John Fry, former Executive Vice President at Penn and Drexel University President, was appointed President of Temple University. (Photo by Mblumer | CC0 1.0.)
Drexel University President John Fry will become the 15th president of Temple University, trading his West Philadelphia office for one in North Philadelphia, officials announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes after Temple’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve Fry’s confirmation. Fry — who served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Penn from 1995 to 2002 — will begin his tenure once Drexel appoints its next president.
In the announcement, Fry wrote that he is “deeply humbled” to serve as Temple’s next president.
“Temple stands as a cornerstone of our region’s vitality—a vibrant and accessible anchor institution that provides transformative opportunities and positively impacts countless lives through its mission,” he added.
In a university-wide email to the Temple community announcing the decision, Chair of Temple’s Board of Trustees Mitchell Morgan described Fry as the “right leader at the right time to launch Temple into a new chapter of its history.”
Fry’s tenure at Penn lasted eight years under former Penn President Judith Rodin. During this time, he played a key role in developing and implementing the “Agenda for Excellence,” a strategic plan for the University.
At Penn, he was the chief architect of the plan to revitalize the University’s West Philadelphia neighborhood and launched the University City District. The creation of the District saw hundreds of millions of dollars invested in commercial infrastructure and economic growth, and residential property values increased significantly. The neighborhood also saw a sharp drop in crime rates.
On Wednesday morning, Fry informed the Drexel community via email that he will be taking on the new role at Temple.
“This job has been the honor of my professional life, and I am profoundly grateful to all of you who have made it possible,” Fry wrote to the Drexel community.
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