Amy Gutmann
· Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Communication, Annenberg School for CommunicationUniversity of Pennsylvania · Annenberg School for Communication
Active 1953–2024
About
Amy Gutmann, Ph.D., is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts and Sciences and a Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication. She is a prize-winning scholar, teacher, university leader, and diplomat who has published and lectured worldwide on topics including democracy and education; deliberation, compromise, diplomacy, and their critics; bioethics and access to healthcare; human rights, identity politics; and ethics in public affairs. Gutmann served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2022 to 2024, during which she strengthened the relationship between Germany and the U.S., supporting Ukraine’s defense, increasing trade and investment, and resisting extremism. She was the longest-serving president of the University of Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2022, where she led transformative initiatives such as expanding access to education, creating a robust innovation ecosystem, and fostering global engagement through the establishment of Perry World House and the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. Gutmann raised over $10 billion for Penn, significantly expanded student financial aid, and supported collaborative research and clinical care. She is an accomplished author and editor of 17 books, including notable titles like Democratic Education and Democracy and Disagreement. She chaired the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues from 2009 to 2016, publishing reports on public health crises. Her leadership has been recognized with numerous awards, honorary degrees, and honors, including the William Penn Award, the Pennsylvania Society’s Gold Medal, and the Leo Baeck Medal. She previously served on the faculty of Princeton University for 28 years, where she was Dean of the Faculty, Provost, and founding director of the University Center for Human Values.
Research topics
- Political Science
- Social Science
- Law
- Philosophy
- Sociology
- Epistemology
- Computational biology
- Environmental ethics
- Biology
- Engineering ethics
- Management science
- Engineering
- Aesthetics
- Art
Selected publications
10. Teaching Competition and Cooperation in Civic Education
New York University Press eBooks · 2024-07-18 · 1 citations
book-chapterNew York University Press eBooks · 2022-06-24
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingNew York University Press eBooks · 2022 · 5 citations
1st authorCorresponding- Political Science
- Sociology
- Social Science
PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) · 2021-01-01
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingThis article addresses contentious questions concerning individual freedom and democratic citizenship education in the contemporary circumstances of multiculturalism. It suggests that educating children for civic equality is an ambitious aim for any democracy and not one that can ever be realized once and for all. It provides evidence that multicultural conditions can challenge the very aim of educating children for civic equality. It explains that democracies are variously multicultural and the varieties of groups make a difference in the kind of education and the progress toward civic equality that can realistically be expected at any time.
RELIGION AND STATE IN THE UNITED STATES:
Princeton University Press eBooks · 2021-04-13
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingDemocracy, Philosophy, and Justification
Princeton University Press eBooks · 2021 · 21 citations
1st authorCorresponding- Political Science
- Epistemology
- Philosophy
Relativism, Deconstruction, and the Curriculum
2021-01-06 · 1 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingConsider the opening lines of an op-ed piece that ran in the Wall Street Journal in the midst of the controversy that raged over Stanford University's core curriculum: "The intellectual heritage of the West goes on trial at Stanford University today. Most predict it will lose." In the ensuing public debate over whether to change the content of such core courses, one side—call them "essentialists"—argued that to dilute the core with new works for the sake of including previously unheard voices would be to forsake the values of Western civilization for the standardlessness of relativism, the tyranny of the social sciences, lightweight trendiness, and a host of related intellectual and political evils. Liberal education, an education adequate to serve the life of a free and equal citizen in any modern democracy, requires far more than the reading of great books, although great books are an indispensable aid.
6. THE DISHARMONY OF DEMOCRACY
New York University Press eBooks · 2020-12-31 · 3 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingThe Ethics of Synthetic Biology: Guiding Principles for Emerging Technologies
Routledge eBooks · 2020 · 33 citations
1st authorCorresponding- Engineering ethics
- Management science
- Computational biology
Princeton University Press eBooks · 2020-10-06
book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
Frequent coauthors
- 26 shared
Dennis F. Thompson
Albemarle (United States)
- 5 shared
Kwame Anthony Appiah
New York University
- 5 shared
Dennis Thompson
- 4 shared
Rob Reich
- 4 shared
Charles Taylor
- 4 shared
Robert K. Fullinwider
- 4 shared
Stephen Macedo
Princeton University
- 4 shared
Dennis Thompson
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
Awards & honors
- William Penn Award (2019)
- Pennsylvania Society’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievem…
- Leo Baeck Medal (2023)
- Only In America Award by The Weitzman National Museum of Ame…
- Prize for Understanding and Tolerance by the Jewish Museum B…
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