MacArthur Foundation
Leadership
Leadership
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[John E. Corbally](/wiki/John_E._Corbally "John E. Corbally"), the first president of the foundation and later board chairman from 1995 to 2002, was followed in 1989–99 by [Adele Simmons](/wiki/Adele_Simmons "Adele Simmons"), who was the first female dean at [Princeton University](/wiki/Princeton_University "Princeton University"). [Jonathan Fanton](/wiki/Jonathan_Fanton "Jonathan Fanton"), president of [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/wiki/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences "American Academy of Arts and Sciences"), served as the foundation's next president. [Robert Gallucci](/wiki/Robert_Gallucci "Robert Gallucci"), formerly dean of [Georgetown University](/wiki/Georgetown_University "Georgetown University")'s School of Foreign Service, served as the foundation's fourth president from 2009 to 2014\. Gallucci was fired in 2014\. Julia Stasch, who formerly served as MacArthur's vice president for U.S. Programs, was named the foundation's president in 2015\. Stasch had been chief of staff to Chicago mayor [Richard M. Daley](/wiki/Richard_M._Daley "Richard M. Daley"). She announced that she would step down in 2019\. In March 2019, [John Palfrey](/wiki/John_Palfrey "John Palfrey") was named president, effective September 1, 2019\.


What were some notable challenges faced by previous presidents?