To Members of the University Community:

This morning I informed the Board of Trustees, together in Philadelphia for their June meeting, of my intention to step down from the presidency of Penn at the end of June 2004. At that time, it will be 10 years since I became President. It has been an extraordinary privilege and an exhilarating experience to serve during these years and I look forward to the exciting year ahead. This is a remarkable community of amazing depth and breadth, and I treasure the opportunity to work with so many talented and creative individuals every day.

Together we have ushered in a period of enormous growth and transformation for our University. Penn’s resources have been reinvigorated: research funding has more than doubled, and both annual fundraising and the size of the endowment have tripled since 1994. We have a leadership team of Deans and officers whom many believe is the most effective in higher education. The campus has improved dramatically and is safer and more vital. The academic programs are phenomenal, and more differentiated from our peers, as we planned for in the “Agenda for Excellence.” Students are applying in record numbers, and we have retained and recruited faculty superstars. Alumni support and enthusiasm is at a record high. Our West Philadelphia initiatives have yielded stunning results, which have earned local and national acclaim.

Penn is now consistently viewed and ranked as one of the handful of great universities in America. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all of you.

The decision to step down has been an extremely difficult one for me to make, but I believe it is the right time for Penn. We have successfully fulfilled our first bold strategic plan, “Agenda for Excellence,” and with the next plan conceived and ready to launch, it is a perfect time for new leadership. I love this institution and will always remain a part of it.

In order to create a seamless transition and ensure continuity, the trustees have asked me to assume a newly created part-time position as Chancellor to remain actively engaged in fundraising.

I look back with great pride at all that our faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners have together enabled Penn to accomplish these past nine years, and I know that the years ahead will be full of successes as well. I am truly grateful to all of you for giving me your wisdom, advice and energy, and so much support during these incredible years. What an amazing time it has been!

I am looking forward to continuing to work closely with many of you in the months to come. I will be the same activist President I am today, right up to June 30, 2004. There is still much to be done, and our goals for next year are compelling and demanding.

[More on President Rodin's Legacy]