The Key — Penn’s President Is Stepping Down. What’s Next?
At last week’s Stated Meeting of Penn’s Board of Trustees, President Larry Jameson announced that his tenure will conclude on June 30, 2027, at the end of his current contract term.
Jameson concluded his announcement by reiterating his love for the university and his belief that “Penn’s future is extraordinarily bright.” He has the humility and foresight to understand that this future will be shaped by a new leader. The search for that leader must focus on addressing the challenges that are vital to Penn’s long-term stability.
Higher education is at a pivotal moment. Universities face increasing scrutiny from the public and government, and Penn is confronting a rapidly changing education environment. The natural question is: what comes next?
Penn’s Board of Trustees will now begin a year-long search for a new president. As Chair Ramanan Raghavendran said in his response to Jameson’s announcement, the process will follow the guidelines outlined in the Statutes of the Trustees.
A Consultative Committee composed of trustees, faculty, staff, students, and administrators will help identify the qualities Penn should look for in its next president. A search committee will then evaluate candidates and recommend finalists to the Executive Committee. A nominee then must be approved as president by a ⅔ vote by the full Board of Trustees.
But more important than what comes next logistically is the question of what comes next for Penn’s direction.
When Jameson became interim president at the end of 2023 and assumed the role permanently in 2025, Penn needed stability. It needed calm, institutional knowledge, and a steady leader to guide it through alumni and donor unrest, campus antisemitism, rising federal scrutiny, and funding challenges. Jameson served as that guide, using his 30 years of experience at Penn Medicine to help restore stability.
Penn’s next chapter requires something different. While much of Jameson’s presidency was spent responding reactively to challenges facing Penn, the next leader will need to proactively guide the university through uncertainty. Penn needs ambition and vision to help secure its role in a changing higher education landscape. It needs strong conviction and a willingness to take risks.
In an interview published by The Philadelphia Inquirer last month, Raghavendran praised Jameson’s work as president. Last week, he reiterated that the board “respects his decision.” And so does Franklin’s Forum.
We respect the work Jameson has done and his humility to know when it is time to step aside. Jameson wrote that he views his tenure as building on “a foundation of academic excellence.” Strengthening that foundation should be the central responsibility of Penn’s next leader.
The Search Committee should therefore look for a leader prepared to address four challenges that will help determine Penn's value proposition and its long-term sustainability.
Balancing revenue and costs
FY2027 is the second consecutive year of budget cuts across the university. Administrative and educational costs have grown for decades, pushing tuition close to $100,000 annually and increasing pressure on university finances. Maintaining Penn’s financial accessibility and solvency requires more than incremental change.
Rethinking research and innovation funding
2/3 of Penn’s operating revenue comes from the health system, and the university receives roughly $1 billion annually in federal research funding. That model is under pressure. Penn must continue building alternative funding sources to support innovation in academics, science, and healthcare.
Defining the value of education as AI grows
Penn is investing heavily in AI research and AI education. But the university also needs a clear vision for what skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking students must be able to perform without AI to preserve the value of a Penn education.
Rebuilding public trust
Public trust in higher education, especially in Ivy League universities, remains near historic lows. Penn and its peers have struggled to explain their value to the public, endangering their support, funding, and talent recruitment. Rebuilding trust is essential to sustaining the academic excellence that defines the university.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of what Penn needs from its next leader. But it is a starting point for a search that will allow Penn to build on the stability Jameson helped restore. Penn must find a leader with the ambition to move beyond incremental change and the transformative vision needed to position the university for long-term success.
The Almanac
Curated highlights from this week’s Penn news
Penn extends timeline for Open Expression Guidelines draft review
This week, Provost John Jackson announced that the Committee on Open Expression (COE) will submit its final Guidelines on Open Expression draft to President Jameson in November rather than September.
The announcement also said that by the end of the summer, the university will publish a summary of the feedback collected through spring listening sessions and an online comment process. A revised draft will then be released in the fall, followed by additional listening sessions and opportunities for community input. After incorporating that feedback, the COE plans to present its final draft to President Jameson on November 18.
The delay follows criticism from students, faculty, and staff who argued that the draft guidelines released in March were overly restrictive of free expression on campus. The feedback process itself also drew criticism, with some community members arguing that six weeks of online feedback and two daytime listening sessions did not provide sufficient opportunity for meaningful input on such an important issue.
So what? Penn is now targeting Spring 2027 to implement new Guidelines on Open Expression. By then, the Temporary Guidelines will have been in place for nearly three years. Although the process has taken longer than originally anticipated, and as Jackson acknowledged there will never be complete consensus across the community, publishing feedback summaries and creating additional opportunities for public input help strengthen confidence in the process. For a university committed to open expression, trust in how these policies are developed is an important element of sustaining a culture focused on inquiry and learning.
Penn braces for tighter control on finances for FY2027
Last week, Vice President for Budget Planning and Analysis Trevor Lewis discussed Penn’s FY2027 operating budget at a Board of Trustees Budget and Finance Committee meeting and released the full budget plan to the university community.
In his opening remarks, Lewis emphasized the significant uncertainty facing Penn this fiscal year, including potential disruptions to federal research funding, restrictions on international enrollment, changes to federal student loans, and the increased endowment tax that takes effect on July 1.
Despite these challenges, the budget projects continued growth across both the academic university and Penn Medicine. Total revenue is expected to reach $19.5 billion, up from $17.3 billion in FY2025, with revenue expected to grow slightly faster than expenses due to tuition and fees, patient revenue, and investment income. However, those projections depend on schools and centers adhering to 4% budget cuts for FY2027, following similar reductions last year.
So what? Penn’s leadership is preparing for a period of prolonged financial uncertainty. Despite close monitoring of expenses, the narrative around the budget is still wary. Lewis emphasized that the plan aligns with In Principle and Practice, Penn Forward, and the university’s strategic priorities. But as federal policy, research funding, and enrollment dynamics continue to evolve, Penn may eventually need more substantial changes than incremental budget reductions to maintain its current model.
Thank you for reading the Franklin’s Forum newsletter! We love connecting with our readers — send us your thoughts and questions, Penn news, and ideas for future issues. If you enjoyed this edition, please spread the word by forwarding it to friends and classmates.