Penn's five newest deans go through orientation

The tides are changing at Penn, with five new deans taking the helm throughout the next academic year.

But even as five of Penn’s schools embrace changes in leadership, the five individuals filling the positions are acclimating to the University and their new roles. For the first time, the newest class of Penn deans was met with a formal orientation.

Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett, Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel, Social Policy & Practice Dean John L. Jackson Jr. and Interim Law Dean Wendell Pritchett began their terms this summer. Stanford professor Pam Grossman will take up her post as Dean of the Graduate School of Education on Jan. 1.

“The new deans ... have all hit the ground running,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said of the University-wide turnover. “The faculty has welcomed them. The deans themselves are thrilled at their starts, and I’m delighted to see how smooth and strong their beginnings are.”

Spanning two days, the orientation was reminiscent of the annual New Student Orientation undertaken by incoming freshmen, providing a bonding opportunity for the new deans. Gutmann, Provost Vincent Price, the sitting deans and the rest of the University’s high-ranking faculty members and administrators also met with the new deans. “We bonded with them and they bonded with us,” she said. One session even included a campus tour — which was facilitated by golf carts, Villarruel said.

A formal tour may have been of little benefit to the deans who have already clocked in steps down Locust Walk over the years. Garrett, who came to Penn from the Australian School of Business at the University of New South Whales, was a professor at Penn from 1995 to 1997.

“I’ve changed more than the institution [has changed],” Garrett said, adding that his current objectives as dean encapsulate a broader vision than the research-focused work he did during the early stages of his professorship.

his familiarity with the University, Pritchett found the orientation session to be beneficial.

“I felt at the end of it we really knew each other fairly well, which was fun,” Pritchett said. “I think it will accelerate our working together.”

Consistent with the goals of the Penn Compact 2020, the deans’ orientation served as fodder for future collaboration and integration of academic disciplines.

Jackson, a Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, said he and the cohort of new deans are keen on working collaboratively across schools.

“We’ve already started to brainstorm about ways to work together to enhance the research of our faculty and students,” Jackson said in an email. “That is one of the most exciting things about the current moment: seeing how we can institutionalize cross-school links that translate into a much more robust and enriching experience for our faculty, students and staff.”

Villarruel, who came back to Penn for the third time from the University of Michigan, highlighted the integrated Nursing and Wharton program at the undergraduate and graduate levels, adding that a Social Policy and Practice faculty member serves as co-chair.

Beyond mere tours and gateways for collaboration, however, the deans agree that the personal aspect of their orientation proved to be invaluable.

Garrett recalled a dinner held at the conclusion of the first day, during which instead of jumping straight into policy and their jobs, each person spoke about who they were as people — he learned that Price grew up in Los Angeles, where Garrett himself lived for 10 years.

“I think there’s a temptation in big jobs with busy people that there’s a ruthless focus on the job,” Garrett said. “Not only is it more enjoyable, but we do our jobs better … if we know the people we’re interacting with as human beings.”

With searches underway for new deans to lead the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Law School, the next dean orientation may be sooner rather than later.

“We’re going to do it now no matter how many deans we have,” Gutmann said. “The reviews have been enormously positive.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.