Executive Vice President John Fry was named last week president of Franklin & Marshall College, in Lancaster, Pa. He will complete the academic year here on campus before moving on in the summer.

“This is a great loss to the University, but it is an incredible opportunity for John,” stated President Judith Rodin in a memo to the Trustees.

Fry’s accomplishments since his arrival at Penn in 1995 include sweeping changes to the University’s business practices that have led to significant cost savings.

He has taken a critical role in Penn’s neighborhood revitalization initiative, featuring Penn’s hotel; bookstore; a fresh food market; retail stores and restaurants that are attracting customers from beyond the University and its neighborhood; a new neighborhood public elementary school; and a mortgage incentive program that has encouraged employees to live nearby.

Fry is the main visionary behind Penn’s plan to expand eastward, starting with the Left Bank apartments. He has also encouraged ways to turn the University into a hub of high-tech businesses generated by Penn people and others in the region through P2B (Penn to Business), a University subsidiary.