Princeton University provost Amy Gutmann, nominated to succeed Judith Rodin as president of the University of Pennsylvania, is poised to make history as the first woman to follow another as president of an elite US university. Gutmann, 54, a professor of politics with a masters degree from the London School of Economics, has worked for 25 years at Princeton, where, as dean of the faculty, she aggressively recruited top scholars. The university's board of trustees is expected to confirm her appointment on February 20.