University of Pennsylvania Trustees Extend President Amy Gutmann’s Contract to 2022
David L. Cohen, Chair of the University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees, announced last Tuesday that the University has agreed to extend the contract of President Amy Gutmann for an additional three years to June 30, 2022. The extension will make President Gutmann the longest-serving President in Penn’s history.
“Amy Gutmann’s outstanding leadership of Penn has been nothing short of transformational,” said Mr. Cohen. “The Trustees strongly support her inspiring vision for Penn and our broader community. Under Amy’s Penn Compact 2020 plan, the University of Pennsylvania has set new records of inclusion, innovation and momentum-driving impact on our city, country and world. Penn’s eminent faculty has grown ever stronger and more diverse. The quality and diversity of our fantastic students have never been higher. Penn’s campus has been dramatically transformed with spectacular new living and learning spaces and award-winning green spaces, medical and translational research facilities and a new innovation ecosystem for our city and region.
“When she was chosen in 2004 to lead our University, Amy was the Provost at Princeton and already a stellar interdisciplinary scholar, teacher, and leader in academe,” added Mr. Cohen. “The selection of Amy as Penn’s eighth President has proven to be one of the best decisions ever made in American higher education. We believe Amy is the best university president in the country. As a Board, we have an obligation to sustain Penn’s success, and we can imagine no better way to do that than to keep Amy Gutmann at the helm. We are simply delighted that she has agreed to continue to bring her energy, passion, and strategic vision to Penn as our President.”
In her inaugural address over a decade ago, President Gutmann outlined a bold and ambitious vision for the University: the Penn Compact. Penn’s commitment to the three core values of the Penn Compact—Inclusion, Innovation and Impact—has propelled the University forward during an era of dramatic change.
The cornerstone of the Penn Compact’s commitment to Inclusion is the University’s All-Grant undergraduate financial aid initiative. Penn has awarded nearly $1 billion in grants since implementing All-Grant in 2009, and the average net cost for aided students to attend Penn today is almost $2,700 less than it was in 2005. Foremost among the Penn Compact’s commitment to Innovation is creating a campus conducive to generating ideas: a campus with facilities such as the Penn Center for Innovation, which fast-tracks Penn technologies to meet social needs; the Pennovation Works, a 23-acre former heavy industrial site that the University transformed into an innovation campus; and the Pennovation Center, Pennovation Works’ flagship business incubator and laboratory. Finally, building on the University’s long history of civic-mindedness, the Penn Compact underscores Penn’s commitment to Impact by bringing Penn knowledge and practice to bear on key local, national and global issues. Top priorities for Penn’s close-to-home engagement include direct support of Philadelphia public schools such as the model, University-assisted Penn Alexander School. On the global front, the fall 2016 opening of the Perry World House on campus and the spring 2015 opening of the Penn Wharton China Center in Beijing underscore the University’s commitment to bringing the world to Penn and Penn to the world.
“It has been an absolute honor to serve as Penn’s president for the past 12 years, and I am excited about all that we can accomplish together in the next six,” said President Gutmann. “I am constantly grateful for the strong support that our Trustees provide and deeply appreciate their confidence in my efforts to make a Penn education the very best in the world. Together, the multidisciplinary expertise, civic commitment and collaborative spirit of Penn’s faculty, students, Trustees, alumni and staff are unsurpassed by any university in the world. Over the past two years, we have brought on board eight new deans, enriching an already exceptional leadership team. Together, we are energized and equipped to carry forward the Penn Compact 2020 vision and to cultivate wonderful new possibilities for fundraising.
“The coming years are going to be exceptional ones for Penn as we build out the campus under the third phase of our Penn Connects plan. We also are going to continue to attract the most vibrant and diverse faculty and student body, which will assure Penn’s standing at the pinnacle of the world’s universities,” continued President Gutmann. “We can confidently affirm that in the 276-year history of our University, this is the best and most exciting time to be part of ‘our Penn.’ But we will never be complacent as we drive our great University forward to new and as yet unanticipated frontiers of inclusion, innovation and impact.”
In addition to those noted above, selected highlights of President Gutmann’s tenure at Penn include:
• Undergraduate applications have grown from 18,282 in 2004 to nearly 39,000 for the Class of 2020.
• The undergraduate financial aid budget has grown by 155% since FY2005, from $84 million to $214 million. The average grant for undergraduate students receiving aid in FY2017 is $45,368.
• The creation of 200 new endowed professorships, and the recruiting of 17 Penn Integrates Knowledge Professors and 10 Presidential Professors.
• Philanthropy of more than $5 billion for Penn, including $4.3 billion through the Making History Campaign, the University’s largest-ever capital campaign.
