Judith Rodin was on the forefront of making education accessible to women. When she was a student at the University of Pennsylvania’s College for Women in the 1960’s, she was president of Penn’s Women’s Student Government. She led the movement to merge with the Men’s Student Government. From this merger a Student Committee on Undergraduate Education was formed in preparation for co-education at the College of Arts and Sciences. By the time Judith Rodin became President of the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, The First Woman To. . .be president of an ivy league university, there was no longer a College for Women at Penn.
After her graduation Rodin taught at New York University and then became a professor at Yale University. She served as head of the psychology department, then as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and finally as Provost. As president of Penn, she focused on developing the community as well as the university, and formed alliances between the schools and businesses. During her tenure both the endowment and fundraising tripled and research funds doubled. Expansion of buildings and programs marked her era.
She has been on Forbes Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women list as well as the National Association of Corporate Directors’ 100. She is committed to high standards of governance by boards and believes that investing should not be confined to the wealthy.
She also believes that investing should contribute to the welfare of the world. In her book The Power of Impact Investing she promotes considering the impact of investments as well as their financial returns.
Living her values, she participants in global forums and efforts. After Superstorm Sandy in 2012, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo asked her to co-chair a commission on long-term resilience.
Not content with one first, Judith Rodin was also The First Woman To. . .become president of the Rockefeller Foundation. Her influence extends throughout the world in education, science and development.
