On a recent evening at Philadelphia Foundation’s offices, President and CEO Pedro A. Ramos sat down with Wendell E. Pritchett, the James S. Riepe Presidential Professor of Law and Education at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a Philadelphia Foundation board member, for another installment in our Conversations in Civic Leadership series. The discussion, which brought together local leaders and supporters of our Civic Leadership Fund, offered insights into the leadership journey of one of the region’s most seasoned institutional leaders—someone who has repeatedly stepped into challenging roles during moments of crisis and transformation.

Pritchett exemplifies the kind of civic leadership that Philadelphia Foundation seeks to cultivate and support: leaders who combine deep expertise with the ability to build coalitions, navigate complex political landscapes, and drive meaningful change across sectors. His career demonstrates how effective leaders move fluidly between academic, government, and nonprofit roles, bringing strategic thinking and coalition-building skills to each challenge.

A Career of Leading Through Crisis

Pritchett’s leadership journey includes taking on institutional challenges others might avoid. As Chancellor of Rutgers-Camden from 2009 to 2014, he faced an existential threat when state officials proposed merging Rutgers-Camden with Rowan University. Rather than accepting what many saw as inevitable, Pritchett built a strategic coalition that successfully defeated the merger proposal, preserving the institution’s independence and mission.

His approach during the Rutgers challenge exemplified a leadership style that colleagues describe as both aggressive and empathetic, one where he is willing to fight hard for institutional values while building the relationships necessary to achieve sustainable solutions. This same combination of firmness and thoughtfulness has characterized his leadership across multiple high-stakes environments.

When Philadelphia’s School Reform Commission faced one of its most turbulent periods, Pritchett stepped into that crucible as well, serving from 2011 to 2014 during a time when the district grappled with severe financial constraints and governance challenges. His willingness to engage in these difficult conversations reflects a leader who understands that expertise means little without the courage to apply it where it’s needed most.

Building Bridges Across Sectors

What distinguishes Pritchett’s leadership is his ability to translate between different institutional languages and cultures. His experience as Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Policy for Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter in 2008 provided crucial insights into how city government operates, knowledge that proved invaluable in his subsequent academic and nonprofit leadership roles.

Pritchett often notes that New Jersey politics can be particularly brutal, but also remarkably effective at getting things done when leaders focus on building the right coalitions. This perspective, gained during his Rutgers tenure, shaped his understanding that successful leadership often requires navigating competing interests while maintaining focus on larger institutional goals.

His service on numerous nonprofit boards, from chairing Community Legal Services of Philadelphia to serving as president of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation, demonstrates a leader who sees civic engagement not as an add-on to his academic career, but as integral to effective leadership. These roles have given him deep insights into how different sectors can work together to address complex challenges.

Leading Through Unprecedented Times

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Pritchett was serving as University Provost at Penn, responsible for academic operations during one of the most disruptive periods in higher education history. His leadership during this crisis required the same qualities that served him at Rutgers and in Philadelphia government: the ability to make quick decisions while remaining empathetic to the human impact of those choices.

Rather than defaulting to incremental changes or protecting existing systems, Pritchett helped guide Penn through fundamental adaptations to teaching, research, and campus life. His approach reflected a leader unafraid to challenge the status quo when circumstances demand transformation, a quality that has defined his career across institutions.

The pandemic leadership experience, like his previous roles, reinforced Pritchett’s understanding that effective leadership requires both strategic thinking and deep relationship-building. Solutions that look good on paper fail without the trust and buy-in that come from authentic engagement with stakeholders.

Applying Leadership Lessons to Economic Mobility

When the conversation turned to Philadelphia Foundation’s decade-long commitment to advancing economic mobility, Pritchett drew directly from his leadership experience across multiple crises and institutions. His perspective on economic mobility reflects the same strategic thinking and coalition-building approach that characterized his work at Rutgers, in city government, and during the pandemic.

Pritchett emphasized that meaningful progress on economic mobility requires the kind of cross-sector collaboration he has practiced throughout his career. Just as defeating the Rutgers merger required building coalitions beyond the university, and just as navigating the School Reform Commission required understanding multiple stakeholder perspectives, addressing Philadelphia’s ranking as 50th out of 50 major metros for economic mobility demands leaders who can work across traditional boundaries.

His insights into higher education’s role in economic mobility reflect hard-won experience leading institutions through existential challenges. Rather than incremental reforms, Pritchett advocates for fundamental adaptations that meet people where they are, which is the same approach that guided his leadership during institutional crises. He highlighted innovative models like College Unbound, where he serves on the board, which focuses on developing transferable skills and supporting adult learners in ways that traditional institutions often cannot.

Drawing from his experience in both academia and government, Pritchett noted that successful economic mobility initiatives require the same qualities that make any institutional leadership effective: strategic clarity about goals, empathy for the people most affected by change, and the persistence to sustain focus even when other crises compete for attention.

A Model for Civic Leadership

As Philadelphia Foundation works to advance economic mobility and address other complex regional challenges, leaders like Pritchett provide a model for the kind of civic engagement our region needs. His career demonstrates that effective leadership is not about staying safely within one’s area of expertise, but about applying strategic thinking and relationship-building skills wherever they can make the greatest impact.

Pritchett’s journey, from nonprofit housing advocacy to academic leadership to city government and back to academia, illustrates how the most effective civic leaders move fluidly across sectors, carrying insights from each experience to inform their next challenge. His willingness to take on difficult fights, combined with his ability to build the coalitions necessary for sustainable change, exemplifies the leadership approach that can move Philadelphia forward on its most pressing issues.

In a time when many leaders retreat into silos, Pritchett’s example reminds us that our most complex challenges require leaders who are both aggressive in pursuing change and empathetic in building the relationships that make change possible. His leadership journey offers valuable lessons for anyone committed to making a meaningful difference in their community.