Penn GSE welcomes Janice Rafferty Grady as Vice Dean of Development and Alumni Relations

Janice Rafferty Grady is Penn GSE’s new vice dean of development and alumni relations, a critical role in securing financial support for the school, sharing its impact, and engaging the alumni community. She began her new position on May 8.

Grady comes to Penn GSE after 12 years at Columbia University’s School of Nursing, where she held several progressive leadership roles, culminating in associate dean for development and alumni relations. Prior to Columbia, Janice worked in development at three different schools at Penn, including the Perelman School of Medicine, Penn Engineering, and Penn GSE. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Janice back to our community,” said Dean Katharine Strunk. “She is a dedicated leader in the field, highly respected by her colleagues, and I know she is the right person to help us realize our ambitious strategic vision.”

 In Grady’s role as vice dean, she is a member of Dean Strunk’s Senior Leadership Team and is responsible for the strategy and implementation of all development and alumni relations programming, including the board of advisors and continued support for the School’s strategic vision, Together for Good.

“I am thrilled to be back at Penn and Penn GSE,” said Grady. “I am eager to work with Dean Strunk, our board, our alumni and friends to help advance Together for Good. I consider it an honor to be working for such an incredible institution.”

Grady is a graduate of James Madison University and a member of the Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School Board of Trustees Advancement Committee, 2024–2025.  She is a 2024 cohort member of the Leadership in Action Program, a leadership development program for senior managers of development officers in higher education created jointly by Johns Hopkins and Stanford universities.

She lives in Media, PA, with her husband and two children.