U. announces presidential search committee members

The effort to find a replacement for outgoing Penn President Judith Rodin entered a new phase this morning, as the University released the roster of the Consultative Committee, which will initiate the search process. The committee, which has yet to meet, will convene "shortly," according to Jim Riepe, President of Penn's Board of Trustees. Riepe added that the times and locations of the committee's meetings would be kept confidential, to protect the integrity of the search process. The makeup of the committee is largely dictated by University statute, Riepe said, noting that the statute requires there to be an equal number of faculty and trustees, half as many students as faculty and as many graduate and professional students as there are undergraduates on the committee. There are also "specific selection provisions that involve the Faculty Senate" regarding the selection of the faculty members on the committee, according to Riepe. "Everybody's approved," Riepe said, adding that committee members will first receive "a letter today from the Secretary of the University that welcomes them to the committee." Though the search is only just beginning, Riepe said that he felt there was time enough for the committee to see the process through before appointing an interim president becomes necessary. "I think Dr. Rodin gave us adequate notice," Riepe said. "We hope to have somebody in place by next July - that's our goal." The Consultative Committee will select and present at least three candidates to the Executive Committee of the Trustees, which will in turn make a recommendation or recommendations to the full Board of Trustees. The board will then have the responsibility to select Penn's next president. The committee is aiming to submit its recommendations to the Executive Committee of the Trustees in early 2004, according to Riepe, who added that the full board will likely be supportive of the candidate that makes it through both the Consultative and Executive committees. Riepe declined to offer his views on the qualities the committee should look for in a potential president. "It's going to take a few meetings for the committee to get to know each other and to discuss the issues," Riepe said. Riepe said that the committee will look at "two primary issues" in their early meetings: "what does the committee view as the key challenges the University will face in the next ten years [and] in light of that, what are the characteristics that we would" want in a president? Riepe also noted that there are "viable internal candidates" to be considered as the search progresses. Including Riepe, who will serve as the committee's chairman, the committee includes nine trustees, seven of whom +have Wharton degrees. Eight faculty members and four students - two undergraduates and two graduate students - round out the committee roster.

The committee

Chair, James S. Riepe, W'65, WG'67, Charter Trustee

Trustee Members Thomas Ehrlich, Esq., Term Trustee Natalie I. Koether, Esq., CW'61, L'65, Charter Trustee Andrea Mitchell, CW'67, Charter Trustee Egbert L .J. Perry, CE'76, WG'78, GCE'79, Term Trustee Alvin V. Shoemaker, W'60, HON'95, Charter Trustee David M. Silfen, C'66, Term Trustee Michael L. Tarnopol, W'58, Charter Trustee Paul C. Williams, W'67, Alumni Trustee, President, Penn Alumni

Faculty Members Howard Kunreuther, Cecilia Yen Koo Professor, The Wharton School Phoebe S. Leboy, Professor of Biochemistry, School of Dental Medicine Mitchell P. Marcus, RCA Professor of Artificial Intelligence, School of Engineering and Applied Science E. Ann Matter, Brownlee Professor of Religious Studies, School of Arts and Sciences Michael T. Mennuti, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine Charles W. Mooney, Jr., Professor of Law, The Law School Arthur Rubenstein, Executive Vice President for the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Dean of the School of Medicine Barbara D. Savage, The Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought, School of Arts and Sciences

Student Members Robert J. Alvarez, WG'04, Chair, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Jason M. Levy, C'04, Chair, Undergraduate Assembly Dierdra J. Reber, PhD Candidate, Department of Romance Languages, President, Graduate Student Associations Council Ophelia Roman, C'05, President, Student Committee on Undergraduate Education

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