David L. Cohen nominated to chair Penn trustees
The University of Pennsylvania is expected to announce today that David L. Cohen, Comcast executive vice president, has been nominated to serve as chairman of Penn's board of trustees, effective Nov. 2009. Members of the board will vote on the nomination in June.
Cohen, a current member of the board, also serves as president of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. Cohen previously served as Mayor Edward G. Rendell's chief of staff in the 1990s before becoming head of the law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll.
Here a copy of the memo that Penn President Amy Gutmann and James S. Riepe, current chairman of the board of trustees, sent yesterday to members of the board:
To: Trustees
From: Jim Riepe and Amy Gutmann
Date: December 2, 2008
We are writing to inform you that the Trustee Nominating Committee has formally nominated David L. Cohen to become chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, effective November 7, 2009, following the Trustees' fall meetings. As members of Penn's Board, you will be asked to vote in June 2009, during the trustees' annual election of Board officers, on the Nominating Committee's recommendation. This recommendation, which also has the full support of the Executive Committee, is the result of a process that began earlier this year after Jim made known to Amy his desire to step down from the chair after 10 years in that position.
A graduate of Penn Law, David has been a dedicated member of the Penn trustee board for many years, with a demonstrated passion for Penn's mission as well as strong community relationships and a deep understanding of how large and complex institutions work. His work as chair of Penn Medicine has been outstanding and contributed importantly to its success in recent years. He will provide strong leadership and wise counsel to the trustees and University leadership and we are confident that he will make an excellent board chair.
David is highly regarded both nationally and locally for his business and political acumen. With the major challenges facing higher education today, his skills will be critical in helping us to move ahead with our strategic priorities. We welcome his knowledge and insight, and are pleased that he has committed the time and energy needed to help sustain the tremendous momentum that Penn carries into the future. We are looking forward to working closely with him in pursuit of that goal.
David has been a Penn trustee since 2001. In 2002, he was named founding chairman of the Board and Executive Committee of Penn Medicine, the umbrella governance structure created by the University to oversee both the Health System and the University's School of Medicine. As Penn Medicine chair, he has worked closely with University and Penn Medicine leadership and has overseen the critical decision-making that led to the remarkable financial turnaround of the Health System.
David has served on key trustee committees, including the Executive, Audit and Compliance, Budget and Finance, Nominating, and Compensation committee.
He has also been a trusted advisor regarding Penn's relations with the City and Commonwealth, as well as national and local elected officials. He will be our first Philadelphia-based chair since 1986.
As executive vice president of Comcast Corporation, David is a member of the senior leadership team that oversees a telecommunications and entertainment conglomerate with more than 100,000 employees and more than $30 billion in revenue. Comcast is the nation's largest cable provider, second largest residential Internet provider, and fourth largest residential telephone provider. Before taking his position at Comcast in 2002, he was a partner and chairman of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the country. From 1992 to 1997, he was chief of staff to Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell.
A native of New York, David graduated from Swarthmore College in 1977 and from Penn Law in 1981. His wife, Rhonda, graduated from Penn Law in 1980.
Penn's Office of Communications will be issuing a press announcement regarding David's nomination, since we expect interest from the Philadelphia media.
The coming year provides us with ample time for a seamless transition to a new board chair. Penn is blessed with a strong and engaged Board of Trustees whom we know will join us in working with David in the years ahead to sustain Penn's positive momentum.
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