A top executive with Penn Medicine is one possibility to replace the University of Pennsylvania's president, who resigned Dec. 9.
The board for the private Ivy League institution is seeking an interim president to replace Liz Magill. J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, is one leader in consideration, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Dr. Jameson serves as executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and the 36th dean of its Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Jameson has led the institutions, which together make up Penn Medicine, since 2011.
Ms. Magill announced her resignation as president of University of Pennsylvania in the face of pressure from donors and criticism surrounding her testimony at a Dec. 5 congressional hearing alongside the presidents of Harvard and MIT about antisemitism on their campuses. During the hearing, Ms. Magill faced repeated questioning about whether calls for the genocide of Jews on campus violate the school's conduct policy; she was unable to provide a clear response.
During a board of trustees meeting addressing Ms. Magill's resignation, Dr. Jameson was referred to as an ideal candidate, a source told the Inquirer. It is unclear where the board stands in its process to name an interim president. Ms. Magill will remain in the role until an interim leader is named in her replacement.
On the day of Ms. Magill's testimony, Dr. Jameson and Kevin Mahoney, CEO of University of Pennsylvania Health System, released a statement. "Calls for genocide, echoing horrors of the past, violate our behavioral standards and remind us that we must forcefully condemn, prevent, and respond to hate in all forms," their letter said, according to the university's student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. The letter said that Penn Med will not tolerate antisemitism or other forms of hate.
Ms. Magill's 18-month tenure is the shortest of any Penn president. Her predecessor, Amy Gutmann, PhD, extended Dr. Jameson's contract for his dual role in 2020, pushing it through 2025.
At that time, Dr. Gutmann described Dr. Jameson's leadership as "tireless and value-based" alongside his "consummate university citizenship." She specifically lauded his efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion across Penn Medicine and the university. The 2020 decision to extend Dr. Jameson's contract was made with consultation by a long list of university and health system stakeholders, including the executive committees of Penn Medicine's board of trustees and the university's board of trustees.
Before coming to Penn Medicine, Dr. Jameson served as dean of the Feinberg School of Medicine and vice president of medical affairs at Northwestern University in Chicago.