In Memoriam: Claire Mintzer Fagin, 1926-2024

Claire M. Fagin, who served as one of the first woman presidents in the Ivy League when she was appointed interim president of the University of Pennsylvania, in July 1993, died in New York City on January 16, 2024. She was 97 years old.

A native of New York City, Professor Fagin was a graduate of Wagner College in Staten Island, New York, where she majored in nursing. She earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in nursing at New York. Her dissertation focused on “rooming in” for parents who wanted to stay overnight to be with their hospitalized children. At the time, it was largely unheard of and now is quite common.

In 1970, Dr. Fagin  became head of nursing at CUNY’s Lehman College where she instituted her ideas for family-centered nursing into the curriculum.

Before becoming Penn’s interim president, Dr. Fagin was dean of the Nursing School at the university for 15 years. During her time as dean, the university’s nursing program rose to the No. 1 ranking nationwide and tripled its enrollments. After serving as interim president for a year, Dr. Fagin returned to the Nursing School to teach. On November 30, 2006, the nursing education building at the University of Pennsylvania was renamed Claire M. Fagin Hall.

J. Larry Jameson, interim president of the University of Pennsylvania, stated that “Dr. Fagin led during a challenging time and very much served the role of healer, seeking broad community input, and implementing many of the recommendations that inform our policies of open expression, respect, and civil discourse today.”