PHILADELPHIA -- Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, has been re-appointed chair of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues by President Obama.  She has served in the position since first being appointed by Obama in 2009.

Also reappointed to the Commission was James W. Wagner, the vice chair.  Wagner is the president of Emory University.

“I am grateful that these impressive individuals have chosen to dedicate their talents to serving the American people at this important time for our country,” Obama said. “I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

Gutmann has led Penn since 2004 and is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the School of Arts and Sciences.  She is a former provost of Princeton University.

She serves on several boards and commissions, including the Board of Directors for the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the National Constitution Center Board of Trustees. 

Gutmann has received the Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award and the Harvard University Centennial Medal and, in 2011, was appointed to the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences established by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.