Drexel University trustees tomorrow are planning to name John A. Fry - president of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster and a former University of Pennsylvania executive - as the new president, sources said today.

Trustees have called a special meeting for 11 a.m. and staffers and other key university officials have been invited to a 4:30 p.m. reception to meet the new president and his family. Fry, who a source said was on campus this week, declined comment through a spokesman.

Fry, 49, has been at Franklin and Marshall for nearly eight years, a tenure marked by growth, construction and improved finances.

Fry defies the traditional college president model: He does not have a doctoral degree, has never been a dean or provost and has not taught or conducted research. But he has spent his career in higher education, including an 11-year stint as a consultant to colleges and universities, helping them with organization and finances.

He also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the University of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2002 under president Judith Rodin. During that time, he had a leadership role in Penn's successful neighborhood revitalization, which could be of key interest to Drexel trustees as they look north of their Market Street location in University City.