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

As the University of Pennsylvania faces the potential loss of hundreds of millions in funding and intense federal scrutiny on the higher education sector, its board of trustees has made the school’s interim president permanent.

J. Larry Jameson was named president and his term was extended to June 2027, a year longer than his previous appointment, Penn announced Thursday. It means he will be in place to lead the school through turbulent political and fiscal times for another two-plus years.

“The challenges facing higher education today are among the most significant ever encountered by American universities,” board chair Ramanan Raghavendran said in a statement. “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.”

» READ MORE: J. Larry Jameson to remain interim Penn president through 2026 academic year

Penn could lose $250 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health under an executive order by President Donald Trump. The university has reduced its graduate admissions and has instituted a hiring freeze as it braces for impact. The school also last month scrubbed its websites and programming of references to diversity, equity, and inclusion in response to another Trump order, which brought criticism from some faculty.

In a message to the campus community earlier this week, the university’s provost, John L. Jackson Jr., and Craig R. Carnaroli, senior executive vice president, said that the challenges, given their “scope and pace,” may be even “more severe” than the 2008 financial crisis or the pandemic.

Jameson also led the university last spring while a pro-Palestinian encampment was erected on the College Green and eventually taken down by police at the school’s direction.

» READ MORE: Penn’s medical school dean is being eyed as interim president of the university

Jameson, 70, has served as interim president since December 2023, taking over after the resignation of Liz Magill following a bipartisan backlash over her congressional testimony on the school’s handling of antisemitism complaints. Last June, the board extended his term through the 2025-26 academic year. He previously served as executive vice president of Penn’s health system and medical school, a position he had held since July of 2011.

He earned a salary of more than $5 million in 2022 and additional compensation of more than $1.2 million, according to the most recent tax filings available.

“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,” Jameson said in a statement. “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.”

Jameson, a molecular endocrinologist and native of Georgia, came to Penn from Northwestern University, where he had most recently served as dean of the medical school and vice president of medical affairs. He received his medical school degree at the University of North Carolina in 1981 and had worked at Harvard Medical School earlier in his career.