Lucy Kerman

A pivotal figure in Philadelphia’s academic and community development landscape for years, Lucy has reinvented the critical role that anchor institutions can play in catalyzing great public education, neighborhood revitalization, and inclusive economic development.

Dr. Lucy Kerman is a Senior Advisor at U3 Advisors. She retired from Drexel University in 2024 after having served in a variety of leadership roles, most notably as its Senior Vice Provost for University and Community Partnerships. During her time there, Dr. Kerman created the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, a new “urban extension center” that engaged all of the University’s colleges and schools in education and community development initiatives. She was instrumental in the development of a K-8 innovation campus in the heart of University City that houses two public schools: Powel Elementary and Science Leadership Academy Middle School. She also led Drexel’s efforts to secure a $30 million U.S. Department of Education Promise Neighborhood grant to boost educational outcomes in West Philadelphia.

Previously, Dr. Kerman served as Vice President of Policy and Planning at the Urban Affairs Coalition, a fiscal agent for more than 90 grassroots nonprofit organizations in the greater Philadelphia area. She was also a member of President Judith Rodin’s staff at the University of Pennsylvania, where she helped to coordinate Penn’s “West Philadelphia Initiatives” to stimulate reinvestment and revitalization throughout University City near Penn’s campus. These efforts were documented in West Philadelphia Initiatives: A Case Study in Urban Revitalization, a 2004 book that she co-authored, with John Kromer.

She is a graduate of Wellesley College, and earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley and a business certificate from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.