Pondering Penn's Past Presidents and Previous Chief Executives

With the Inauguration of President Amy Gutmann set for next week, an often asked question on campus lately has been, "How can Dr. Gutmann be the eighth president of Penn if the University was  founded more than 200 years ago?"

The answer can be found in a soon to be mounted, special Inaugural Exhibition in College Hall—Penn Presidents and the Presidency—prepared by the University Archives, which has compiled the following history of Penn's previous chief executives: "The University of Pennsylvania traces its origins to 1740. Benjamin Franklin was Penn's founder and the first president of the trustees of the Academy and of the College. He was in spirit Penn's first chief executive, but it was the Aberdeen-educated Anglican clergyman, the Reverend William Smith, nominated as Provost of the new College in 1755, who was the first actual administrative head.  As noted below, 13 successors to Dr.  Smith bore his title of provost.  In 1930, Thomas Sovereign Gates became the first administrative head to bear the title of president."

The exhibition text was prepared by the curator, Carol A. Benenson, historical consultant, under the direction of Mark Frazier Lloyd, Director of the University Archives and Records Center. Exhibit design is by Keith Ragone. Penn Presidents and the Presidency will be on view in College Hall beginning on Monday, October 11 and remain through the end of the year. It will contain historical photographs from the Collections of the University Archives covering the period of the modern presidency, from 1930 to the present.

Below are photographs of the eight Presidents of Penn during their tenure.

Previous Chief Executives