Drexel’s board will vote on naming the former president of Exelon Utilities as interim president

Drexel University’s board of trustees on Tuesday plans to vote on naming one of its members, Denis P. O’Brien, former president of Exelon Utilities, as its interim president, according to a source close to the process.

He would replace John A. Fry, who was hired earlier this month as Temple University’s next president.

Reached by phone, O’Brien, 64, declined comment and referred a reporter to Drexel’s communications team. Drexel did not respond to a request for comment.

Fry, 64, who has led Drexel for 14 years, said at the time he would stay at Drexel until the board hired a new president.

» READ MORE: As Drexel’s John Fry gets voted in as Temple’s next president, here’s what he plans to do

“My commitment to the [Drexel] board is to stay while they run a search,” Fry said earlier this month. “I’m not going to shortchange my transition from Drexel. I need to make sure we find a great new person.”

It’s unclear how the Drexel board’s potential decision will impact Fry’s start date at Temple. Fry could not be reached for comment.

Drexel’s board intends to launch a national search for a new president.

There probably will be some overlap, perhaps a month or two, before Fry leaves and the new interim starts at the 21,700-student West Philadelphia university, said the source, who didn’t want to be named because they were not authorized to speak about it.

O’Brien, who has served on Drexel’s board for more than 20 years, worked for Exelon and affiliated companies for more than 37 years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He got his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Rutgers University New Brunswick and has an MBA from Drexel.

He also previously had served as chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

In college, he dug trenches in the “gas gangs” of the old Philadelphia Electric/Peco, he told The Inquirer in 2014.

» READ MORE: Making an exception, taking a new role

“The guys were great,” he said at the time. “I loved the work because you are outside in the sun. It’s physical. At lunch, [they’d] say, ‘You love the work today, but you won’t love this work in January, and you won’t love being out here 35 years from now.’ They’d all say, ‘Go back to college. Get your degree.’”

Fry, a Brooklyn native, said earlier this month his decision to leave Drexel was agonizing.

“This is not a moment of elation for me,” he told The Inquirer in an interview. “This is... difficult. ...On the one hand, I’m looking forward to leading this great, amazing university, and on the other hand, I already lead a great, amazing university. So it’s poignant. The thing that gives me a lot of comfort, though, is staying in Philadelphia.”