The eight administrators you need to know before starting at Penn

President Amy Gutmann:

The eighth president of Penn, Amy Gutmann presides over all major decisions made by the University — and she'll continue to do so for quite a while longer. This past November, the Board of Trustees extended Gutmann’s contract until 2022, which will make her the longest-serving Penn president in history.

Since Gutmann assumed her post in 2004, Penn has worked on several new construction projects, including the New College House, Perry World House, Penn Park, and most recently, a new Penn Medicine hospital pavilion that will cost $1.5 billion to build. 

Gutmann, who is the first in her immediate family to graduate from college, has also worked to make Penn more accessible. She has more than doubled the budget for undergraduate financial aid during her presidency.

But her term has not been without controversy. During the recent U.S. presidential election, Gutmann fielded complaints from students concerned about the administration's silence towards 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump, who repeatedly invoked his Wharton degree during his campaign. 

She also drew backlash from Penn Police in 2015 for participating in a "die in" during a holiday party at her campus residence in December, and was criticized in 2006 for posing with a student dressed as a suicide bomber at a Halloween party. 

Gutmann has made it a priority to promote research and innovation in recent years. In 2015, she began awarding the President’s Engagement Prize — an award of $150,000 given annually to graduating seniors leading projects on community engagement. 

In 2016, she also launched the President’s Innovation Prize, whichawards $100,000 to graduating seniors who propose "an innovative, commercial venture that makes a positive difference in the world."

Incoming Provost Wendell Pritchett:

Wendell Pritchett will start as Penn's 30th provost on July 1, once former Provost Vincent Price leaves to officially become Duke University's 10th president. 

Pritchett, a current Penn Law School professor, earned his Ph.D. from Penn in 1997, and has since served as an associate dean for academic affairs at Penn Law, interim dean of Penn Law and chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden. 

Outside Penn, Pritchett has worked as deputy chief of staff and director of policy for former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, as well as a member of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, which governs the city's school district. 

Once the Board of Trustees formally approve his appointment, Pritchett will serve directly under Gutmann and oversee student and academic affairs at the University, such as research, faculty affairs and student life.

Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Steven Fluharty:

Steven Fluharty has been the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences since 2013, but has been involved with the University for much longer than that.

After earning three academic degrees from Penn, Fluharty taught animal biology in the School of Veterinary Medicine, psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences and pharmacology and neuroscience in the Perelman School of Medicine. He most recently served as the director of the Biological Basis of Behavior Program for 11 years and as the senior vice provost for research. 

Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Andrew Binns:

The top post in the College of Arts and Sciences, Penn's largest undergraduate school, will undergo some transition at the start of the 2017-18 academic year. 

Current Dean of the College Dennis DeTurck recently announced that he will not be returning to his position, leaving interim Dean Andy Binns in place until New Student Orientation in August. 

Binns, a biology professor and former vice provost for education, had been serving in his interim role through the spring semester as DeTurck was on a sabbatical. 

DeTurck, who is also a mathematics professor, has been the dean of the College for 12 years and has worked at Penn since 1980. He is also the faculty director for Riepe College House, where he is known for baking and distributing hundreds of homemade cookies every Wednesday night to house residents.

Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett:

Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett, who has working experience from across the globe, has spent his term transforming Penn's business school into a place for innovation and entrepreneurship, not just finance.

Garrett, a former Fulbright scholar, is also the reliance professor of management and private enterprise in the Management Department at Wharton and is on the advisory board of the Global Policy Journal.

Before serving as Wharton dean, Garrett was a political science professor at a range of universities including Stanford University, Yale University and the University of Sydney. He also served as the dean of the University of Sydney Business School. 

However, Garrett has called his position at Wharton “the best job in the world for me.”

Engineering Dean Vijay Kumar

Engineering Dean Vijay Kumar just completed his second year as dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Kumar is well known for his research and development of drones and other flying robots. His TED Talk on the future of robots has been viewed over 4 million times online. Kumar also spoke at TEDxPenn in 2015 and opened the conference in 2016.

Kumar has written more than 400 articles and papers on his research. The recipient of numerous honors and awards for research and teaching, he has also been involved with creating the newly opened Pennovation Center.

Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel

Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel has served as dean of the School of Nursing since 2014 and has worked to maintain Penn Nursing’s ranking as the top nursing school in the world.

Villarruel is an alumna of Penn Nursing and served as a faculty member from 1995-2000. She previously worked as the associate dean for research and global affairs at the University of Michigan School of Nursing.

In her position, Villarruel has partnered with Trinity Health PACE to provide care to elders and their families in West Philadelphia and directed the World Health Organization Collaboration Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership at Penn Nursing to reduce maternal mortality in Haiti.

Dean of Admissions Eric Furda

Perhaps the most well-known figure to incoming students, Dean Eric Furda is the smiling face in the accepted student admissions video that only 9 percent of Penn applicants get to watch.

Furda possesses a sort of celebrity figure on campus. At Spring Fling this year, he made an appearance at the annual "Pool Party" held at the Roxxy’s Bamboo Bar, to the excitement of many students attending. 

Furda was previously the executive director of undergraduate admissions at Columbia University before he was named Penn's dean of admissions in 2008. He graduated from Penn in 1987, where he was a four-year letter winner in sprint football. He still sits on the sprint football alumni advisory committee today.