• Penn’s endowment has grown from $4 billion to $10.7 billion.
• Creation of a $100 million Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence, resulting in an 18% increase in female faculty and 43% increase in minority faculty.
• Creation of the President’s Engagement Prizes and President’s Innovation Prize, the largest student innovation prizes in the country.
• Penn Connects campus plan, resulting in a $2.7 billion investment creating 5 million square feet of new or renovated space, with plans for $2 billion additional investment in 1.8 million square feet of space.
• Creation of Penn Park, a 24-acre urban oasis linking Penn to Center City Philadelphia.
• Signature architectural buildings, such as the Singh Center for Nanotechnology, the New College House, Perry World House, Golkin Hall, Weiss Pavilion and the Stephen A. Levin Building for Neural and Behavioral Sciences.
• A 29% increase in sponsored research to nearly $1 billion annually, despite flat federal support.
• Penn Medicine has grown to include major new facilities (Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, Roberts Proton Center, Smilow Translational Research Center), Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Hospital and new physician offices and outpatient facilities across Philadelphia, southwestern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
Penn Provost Vincent Price Named Duke’s Next President
Penn’s Provost Vincent Price, Steven H. Chaffee Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication and professor of political science in the School of Arts and Sciences, has been named the tenth president of Duke University, starting July 1, 2017.
“Everybody who has worked with Vince will wholeheartedly agree that Duke has made an absolutely superb choice. No one is better prepared or more deserving than Vince to lead a distinguished university such as Duke,” said Penn President Amy Gutmann.
Since becoming Provost in 2009 (Almanac July 14, 2009), “Vince has brought extraordinary leadership and vision—as well as grace and good humor—to our academic enterprise. Vince helped recruit exceptional deans and faculty members while advancing initiatives to diversify the faculty, develop new forms of teaching and learning, expand Penn’s global engagement (including our new Penn Wharton China Center and Perry World House), and enhance arts and culture on campus. He has also been a major force in facilitating interdisciplinary research and teaching, developing Penn’s online learning initiatives and providing intellectual forums for our community to come together to address some of the most challenging issues of our time,” President Gutmann added.
Dr. Price is a leading global expert on public opinion, social influence and political communication. His Public Opinion (Sage, 1992) has been published in six languages and taught in courses around the world. His work has been widely cited on such topics as the impact of political polls, the effects of TV news coverage and the factors that shape public opinion. His recent research conducted with Annenberg colleague Joseph N. Cappella and funded by grants from the Pew Charitable Trusts, National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health has explored the increasingly important role of online discussion in shaping public knowledge and opinion.
Before being appointed Provost, Dr. Price served as Interim Provost, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Chair of the Faculty Senate and Associate Dean of the Annenberg School. His awards for teaching and research include the Robert M. Worcester Award from the World Association for Public Opinion Research, the K. Kyoon Hur Award from the International Communication Association, the Nafziger-White Dissertation Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the Award of Recognition from the American Association of Public Opinion Research.
In preparation for Dr. Price’s departure from Penn, President Gutmann has begun the process of forming an Ad Hoc Consultative Committee of faculty and students to advise her on the selection of Penn’s next Provost. The Ad Hoc Committee will be chaired by Executive Vice President of the University for the Health System and Perelman School of Medicine Dean Larry Jameson. President Gutmann said she expects to name a new Provost prior to Provost Price’s departure.
A Message to the Penn Community Concerning Our DACA and Undocumented Community Members
We write in response to the several inquiries and petitions that we have received regarding the University’s support for our Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and undocumented students. We are grateful that so many members of the Penn community have spoken out and communicated their support for our undocumented students.
Let us be unequivocally clear: We are and remain resolute in our commitment to Penn’s undocumented students, and will do all that we can to ensure their continued safety and success here at Penn.
As President Gutmann, who has long advocated for immigration reform, wrote in her recent letter to faculty colleagues, undocumented students “have grown up in our communities; they attended our schools; and they have both the strong desire and the impressive capacity to make vital contributions to our nation’s future economic strength and global competitiveness.” At Penn, we are a richer campus for our inclusion and diversity, and our community benefits greatly from the presence of its undergraduate, graduate and professional undocumented students.
We welcome this opportunity to reinforce our support for the undocumented student community, including the following:
The University of Pennsylvania will not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/Customs and Border Protection (CBP)/US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on our campus unless required by warrant. Further, the University will not share any information about any undocumented student with these agencies unless presented with valid legal process. We also endorse the City of Philadelphia’s Fourth Amendment practice that blocks City and campus police from complying with ICE detainer requests for nonviolent offenses. Penn is and has always been a “sanctuary”—a safe place for our students to live and to learn. We assure you that we will continue in all of our efforts to protect and support our community including our undocumented students.
