On March 13, the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania voted unanimously to appoint Endocrine Society Past-President J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, who has served as interim president since December 2023, president of the University for a term that will run through June 30, 2027.
In announcing the appointment, Chair of the Board of Trustees Ramanan Raghavendran stated, “The challenges facing higher education today are among the most significant ever encountered by American universities. Given Penn’s complexity, size, location, and visibility, these issues have profound implications for our community. In such a moment, there is nothing more important than leadership. Penn has been very fortunate to have Larry Jameson at the helm during this time. I am pleased that our Board can recognize his exceptional performance, and acknowledge his inspirational leadership and vision, by formally extending his appointment to June 30, 2027.”
Before his appointment as interim president in December 2023, Jameson served as the university’s executive vice president for the Health System and as dean of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine since July 1, 2011.
“I am profoundly honored by this vote of confidence from our Board of Trustees,” Jameson says. “I look forward to continuing the vital work of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members to uphold Penn’s mission of utilizing knowledge for the greater good. I am confident that our University’s future is bright as we prioritize our core values of excellence, freedom of inquiry and expression, and respect. I am deeply committed to this extraordinary institution, and it is an honor to serve as Penn’s President.”
Jameson, a past recipient of the Endocrine Society’s Fred Conrad Koch Lifetime Achievement Award and the inaugural editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Endocrine Society, has been at the helm of the medical community in one form or another since he joined Northwestern University Medical School as chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Molecular Medicine in 1993. In 2000, he was named Irving S. Cutter Professor of Medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine at Northwestern.
Jameson received his medical degree with honors and a doctoral degree in biochemistry from the University of North Carolina in 1981. He completed clinical training in internal medicine and endocrinology at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Before leaving for Northwestern University, he rose through the ranks at Harvard Medical School to become an associate professor of medicine and chief of the Thyroid Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.
An accomplished physician-scientist, Jameson has pioneered studies of the genetic basis of hormonal disorders, and he is the author of more than 350 scientific articles and chapters. He is an editor of “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine,” the most widely used textbook of internal medicine. His research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Genetics, Science, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Aside from his tenure as the Society’s president, Jameson also served as the president of the Association of American Physicians, and recently chaired the Board of Directors of the American Association of Medical Colleges. Jameson has received many distinguished awards, including the Van Meter Award from the American Thyroid Association, and the Sheen Award from the American College of Surgeons. Jameson is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
As interim president, Jameson has championed Penn’s values, helped define the University’s position on academic independence and institutional neutrality, and led the implementation of its strategic framework, In Principle and Practice. Early milestones include the dedication of Penn’s new home for interdisciplinary data science; Draw Down the Lightning Grants to fund projects that accelerate progress on Penn’s priorities; Penn Washington, the University’s hub for civic engagement and policy in the nation’s capital; inaugural leadership roles to advance the University’s work and expertise in climate science and the arts; advances in Penn’s commitment to sustainability; and pioneering academic programs and initiatives, including the Ivy League’s first undergraduate degree program in AI.
Jameson also leads Penn’s efforts to combat bias, build community, and balance the University’s strong commitment to open expression and mutual respect, which includes the launch of Penn’s Office of Religious and Ethnic Interests (Title VI), the first of its kind nationally.
[PHOTO: Eric Sucar, University of Pennsylvania]
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