laws” and the Constitution of the United States.
On Oct. 16, Jameson sent a letter to the Penn community explaining that the University rejected the proposal.
“Earlier today, I informed the U.S. Department of Education that Penn respectfully declines to sign the proposed Compact,” the October email read. “As requested, we also provided focused feedback highlighting areas of existing alignment as well as substantive concerns.”
“Our sense is that funding should be based on competing for the best ideas,” Jameson said of Penn’s compact rejection in a November interview with the DP.
While he declined to comment on the University’s ongoing conversations with the White House, Jameson characterized Penn’s historical relationship with the federal government as “powerful, amazing, and valuable.”
