J. Larry Jameson

James Larry Jameson III is the 10th president of the University of Pennsylvania, appointed in March 13, 2025, with a term extending through June 2027. He initially assumed the role of Interim President in December 2023. Jameson also holds the title of Trustees University Professor at Penn. Prior to his presidency, from 2011 to 2023, Jameson served as Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, where he led significant advancements in medical education, research, and patient care.

Early life and education Jameson was born on Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, and raised in Asheville, North Carolina.

From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Jameson received a Bachelor of Science with a major in chemistry with honors in 1976, a Doctor of Medicine in 1981, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1981.

Jameson's doctoral dissertation was titled, Regulation of microtubule assembly and steady-state dynamics. During his doctoral studies at UNC, he received the Merck Book Award in 1978, the Alpha Omega Alpha membership in 1980, and the Lange Book Award in 1980. In 1981, he received the Isaac Hall Manning Award and a Merit Award from the UNC School of Medicine.

Career In 1981, Jameson started as an intern and resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1983, he became a research fellow at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, studying transcriptional regulation in endocrine genes with a focus on nuclear hormone receptors.

In December 2023, Jameson was appointed interim president of the University of Pennsylvania, following the resignation of Liz Magill amid her congressional hearing controversies. In March 2025, he was elevated to President to serve until 2027.

In June 2026, Jameson announced that he would conclude his presidency as scheduled on June 30, 2027. Penn subsequently began a search for its 11th president.

Personal life Jameson's paternal lineage traces back to his great-great-great grandfather, William Jameson Sr., who emigrated from Ireland to colonial America in 1750. William Jameson settled in Easley, South Carolina, and served in the American Revolutionary War. For four subsequent generations, the family remained in South Carolina until Jameson's father relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, where Jameson was raised.