Gradnews 2013

Page 17

-2+1 )5< œ ‡ 6)3 +$// 2) )$0( ,1'8&7(( John Anderson Fry was born in Brooklyn and received an undergraduate degree in American Civilization from Lafayette College. He worked in accounting, during which time he received an MBA degree from the New York University Stern School of Business. He eventually worked in management consulting, specializing in universities.

A 2012 Forbes magazine article on him stated, “There is a man leading one of the largest private universities in the United States, and he is leading it from the front; walking the walk and making a very real difference for students, his university and those that live and work in his university’s neighborhood.�

St. Francis Prep has been the benefactor of John’s spirit of generosity with his most gracious Capital Campaign gift for the Laurie Fry- Kane ‘82 Dance Studio in honor of his sister (pictured above) and part of the next phase of the Prep’s Capital Improvement program. Pictured (l-r): SFP Principal Bro. Leonard Conway, Laurie Fry-Kane ‘82 (accepting the Hall of Fame award on behalf of her brother, John ‘78), Alumni Board President, Wally Bishop ‘80 and Alumni Director, Bro. Robert Kent, OSF. Photo by Mike Graziano

The story continued with, “His success is no flash in the pan. His track record began at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), moved to

Photo inset: John Fry ‘78 , President of Drexel University. Photo: Courtesy Drexel University.

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Fry was the president of Franklin & Marshall College from 2002–2010. During his tenure, the average SAT score of students rose by 63 points over 7 years, the ratio of students to faculty was lowered to 10:1 and the college created a faculty-led, student-governed College House system. On March 10, 2010, he was designated as the 14th President of

In 2011, Fry negotiated Drexel’s affiliation with America’s oldest natural history museum, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, creating The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. In 2012, Fry announced the completion of the Drexel strategic plan for 20122017, “Transforming the Modern Urban University.�

Franklin & Marshall College, and continues today at Drexel. As a senior official at Penn, he led a remarkable change in university and community relations that ultimately transformed the neighborhood around Penn’s west Philly campus into a respectable, safe neighborhood where students, neighbors, universities and businesses thrive today. Something he continued while President at Franklin & Marshall before recently taking over as President of Drexel in the wake of the untimely death of his friend and mentor, President Constantine Papadakis, whom Fry calls, Drexel’s greatest president.�

GRAD NEWS 2013

One of Fry’s clients in consulting was the University of Pennsylvania, and when he worked for the university, Judith Rodin, the then President, hired him as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 1995, a position he held until 2002. At the University of Pennsylvania he helped develop the “Agenda for Excellence,� a comprehensive strategic plan covering 1996-2001, and implemented a strategy addressing challenges in the University City neighborhood to raise property values, reduce crime and attract commercial infrastructure and economic development.

Drexel University to begin on August 1, 2010. Fry’s inaugural address set an early agenda featuring three major objectives: to make Drexel “one of academe’s most powerful engines for neighborhood improvement and regional economic growth�; to “mobilize [Drexel’s] entrepreneurial and creative energies to confront major threats to human health, economic prosperity, and the environment�; and to “[maximize] Drexel’s global reputation and impact.�

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