A Message to the Penn Community
From
President Amy Gutmann

I write to share some bittersweet news: this morning Duke University is announcing that it has selected our Provost, Vince Price, to be its next president, starting July 1, 2017.

Everybody who has worked with Vince will wholeheartedly agree that Duke has made an absolutely superb choice. No one is better prepared or more deserving than Vince to lead a distinguished university such as Duke. We are proud and extremely happy for him, Annette and their family, even if our happiness is tinged with the sadness of our cherished colleague and friend departing from Penn come July 1.

Since becoming Provost in 2009, Vince has brought extraordinary leadership and vision--as well as grace and good humor--to our academic enterprise. Vince helped recruit exceptional deans and faculty members while advancing initiatives to diversify the faculty, develop new forms of teaching and learning, expand Penn’s global engagement (including our new Penn Wharton China Center and Perry World House), and enhance arts and culture on campus. He has also been a major force in facilitating interdisciplinary research and teaching, developing Penn's online learning initiatives, and providing intellectual forums for our community to come together to address some of the most challenging issues of our time.

Before being appointed Provost, Vince served as Interim Provost, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, Chair of the Faculty Senate, and Associate Dean of the Annenberg School. He also serves as the Steven H. Chaffee Professor of Communication in the Annenberg School for Communication and Professor of Political Science in the School of Arts and Sciences. Penn is a better place today because of the stellar work that Vince has done in his many roles at our University.

In preparation for Vince’s departure from Penn, I have begun the process of forming an Ad Hoc Consultative Committee of faculty and students to advise me on the selection of Penn’s next Provost. The Ad Hoc Committee will be chaired by Executive Vice President of the University for the Health System and Perelman School of Medicine Dean Larry Jameson.  My expectation is that we will announce a new Provost prior to Vince’s departure.

Although we will have many more opportunities before July 1 to congratulate him and celebrate his tenure as Provost, I hope you will join me today in wishing Vince great success at Duke, as we also thank him for his great service to Penn.