In 1994, Rodin was appointed president of the University of Pennsylvania, becoming the first permanent female president of an Ivy League institution and the first graduate of the university to take on its highest leadership role. She encouraged revitalization in University City and West Philadelphia through public safety; the establishment of Wharton School alliances for small businesses; the development of buildings and streetscapes that turned outward to the community; and the establishment of a university-led partnership school, the Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander University of Pennsylvania Partnership School.
Rodin became president of the Rockefeller Foundation in March, 2005, succeeding Gordon Conway and becoming the first woman to serve as the foundation’s president. In 2016, The Rockefeller Foundation in New York City announced that Judith Rodin will step down after nearly twelve years as president.
