Editorial | What we need in Penn’s next president

Earlier this month, Penn announced its selection of an advisory committee in search of our University’s next president. This notice came after Penn President Larry Jameson’s community-wide email announcing that he would be resigning from Penn’s highest office after the spring of 2027. As members of the Editorial Board, we are taking this opportunity to voice what we believe Penn students deserve out of their next leader. This upcoming decision comes at a crucial moment for University leadership, as the presidency has been a hotly contested office, often fraught with political, financial, and cultural demands all at once. Through a historical account of the strengths (and weaknesses) of Penn’s former presidents, we suggest key considerations that the advisory committee can take into account. 

First, the president needs a clear and actionable vision for Penn’s future. Judith Rodin, the Ivy League’s first female University president, arrived in 1994 with the West Philadelphia Initiatives and the Agenda for Excellence, and she stuck to both ideas for a decade. Amy Gutmann, Penn’s longest serving president, did the same with the Penn Compact, cementing Penn’s international footprint and bolstering our interdisciplinary academic culture. Gutmann also took office with the goal of revolutionizing access to Penn and succeeded in doubling enrollment of first-generation, low-income students during her 18 years as president. 

Both Rodin and Gutmann entered their roles with specific objectives and stepped down having made a tangible difference on our University. As pragmatic and consistent leaders, they were integral to our institutional image. They did not need to reintroduce themselves at the beginning of every year. As recent turmoil in our University’s highest office has made such enduring commitments impossible, we need a president that will remain devoted to an impactful agenda throughout their tenure. 

Penn’s president also needs to practice strong and supportive engagement with Philadelphia. Rodin in particular had a strong record of collaboration with the city she’s always called home. She helped broker the partnership between Penn and Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell to support the construction of the National Constitution Center. Additionally, she expanded the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, which strengthened the relationship between Penn students and our neighbors in West Philadelphia. Rodin invested in local public schools, affordable housing around Penn, and in the growth of local businesses. For her, support for Philadelphia runs deep. Even long after resigning the presidency, Rodin still contributed her time to our city’s needs.

As evidenced by recent history, the University needs a president who walks in with a real framework for handling speech and conduct. Crucially, said framework cannot be improvised. Through the tumult of the fall 2023 semester, following campus activism surrounding both the Palestine Writes Literature Festival and the events of Oct. 7, then-Penn President Liz Magill demonstrated how a failure to have and adhere to a conduct policy was ruinous to Penn’s highest office. The Committee on Open Expression has been revising its guidelines since 2024, a process that has already drawn criticism for its lack of transparency. Our next president must faithfully contribute to and carry out these guidelines before the next crisis impacts our campus.

The governance that surrounds the president also needs to include the people it manages. A strong president must be dedicated to seeking input from Penn students, faculty, and staff across the University. The advisory committee’s membership already lacks representation from five of Penn’s 12 schools. This group must understand that such exclusion is inappropriate if practiced by our next president and ensure that the future leader of our University is someone who recognizes its diversity and will commit to seeking input from all members of our community.

Finally, we believe the next president should understand the student experience at Penn, ideally firsthand. A Penn alum would be exceptionally equipped to handle the intricacies of our University. Those who have sat in our classrooms as undergraduate or graduate students and been immersed in our campus culture will have genuine experience to ground their tenure. Rodin was our most recent president to also be an undergraduate alumna, and her experience as a student here undoubtedly influenced her leadership agenda. She held the Penn community in incredibly high regard, leaving her career as a researcher to lead our University because “Penn and Philadelphia trumped the other issues.” This commitment is no coincidence. Our alumni strongly believe in Penn’s mission and are uniquely suited to serve as its institutional leader.

In choosing Penn’s next president, we implore the advisory committee to consider what makes leaders effective and ethical. We’ve traced throughlines of progress and success in our past presidents. Now, we challenge the committee to act on them wholly and find us our strongest president yet.

Editorials represent the majority view of members of The Daily Pennsylvanian Editorial Board, who meet regularly to discuss issues relevant to the Penn community. This body is led by Editorial Board Chair Jack Lakis and overseen by Opinion Editor Ingrid Holmquist. It is entirely separate from the newsroom. Questions or comments should be directed to letters@thedp.com.