December 12, 2023
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J. Larry Jameson will serve as the interim president of the University of Pennsylvania following the resignation of Liz Magill. Jameson has held leadership roles at Penn Medicine since 2011.
The University of Pennsylvania's board of trustees has named Dr. J. Larry Jameson as interim president following the resignation of Liz Magill, who stepped down Saturday amid criticism to her responses at a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses.
Jameson has served as executive vice president of Penn's health system and as the dean of its medical school since 2011. He previously held similar leadership positions at Northwestern University in Illinois following a decades-long career as a physician-scientist in the endocrinology field. His Penn biography touts his work on 350 scientific articles and chapters.
MORE: Penn President Liz Magill resigns after backlash over testimony on antisemtism
Julie Beren Platt, the board of trustee's interim chair, called Jameson "a collaborative, innovative, and visionary leader with extensive engagement with each of Penn's 12 schools."
Platt noted that Jameson chaired the university's review of the School of Arts and Sciences and led committees that selected Penn's provost and the dean of the Wharton School. Platt also cited Jameson's service on the Presidential Selection Committee.
Platt became the board of trustees interim chair after Scott L. Bok vacated the position shortly after Magill's resignation. She only will remain as the board's chair until a successor is appointed due to her role as the board chair of the Jewish Federations of North America, Penn's board of trustees said Saturday.
Magill drew widespread criticism for her testimony last week, specifically her response to a question about whether Penn students that call for genocide of Jewish people should face discipline from the university. Her remarks intensified scrutiny that had been building since Penn permitted a Palestinian literary festival to be held on campus in August despite Jewish groups warning that some speakers had a history of antisemitism.
Magill's 17-month tenure was the shortest of any Penn president.
Jonathan A. Epstein, of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, will fill Jameson's previous positions on an interim basis.
