John Fry - Convocation Speaker
Drexel University's 14th President
John Fry, appointed Drexel University’s 14th president in 2010, has served higher education for his entire professional life. Through his roles as a consultant, administrator, chief operating officer and chief executive, he has acquired a deep and broad understanding of the challenges of leading a major educational institution.
Mr. Fry comes to Drexel from Franklin & Marshall College, where he served as president since 2002 and was instrumental in the college’s growth, campus development and improved finances. He raised the college’s national profile and brought a renewed confidence to the institution.
Previously Mr. Fry was 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. Before joining Penn, Mr. 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, which he ultimately headed.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Mr. 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.
John Fry and his wife, Cara, have three children: Mia, Nathaniel and Phoebe.
