The Inauguration of John A. Fry

About John A. Fry

John Anderson Fry, appointed Drexel University's 14th president in 2010, has served higher education for his entire professional life. Through his roles as a consultant, board member, chief operating officer and chief executive, he has acquired a deep and broad understanding of the challenges of leading a major educational institution.

Fry came to Drexel from Franklin & Marshall College, where he served as president from 2002 and was instrumental in the college's academic growth, campus and neighborhood development and improved finances. He raised the college's national profile and brought a renewed confidence to the institution. During his tenure, the quality of the student body improved dramatically as measured by a 63-point gain in average SATs over seven years. He also improved residential life through the creation of the faculty-led, student-governed College House system. The student-to-faculty ratio was lowered to 10:1, with a commitment made to hire 40 new tenure-track faculty members. Franklin & Marshall's curriculum was updated and expanded in life sciences, computer science, creative writing and modern languages. Faculty compensation was brought to the median of the college's national competitors. Under his leadership, Franklin & Marshall made a long-term commitment to increase its financial aid to attract and enroll the most highly qualified students. Fry forged new partnerships with the city and neighbors, improving the surrounding business economic district and neighborhoods.

From 1995 to 2002, Fry served as executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a major force in developing and implementing Penn's "Agenda for Excellence," a comprehensive plan that guided strategic initiatives from 1996 to 2001. As the university's chief operating officer, he was responsible for finance, investments, human resources, facilities and real estate, public safety, computing, technology transfer, research administration, corporate relations, auxiliary enterprises and internal audit and compliance. He also served as the university's liaison to the University of Pennsylvania Health System. At Penn, Fry built a coalition of non-profit, business, neighborhood and governmental organizations in support of a multi-pronged strategy to address the key challenges facing the University City neighborhood in West Philadelphia. In a relatively short period of time, residential property values rose significantly, the crime rate declined dramatically and hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in commercial infrastructure and economic development.

Before joining Penn, Fry was a higher education consultant. He worked closely with some of the nation's premier colleges and universities, first with KPMG Peat Marwick and then with Coopers & Lybrand's National Higher Education Consulting Practice, where he was elected a partner in the firm and eventually rose through the ranks to become partner-in-charge of the national practice.

Fry serves on the boards of the Haverford School, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Select Greater Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River Development Corporation and US Squash. He was the founding chairman of the University City District and served in that capacity for five years. He is also a director of Community Health Systems, Delaware Investments and NASDAQ-OMX.

In 2009, Fry completed his second term as chair of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council and stepped down after six years of service on the council. He also served for three years on the Executive Committee of the NCAA. He was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission that planned the celebration of Franklin's 300th birthday. Fry also served as a co-chair of the transition team of Governor-Elect Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Fry studied American civilization at Lafayette College and received the George Wharton Pepper Prize, the highest honor awarded to a graduating senior. In 1986, he earned a master's degree in business administration from the New York University Stern School of Business.

Fry and his wife, Cara, an art historian, have three children: Mia, a sophomore at Williams College; Nathaniel, a sophomore at The Shipley School; and Phoebe, a fourth grader at The Shipley School.