PHILADELPHIA –- Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, has been selected by President Obama to chair the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. As head of the commission, Gutmann, president of Penn since 2004 and a prominent political scientist, will advise the President on a range of bioethical issues.

The commission will work with the goal of identifying and promoting policies and practices to ensure that scientific research, health-care delivery and technological innovation are conducted in an ethically responsible manner.

As Penn's president, Gutmann has been a forceful advocate for access to higher education, for dismantling the boundaries among academic disciplines and for increasing student and faculty engagement with communities both domestically and across the globe.

The official White House announcement of Gutmann’s appointment is at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/president-obama-establishes-new-presidential-commission-study-bioethical-issues-nam.