Rosalind Remer elected chair of Lenfest Institute Board of Managers

Dr. Remer is Senior Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships at Drexel University. Michael X. Delli Carpini elected Vice Chair.

The Lenfest Institute Board of Managers elected new leadership on Thursday, unanimously electing Dr. Rosalind Remer as chair. Dr. Remer succeeds David Boardman, dean of the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University in Philadelphia, following his five-year term as founding board chairman.

Dr. Remer is Senior Vice Provost and Executive Director of the Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships at Drexel University. She has served for five years as the Institute’s vice chair. 

Dr. Michael X. Delli Carpini was elected vice chair. He is the Oscar H. Gandy Professor of Communication & Democracy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. He served as Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the school from 2003 through 2018. Dr. Delli Carpini has served on the Lenfest Institute since 2016, most recently heading the Finance and Investments Committee.

They will serve three year terms. 

“I am honored to help carry on Gerry Lenfest’s mission of supporting public-service journalism at The Philadelphia Inquirer and local news organizations around the country,” Dr. Remer said. “The Lenfest Board and staff are deeply grateful to David Boardman for his vision, his leadership, and dedication to local journalism in America. We are delighted that David will continue to serve on the Board as Founding Chairman, leading the Institute’s Grants and Programs Committee. My thanks and congratulations to Michael, our new Vice Chair.”

The Lenfest Institute’s sole focus is to support sustainable local journalism in Philadelphia and around the United States. Dr. Remer brings deep ties to the city to her role. At the Lenfest Center for Cultural Partnerships at Drexel, Remer builds partnerships with Philadelphia-area cultural organizations to help with challenges that they identify, particularly around engaging new audiences. She also previously directed planning efforts for the National Constitution Center and served as executive director of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary. In her work as business historian, she has written on the history of book and newspaper publishing in Philadelphia.

Dr. Delli Carpini’s research focuses on the impact of mass media and information technologies in democratic politics and how citizens exercise political knowledge and participation. He is the co-author of the 2018 Lenfest Institute report, “Being Informed: A Study of the Information Needs and Habits of Philadelphia residents.”