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Report
to the University Community by the Consultative
Committee for the Selection of a President
Following
Dr. Judith Rodin's announcement to the Board of Trustees
on June 20, 2003 of her intention
to step down from the
Presidency, planning for the formation
of a search committee was initiated and a search firm to assist the committee
was selected. The Consultative Committee for the Selection
of a President was approved by the Executive Committee
of the Trustees and convened for its first meeting by Chair
James S. Riepe on September 11, 2003. On January
21, the Consultative Committee presented its unanimous
recommendation of a single candidate to the Executive Committee
of the Trustees, which approved placing the name of Dr.
Amy Gutmann into nomination.
The
Consultative Committee met to deliberate as a group on
10 occasions and via conference call twice. Beginning
with a candidate pool of approximately 250 individuals
identified by higher education specialist search firm Isaacson,
Miller and 40 unsolicited nominations, members of the search
committee ultimately met with 18 individual candidates
in a series of 34 nationwide interviews. Lead candidates
were interviewed on multiple occasions and extensive referencing
was conducted on these candidates.
The
position of Penn's presidency was advertised in national
and specialized higher education periodicals. Additionally,
e-mails were sent to every Penn faculty member, student,
staff member and alumni, soliciting input on Penn's priorities,
the challenges for the next administration, characteristics
for the successful candidate and specific nominations via
a presidential search web site. A series of town
meetings were held on campus for the purposes of creating
a forum for dialogue with faculty, students and staff on
these topics.
The
result of the Committee's information-gathering and research
activities was the following lists of priorities for Penn
and challenges the new president would face in achieving
those priorities, and characteristics for the successful
applicant.
Priorities
-
maintaining the current momentum
of the University
-
expanding the financial resources
available
-
establishing Penn's reputation
as the most differentiated Ivy with a distinctive
urban identity
-
continuing to strengthen the
quality and depth of faculty
-
continuing the focus on undergraduate
education
-
enhancing Penn's prestige and
reputation
-
strengthening the quality and
visibility of graduate Ph.D. programs
-
maintaining the commitment to
diversity throughout the University and in each
of its constituencies
-
leveraging the advantage of 12
schools on the same campus for greater interdisciplinary
research and teaching
-
maintaining constructive relationships
with our community
-
working to make the College House
system more effective
Challenges
- managing a large, complex, decentralized
organization
-
operating a major academic medical
center as an integral part of the University
-
making strategic choices about
academic and administrative
-
priorities and resource
allocation
-
expanding fundraising and increasing
revenue generation in order to fund priorities
and narrow the endowment gap with peers
-
operating in what is likely to
be a more challenging economic environment
-
capitalizing
on the changes in technology in the next decade
-
enhancing the efficiency of the
administration and the faculty
Candidate Characteristics
-
demonstrated leadership with
an ability to develop and
implement a vision for
the future
-
credibility as an academic leader,
one who values excellence in teaching and research
-
strong management and financial
oversight skills
-
strong fundraising skills
-
ability to identify, attract
and retain talented people
-
ability to engage diverse constituencies
and a commitment to diversity
-
excellent communicator
Chair:
James S. Riepe, W'65, WG'67, Charter Trustee
Trustee
Members:
Thomas
Ehrlich, Esq., Term Trustee
Deborah
Marrow, CW'70, GR'78, Alumni Trustee
Andrea
Mitchell, CW'67, Charter Trustee
Egbert
L. J. Perry, CE'76, WG'78, GCE'79, Term Trustee
Alvin
V. Shoemaker, W'60, HON'95, Charter Trustee
David
M. Silfen, C'66, Term Trustee
Michael
L. Tarnopol, W'58, Charter Trustee
Paul
C. Williams, W'67, Alumni Trustee, President, Penn Alumni
Howard
Kunreuther, Cecilia Yen Koo Professor, The Wharton School
Phoebe
S. Leboy, Professor of Biochemistry, School of Dental
Medicine
Mitchell
P. Marcus, RCA Professor of Artificial Intelligence,
SEAS
E.
Ann Matter, Professor of Religious Studies, School of
Arts and Sciences
Michael
T. Mennuti, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School
of Medicine
Charles
W. Mooney, Jr., Professor of Law, The Law School
Arthur
Rubenstein, EVP of UPHS and Dean of the School of Medicine
Barbara
D. Savage, The Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American
Social Thought, SAS
Robert
J. Alvarez, WG'04, Chair, Graduate and Professional Student
Assembly
Jason
M. Levy, C'04, Chair, Undergraduate Assembly
Dierdra
J. Reber, PhD Candidate, Department of Romance Languages,
President, GSAC
Ophelia
Roman, C'05, President, Student Committee on Undergraduate
Education
Supporting
the work of the Consultative Committee:
Leslie
Laird Kruhly, Secretary of the University
Ramona
Johnson, Esq., Search Coordinator
Almanac, Vol. 50, No.
26,
March 23, 2004
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