A Message from Drexel President John Fry on Concluding His Tenure at Drexel

The following message was sent to the Drexel community.

Dear Drexel Students and Colleagues,

As I begin my 15th year of service to Drexel, I have decided that this will be my last year as president. I have told Board Chair Rich Greenawalt that I am prepared to provide transitional leadership to the University until the Board of Trustees has named a new leader. At the conclusion of this period, I will assume responsibilities as the 15th president of Temple University.

This job has been the honor of my professional life, and I am profoundly grateful to all of you who have made it possible, especially my incredible senior team and members of the Executive Council; my outstanding faculty colleagues; our dedicated, hard-working professional staff; our talented and spirited students; and our loyal and generous alumni and friends who have made so much possible for Drexel.

Together we have built on the strong foundation of our predecessors to create a distinctive, high-impact, comprehensive R-1 university that excels in experiential education, translational research, and civic revitalization. Drexel is now Philadelphia’s go-to university for talent, expertise, and collaborative partnerships. And along the way, you pushed me and made me a better president and a better person.

Board Chair Greenawalt will be writing to you soon about the search process and how it will be led, staffed, and launched. During this time, I will focus on transitioning philanthropic and government relationships and closing any important business transactions. Provost Paul Jensen will lead the implementation of the recommendations by the University Advisory Committee on Academic Structure and other academic tasks while Helen Bowman, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer, will oversee the advancement of the administrative and financial work underway at the University, as well as other administrative tasks.

I am so proud of what we have achieved together over the last 14 years, and I look forward to personally thanking you for all that you have done to make Drexel a stronger, more competitive, and more humane and civically engaged university.

Sincerely yours,

John Fry

President