Officials still quiet on Stetson's departure

A month after former Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson abruptly resigned from Penn, those who had close contact with him still continue to refuse comment, having been told by the University not to discuss the situation.

When visited at home and called at home telephone numbers over the past three weeks, every admissions officer has either been unreachable or has referred all inquiries regarding Stetson's departure to University spokeswoman Lori Doyle.

Many school deans and other top-ranking University officials have said they were not told of the circumstances regarding Stetson's departure, which many have noted as extremely unusual.

Doyle said that, as the University's spokeswoman, she is the only official authorized to discuss the issue.

But Doyle has offered little in the way of an explanation for Stetson's sudden departure.

"The reasons for his resignation are private and confidential," she said.

Stetson is widely considered to be one of the most high-profile figures in admissions, having helped orchestrate Penn's rise in visibility in his 29 years as dean.

He announced in July that he would resign at the end of this academic year, but, at the end of August, he abruptly decided to make his resignation effective immediately.

When asked about the reasons behind the date shift, Doyle repeated that the reasons were "private and confidential."

Following the announcement of Stetson's immediate resignation, Penn President Amy Gutmann only said that, due to Stetson's "own best interests and that of the University," it was "best for him to step down now, rather than wait until the end of the academic year."

She would not elaborate on the reasons for Stetson's resignation. Doyle also would not explain how his immediate departure would be "best" for the University.

Stetson did not return calls to his home or cell phone yesterday evening.

Comments (19)

I've been told that Former Dean Rodin was invited/asked to assist in finding a replacement for Ms. Gutman but politely declined to get involved.

I wonder if Stetson's departure is in any way related to Ms. Gutman's upcoming resignation. I hear from a very good source that Ms. Gutman's departure will be announced shortly, probably on or before the celebration/event regarding the new Post Office Complex which I believe is scheduled for later this month. Apparently, the Trustees' communicated the decision to Ms. Gutman several months ago and have already begun and unofficial search. She was very displeased with the decision and undoubtedly has spent the last several months pursuing new opportunities.

I wonder whether there is any relationship b/t Stetson's resignation and Gutman's soon to be announced resignation. I hear from a very good source that an announcement of Ms. Gutman's departure will be forthcoming shortly. This will likely occur on or before the big celebration/event regarding the new Post Office Complex development which I believe is scheduled for this month. Apparently, Ms. Gutman has been aware of the Trustees' decision for some time now and is not pleased with the decision. She undoubtedly has spent the last several months pursuing other opportunities.

What we need now is some good old-fashioned checkbook journalism. Come on, DP ... loosen the purse strings!

We have a University that always talks about freedom of speech, but then it bans its own staff from exercising their rights to speak about certain issues - how hypocritical. Penn certainly doesn't practice what it preaches. Being secretive is a classic sign of mismanagement - a hallmark of the failed and clueless Amy Gutmann administration.

hey penn alum- e-mail us! ivygate@gmail.com

WOW...what a bunch of idiots...I certainly wouldn't want to be a female student working in admissions right now. Every one of them, because of your unfounded comments, will be looked at as potentially guilty when, IN FACT, they are NOT. However, they are doing something as distasteful as earning $8.50 an hour dealing with over-involved parents and over-achieving kids...how lurid....ewwwww.

Is this actually a literary allusion in The Daily Pennsylvanian's" comments section? Where do you think this is, Tommy, Swarthmore?" Ezra, you, of all people, should be keenly aware of Penn's proud poetic past and present (alliteratively speaking).

There I saw one I knew, and called him, crying, "Stetson! You who were with me on the ships at Mylae. That corpse you planted last year in the garden Has it begun to sprout?. . . If he really did bed a student, I want particulars. Elaborate.

Is this actually a literary allusion in "The Daily Pennsylvanian's" comments section? Where do you think this is, Tommy, Swarthmore? [QUOTE id="4c033383-7ddb-4eef-ad68-7d5ac1e26ffd"]There I saw one I knew, and called him, crying, "Stetson! You who were with me on the ships at Mylae. That corpse you planted last year in the garden Has it begun to sprout?. . . If he really did bed a student, I want particulars. Elaborate.[/QUOTE]

the source is right. he had an affair with an undergraduate student that worked in the admissions office. DP -- look into it.

Penn Alum is crazy, crazy, crazy! Probably, I think. Well, maybe.

[QUOTE id="edf3f0ff-38d1-4b1b-9d0c-029cc6fc642c"]Penn Alum, I'm still not buyin' it.[/QUOTE] Only time will tell!

Penn Alum, I'm still not buyin' it.

Voice of Reason, Your logic is not faulty. I cannot explain the reasoning behind the timing of the announcement without jeopardizing my source. I guess only time will tell!

Lets have no more curiosity about this bizarre cover up.

Stetson left because he was having a relationship with a student. That's the whole story.

Maybe the Penn Alum is "pre-reading" the April Fools edition.

The 2 posts of "Penn Alum", besides being blatant rumor-mongering, are belied by common sense. First, the celebration later this month to which he/she refers is NOT about the Postal Lands, but is to commemorate the offical kickoff of Penn's multi-billion-dollar capital campaign. Second, it would make absolutely no sense for the Trustees to plan the announcement and celebration of the campaign kickoff--to be hosted by President Gutmann, by the way--while having already decided to force President Gutmann to leave immediately after the public phase of the campaign begins. That would be a public relations and fundraising blunder of gargantuan proportions, especially since the campaign is largely an embodiment of President Gutmann's Penn Compact and "excellence to eminence" vision. Logic dictates that if President Gutmann were to be forced out, it would be done long before the announcement of a major capital campaign, so that a new permanent President--the face and embodiment of the campaign--could be in place and firmly established at the time of the announcement. Rumors like this need to be shut down quickly before they spread very far.

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