To: Wharton School Faculty, Students, and Staff
From: Amy Gutmann and Ron Daniels
Date: Friday, December 1, 2006
We are writing to let you know that Patrick Harker, Dean of the Wharton School, has been named President of the University of Delaware. He will assume his new position July 1, 2007.
Patrick has been an outstanding leader for Wharton, and as we congratulate him on this exciting new opportunity and wish him well, we also know his departure will be a great loss for Penn. In his seven years as Dean, Patrick has propelled the School forward with extraordinary energy and creativity.
Patrick’s bold vision as Dean—one he articulated eloquently and passionately—was to secure Wharton’s place as the dominant producer of business knowledge and education in the world. While strengthening Wharton’s focus on academic excellence and faculty scholarship, Patrick also drew many eminent faculty to the School. His commitment to the international mission of Wharton was manifest in his efforts to connect with Wharton alumni around the world and to share Wharton’s ideas with business leaders from Hong Kong to Mumbai to Costa Rica.
During his tenure as Dean, Patrick created Wharton West, the school’s San Francisco-based campus, and forged an alliance with INSEAD, the leading non-U.S. based business school. Patrick also oversaw the launching of two innovative and very successful initiatives — Knowledge@Wharton and Wharton School Publishing.
Patrick has garnered respect from colleagues across the University for his skilled strategic thinking and ability to motivate and inspire others. A gifted and indefatigable fundraiser, he led Wharton to complete the largest fundraising campaign in its history.
Patrick has deep roots at this University. He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Penn in 1981, then received a master’s degree in economics and a PhD. in civil engineering, also from Penn, in 1983. He has been on the Wharton faculty since 1984, and in 2000, the year he became Dean, he was named Reliance Professor of Management and Private Enterprise. He is a leading scholar in the areas of service and technology management and operations research, with several books and scores of professional articles to his name.
Please join us in thanking Patrick for his invaluable contributions to the University and wishing him the very best as he embarks on the next step of his career.
http://www.wharton.upenn.edu:80/alumni/Harker/Gutmann_MEMO.html
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