The University of Pennsylvania commits to ensuring current undocumented and DACA recipients will continue to receive financial aid, fellowship stipends, as well as any related support that is currently being provided, or that will be needed, for these students to complete their studies at Penn. We will continue to provide need-based Penn Grant aid to undocumented students who apply as international students. As always, Student Financial Services (SFS) stands ready to assist any student who is experiencing a family financial crisis or a change of circumstance. Undocumented students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status will continue to be eligible for work-study positions. SFS will continue to assist those without DACA to find other forms of aid to replace work-study. The Student Intervention Services (SIS) team will also continue to support undocumented students in emergent circumstances.
The University of Pennsylvania already has a number of permanent staff who serve as advisors to support the specific needs of undocumented and DACA students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. These advisors are familiar with the specific challenges of undocumented and DACA students; provide additional wellness support and student referrals to resources with a deeper understanding of their unique needs; act as liaisons between offices on the University’s campus such as SFS or the Registrar; and keep up to date with national policies regarding immigration that affect students such as DACA and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA). These advisors are located in Penn Global, the Greenfield Intercultural Center, La Casa Latina and other offices.
The University of Pennsylvania will continue to advocate passionately for comprehensive immigration reform. As Penn’s President and as a past president of the Association of American Universities, Amy Gutmann has repeatedly communicated to our nation’s leaders her support for undocumented students, the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, and the continuation and expansion of DACA. The University will continue to forcefully speak out in support of these critical issues.
We recognize that many in our community remain anxious about the future. United, we will do everything in our power to ensure the continued security and success of our undocumented students. It is times such as these when we must hold even closer our cherished Penn values of inclusion, diversity, equity and mutual respect.
With deep respect and warm regards,
—Amy Gutmann, President
—Vincent Price, Provost
—Craig R. Carnaroli, Executive Vice President
Comcast Pennovation Challenge: Internet of Things: January 30
Comcast is seeking five-to-seven faculty and student teams of up to five people to invent and create innovative solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) on the machineQ platform.
By all accounts, the Internet of Things (IoT) opportunity is vast and will continue to grow, with up to 30- to 50-billion devices set to be online by 2020. IoT has the potential to create new products and services that foster social impact through increased communications and efficiency. Smart homes and smart buildings connected and communicating are some of the outcomes that are becoming real-world possibilities. Building a robust, carrier-grade network will open up this market to a large number of potential users, developers and businesses who have not been able to gain access to IoT opportunities due to a combination of prohibitive cost, lack of network and development complexity.
Comcast recently announced machineQ, a new business trial venture focused on business-to-business solutions and a platform for the Internet of Things (http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/comcast-launches-enterprise-internet-of-things-trial-venture). Initial trial markets will cover the large metropolitan areas in Philadelphia and San Francisco.
MachineQ is invested in finding solutions that enable partners to gather, transmit and analyze data from and to control connected devices with the goal of creating innovative solutions and applications. Key opportunity areas include: Hospitals, Airports, Venue/Facility Management/Malls, Universities, Supermarkets/Restaurants, Smart Cities/Infrastructure, Smart Agriculture, Connected Laboratories and Amusement Parks.
Comcast will provide development kits and gateways to accepted teams of up to five people along with coaching and technical assistance/office hours during the development process. All teams will have the opportunity to pitch to key executives and investors at a Demo Day in March.
See http://bit.ly/comcastpennovation
Two winning teams will receive:
• 1st Prize: $3,000 plus six-month memberships to the Pennovation Center to further develop ideas into startups
• 2nd Prize: $1,500 plus six-month memberships to the Pennovation Center to further develop ideas into startups
• Both teams win: Automatic acceptance into Penn’s I-Corps program which provides training on customer discovery and business plan creation.
January—Ongoing recruitment of teams
January 30—Proposals due
Week of February 6—machineQ 101 & Training session
Week of February 13—Office hours
Week of February 27—Office hours
Week of March 13—Office hours
Week of March 27—Demo Day
Intellectual Property and Ownership for Penn affiliated teams: In the event that an idea relies on, or produces, Penn-owned Intellectual Property, it will be treated in accordance with Penn’s policies (see http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v63/n01/pdf/071216-supplement.pdf). With respect to any idea that (a) does not contain Penn-owned IP according to the Penn Patent Policy and (b) is not chosen for prototype development, the participant(s) will be free to pursue the development of the idea on their own time and at their own expense with no further obligation to the Innovation Challenge.