Penn president announces he will leave next summer

University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson will conclude his presidency next June, he announced in an email to the Penn community Friday.

“Although I greatly enjoyed serving as president, now is the right time for Penn to begin its next chapter under new leadership,” Jameson said in the email. “My goal was to help restore stability during unanticipated leadership transitions, refocus our community on Penn’s mission and strengthen Penn for the future during a challenging time for higher education.”

Those goals have been accomplished, he said.

» READ MORE: In a rare interview, Penn’s president opens up about leading the school under the Trump administration

There was much speculation about whether Jameson — an endocrinologist who previously led Penn’s health system and medical school for more than 12 years — wanted or would be asked to remain in the seat beyond next year’s expiration of his current contract. Many have credited Jameson with steadying the school during a turbulent time, including as the school faced funding threats and increased scrutiny by President Donald Trump’s administration.

His departure will leave the Ivy League school searching for a new leader during a time of uncertainty under Trump, who has targeted elite universities.

Board chair Ramanan Raghavendran said he respected Jameson’s decision and the board will begin searching for the Ivy League school’s next president in the fall.

Jameson, 71, will have served in the top job at Penn just three and a half years, one of its shorter presidential tenures. But he came into the job by circumstance rather than desire.

Jameson took over in December 2023 during perhaps one of Penn’s greatest leadership upheavals. Former President Liz Magill had just resigned amid a bipartisan backlash over her testimony involving the school’s response to antisemitism complaints. He first was named interim president and then elevated to the permanent post in March 2025.

» READ MORE: Penn president Liz Magill has resigned following backlash over her testimony about antisemitism

Jameson earned total compensation of more than $8 million in 2024, the most recent tax year available. That included $5.4 million in “reportable compensation” and more than $2.5 million in other compensation.

“Dr. Jameson stepped in at a pivotal moment, and what he has accomplished in two and a half years has been simply extraordinary,” Raghavedran said in a statement.

Neither Raghavedran or Jameson were available for interviews Friday, the university said.

In his message, Jameson said “the momentum we have built will continue,” noting his intention to work over the next year on implementing the Penn Forward plan. The plan calls for everything from more transparent and predictable tuition and cost policies and improved student experience to more efficient operations, a focus on keeping Penn at the forefront of best uses of artificial intelligence, and a growing presence in the San Francisco Bay Area — where Wharton already has a campus.

» READ MORE: Penn president J. Larry Jameson gets the ‘interim’ removed from his title and a term extension

Penn also has some tough decisions ahead in his final year. During the spring semester, the school proposed new open expression guidelines that some on campus say are too restrictive and would chill free speech. The university is considering the feedback and plans to issue final guidelines next academic year.

The university also is undergoing belt-tightening in anticipation of potential federal cuts and increased legal and insurance costs. Penn in January asked schools and centers to pare 4% from their budgets for the next fiscal year, on top of a 5% cut last year.

Penn’s Graduate School of Education laid off several staff members last week as part of those cuts, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian, the student newspaper.

Many at Penn speak highly of Jameson’s leadership, though some wish he had made a stronger defense against some Trump demands.

“Even if this were a good time to search for a new president — and it decidedly is not — I cannot imagine Penn finding a more effective leader,“ Eric Feldman, faculty senate tri-chair and a law school professor, said last month. ”His deep knowledge of the medical school is a significant asset amid continuing pressures on federally funded research, and his extensive leadership experience, spanning decades, makes him uniquely well suited to guide the university through what are likely to be several more complex years.”

During an interview with The Inquirer last month, Jameson explained his decision to resist the Trump administration on some things and negotiate on others.

“My approach has been not just to complain,” Jameson said during his first interview as Penn’s president with a major media outlet, “but to say, ‘Well, here’s where we’re working together very effectively. Here’s where we’re not necessarily aligned, but let’s discuss how to move forward.’”

Jameson was at the helm when Penn last summer struck an agreement with the White House over the prior participation of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas on the school’s swim team. The school agreed to adhere to the Trump administration’s definitions of sex, female, male, women, and men in regard to athletics, and send letters of apology to female athletes who felt aggrieved by Thomas’ participation on their team during the 2021-22 season.

But he also was at the helm when Penn rejected a compact that would have given it preferential treatment for federal funding if it agreed to the Trump administration’s operational demands. The school also is actively fighting a demand by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to turn over lists of Jewish people on its campus for its investigation into alleged antisemitism at Penn. The agency sued Penn for not complying with its subpoena and a federal judge sided with the EEOC, but Penn is appealing the decision.

Jameson said he gained new perspective in the presidential role, which “allowed me to learn each day from the people, ideas and achievements that define this university and its extraordinary breadth. ...While my career has been in academic medicine, it has been illuminating to reacquaint myself with other fields, from poetry to political science, from finance to fine arts.”

He said the university is on a positive trajectory.

“Penn has tremendous momentum and is exceptionally well positioned for the future,” Jameson wrote.