Thomas Jefferson University elevates its interim president to permanent post

Susan C. Aldridge, a higher education consultant and leader who has been serving as interim president at Thomas Jefferson University since July, has been elevated to the permanent post, the school announced Tuesday.

Aldridge, who has held leadership positions at several large universities, including Drexel and the University of Maryland system, becomes Thomas Jefferson’s first female president as the school marks its bicentennial.

She replaces Mark Tykocinski, a molecular immunologist who resigned in July after coming under fire for liking controversial tweets about COVID-19 vaccines and gender reassignment surgery for children on his official presidential Twitter account.

» READ MORE: Thomas Jefferson University president who liked controversial tweets resigns

“This is a pivotal moment in Jefferson’s history and Dr. Aldridge is the best person to usher in a new era for Thomas Jefferson University,” Joseph G. Cacchione, CEO of Thomas Jefferson, said in a statement.

Jefferson enrolls 8,400 students in more than 200 undergraduate and graduate programs across 10 colleges and is home to the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce.

The university noted that Aldridge, who had been a member of the board of trustees before stepping in as interim president, completed the search for a new medical school dean that resulted in the hiring of Said Ibrahim, a physician whose research centers on health equity and disparities and who has a background in internal medicine, public health, and diversity and inclusion efforts. He became the school’s first Black medical school dean.

» READ MORE: Thomas Jefferson University appoints its first Black medical school dean, a doctor with local ties and a background in diversity efforts

Aldridge also led the university through the first phase of a new strategic planning process, the university said.

“This is such an extraordinary opportunity at this particular time with Jefferson growing at the rate it is growing,” said Aldridge, 72, who has lived in the Philadelphia area for about a decade. “This is a time when I felt I could make a difference, and this is a team that I really, really respect. ... I really felt that Jefferson’s trajectory at this time was a good fit with my expertise.”

Aldridge previously served as president of Drexel University Online for 5½ years, president of the University of Maryland Global Campus for six years, and vice chancellor of Troy University in Alabama for 10 years. She once served on the faculty of the National University of Singapore and conducted research on health and aging in the United States and Asia.

And during the pandemic, she said, she consulted with university presidents and their boards regarding new business models and the use of technology in learning.

“It was time to take my own suggestions,” she said.

She also worked in other roles, including as a senior fellow at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and principal investigator for several U.S. Department of Health and Human Service grants. She co-authored Wired for Success, a book on “innovative business models driving higher education.”

Aldridge started her career working in a private consulting firm in the health-care field and went on to several other health-care and education-related positions, including “investigating current health education strategies for the National Foundation March of Dimes” and serving as project director for a think tank on “self-care strategies in primary health care” for National Planned Parenthood.

Aldridge, a native of Wisconsin, received her bachelor’s degree from the Colorado Women’s College and her master’s and doctorate in public administration from the University of Colorado.

She was appointed to Thomas Jefferson’s board of trustees in 2022 and served on it until she stepped into the interim presidential role.

Aldridge acknowledged the significance of serving as the first female president, but said she’d rather emphasize her more than 30 years of academic leadership experience.

“I do understand I’m a role model for many people who are excited to see me in this role,” she said.

Last year, some Jefferson employees approached The Inquirer with concerns about Tykocinski’s social media activity, given that it was on an account that clearly identified him as Jefferson’s president and dean of the medical college.

He later apologized to the Jefferson community and deleted about half his likes. Cacchione said then that he was “disappointed” in the president’s “careless use” of his Twitter account and that he “should have known better.” Tykocinski resigned less than three months later.

Asked how she helped to heal the university following Tykocinski’s resignation, Aldridge said that “it was a matter of focusing the team on the future and opportunities we have moving forward. I really can’t speak to the past. ... This is a future-focused university.”

She said she plans to relocate to the president’s house on the East Falls campus.