Image Credit: Temple University

John Fry

14th President of Franklin & Marshall College
Former President, Drexel University
President, Temple University

The College is honored to welcome back John Fry, the 14th president of Franklin & Marshall College. A visionary leader, Fry is being recognized for his transformative impact on Franklin & Marshall and the broader landscape of higher education. 

As F&M’s president from 2002 to 2010, Fry reshaped the campus, strengthened residential life and the student experience, and championed an outward-looking, community-engaged philosophy that still guides the College. 

Under his leadership, F&M began its distinctive college house system, built a new residence hall, and hired 40 new faculty, leading to our current student-faculty ratio of 9:1. Fry also spearheaded the strategic acquisition of land adjacent to the north end of F&M’s campus, a move that cleared the way for the development of Shadek Stadium and the College’s premier multipurpose playing fields. By partnering with Lancaster General Health, he further evolved the area into an important educational-medical corridor.

At F&M, Fry’s vision helped set the foundation for a thriving, collaborative relationship between the College and the City of Lancaster – one that continues to grow. He helped launch the James Street Improvement District, which led to economic redevelopment as well as additional housing for students. He engaged city and community leaders and worked to make city revitalization a priority for the College.His contributions as President of Drexel University and Temple University reflect the same dedication to innovation, engagement and excellence that left a lasting mark on F&M’s campus. He is a nationally recognized educational leader and an elected member of the American Philosophical Society, a scholarly organization founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743.

Susan Eckert

Twenty-Five Year President, The United Way of Lancaster
Director Of Advancement, Family Medicine Education Consortium
Principal, The Eckert Group

A pillar of the Lancaster community, Susan Eckert has spent decades shaping the city into a stronger, more connected community. Her tireless commitment to Lancaster organizations has left a lasting mark on nearly every corner of the community’s professional and civic life.

A vocal advocate for the needs of Lancaster County families, Eckert is well known for her 25 years as the head of the United Way of Lancaster County. Under her leadership, United Way empowered generosity with purpose—giving donors a voice, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers, and bringing people together to direct resources where they were needed most.

That commitment to service has been a hallmark of Eckert’s leadership, enhancing her work as executive director of the YWCA, principal of the Eckert Group, and director of advancement at the Family Medicine Education Consortium. Beyond her broad community impact, Eckert serves on the advisory board for the Eckert Art Gallery at Millersville University. Through their annual sponsorship of art exhibitions and student interns for the gallery, she and her husband actively foster local talent. Their endowed scholarship – established in honor of Susan’s mother, Dorothy Connolly – provides life-changing support for nontraditional students.

Eckert is widely respected for her unwavering dedication to improving the lives of others—and for the humility and heart with which she leads.

Image Credit: The Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund

Photo Credit: MaryAnn Robins

MaryAnn Robins

President, Circle Legacy Center
Resident Liaison to Plain community, Wellspan Health
Community Fellow, F&M’s Reckoning with Lancaster

MaryAnn Robins serves as president of the Circle Legacy Center, a nonprofit organization at the forefront of supporting and empowering the Indigenous community within Lancaster City.

An indefatigable and dynamic advocate for the Indigenous community and a preeminent voice for human rights, Robins is a transformative force in our region. Through her leadership with the Circle Legacy Center and her role as resident liaison to the Plain community for WellSpan Health, Robins has cultivated essential space for education, dialogue, and healing – work that is firmly rooted in her deep commitment to empathy, integrity, and community partnership. 

Robin’s commitment to community-building led her to F&M’s campus as Community Fellow for the inaugural year of the College’s Mellon Foundation-funded Reckoning with Lancaster project. In this role, Robins was instrumental to the summer curricular institute for faculty and the Summer Research Scholar program for students. She also partnered with F&M professors to develop the classes, “Indigenous Histories in Lancaster” and “Indigenous Futures in Lancaster,” imparting purpose, wisdom and local connection to students’ learning.

Robins has dedicated her life’s work to elevating Indigenous voices and forging enduring bonds between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities throughout Lancaster. As an Onondaga who grew up on Haudenosaunee tribal lands in upstate NY and a Carlisle Indian School descendant, her leadership carries the weight of history while also embodying hope for the future by turning history into a powerful catalyst for education, restoration, and visibility.