M. Elizabeth Magill has been nominated by the executive committee of the board of trustees to serve as the ninth president of the University of Pennsylvania. The full board will vote to approve the nomination on March 4. Professor Magill will begin her new role this summer, replacing Amy Gutmann who has served as president since 2004 and has been appointed to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Germany. (See WIAReport post.)
“I am humbled and honored by the opportunity to lead the remarkable institution that is the University of Pennsylvania — and to succeed Dr. Amy Gutmann, who has been a visionary and innovative leader,” said Professor Magill. “From its founding, Penn set its sights on making a difference, and 282 years later the Penn community continues to change the world every day through world-class research, teaching, patient care, and service. What is special about Penn is that it does this with an uncommon mix of pragmatism, creativity, and humanity. I look forward to working with the faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community members to build on this inspiring legacy and shape Penn’s next great chapter. I cannot wait to get started.”
The University of Pennsylvania, a member of the Ivy League, enrolls more than 11,000 undergraduate students and more than 15,000 graduate students, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 55 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Professor Magill has been serving since 2019 as executive vice president and provost at the University of Virginia. Earlier, she was the Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and dean of Stanford Law School. Previously, she spent 15 years on the faculty of the University of Virginia School of Law. She is an expert on administrative law and constitutional structure.
A graduate of Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in history, Magill worked as a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Kent Conrad, who represented the state of North Dakota. She then enrolled at the University of Virginia School of Law where she was the articles development editor for the Virginia Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Magill clerked for Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson III of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and later for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the U.S. Supreme Court.