Jameson agrees to serve as interim Penn president through 2026 academic year

Interim Penn President Larry Jameson will remain in his position through the 2026 academic year, according to an email sent to the University community Monday afternoon.

In the email, Board of Trustees Chair Ramanan Raghavendran announced that Jameson, the former dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, had agreed to remain in charge for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years — or until a successor has been found. 

“I want to first express my immense gratitude to Interim President J. Larry Jameson for his steady, thoughtful leadership during this time of transition at Penn.” Raghavendran wrote. “We are extremely fortunate to have the benefit of his vast experience and talents as we sustain Penn’s important missions and focus on the future.”

The announcement means that Jameson’s term as interim president will be the longest in Penn’s history. This tenure surpasses previous terms held by Wendell Pritchett, who served from February 2022 to June 2022, and Claire Fagin, who held the position from July 1993 to June 1994.

The email noted that additional information — including details on opportunities for members of the Penn community to offer input — would be shared closer to the launch of the presidential search. 

The announcement comes nearly exactly six months after former Penn President Liz Magill resigned on Dec. 9 after backlash over antisemitism controversies. On Dec. 12, Jameson was appointed interim president, and no further presidential search status updates have been announced since then.

By contrast, in the three most recent presidential searches, the Board of Trustees started the presidential search process within two months of the previous president’s resignation.

The presidential search process typically begins when the Board of Trustees chair convenes a consultative committee, which is composed of trustees, deans, faculty, and students. Then, the Board of Trustees chair will select members from the consultative committee to join a search committee that identifies and recruits candidates who meet the criteria outlined by the consultative committee. Finally, the search committee will then make recommendations to the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, which will present a final nomination to the Board for all Trustees to vote on.

In January, former CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System Ralph Muller told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Jameson was planning on leaving his role as dean and executive vice president of the Medical School in late 2025 prior to his appointment as interim president.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Jameson will serve in his role through the 2026 academic year, not the 2026 calendar year.