Penn’s presidential search is underway, and this is an important moment for the Penn community to make its voice heard. Penn Quaker Courage penned an open letter to let decision makers know the essential criteria we’re looking for in the new president.
The Presidential Consultative Committee has been convened to gather community perspectives and help define the qualities and priorities Penn should seek in its next president. The Board of Trustees will ultimately elect the president. What we say now can help shape the criteria that guide that decision.
Our open letter to the Presidential Consultative Committee and Board of Trustees, centers on five principles that we believe should be fundamental to the next president’s leadership:
Academic freedom. Free expression. Institutional independence. Shared governance. Community trust.
We believe these principles are particularly important at this moment.
The University is now defining what it will seek in its next leader. Now is the time to make our priorities known.
If you share these principles, we ask you to add your name to the letter:
Please sign the letter, then share this invitation with colleagues across the Penn community. A broad and representative group of signatories will make clear to the Consultative Committee and the Trustees that these are not peripheral concerns. They are central to the future of Penn. With the clout of the Penn Community behind us, we will endeavor to meet with the Trustees individually to discuss our priorities.