Lehigh Appoints New President
The Lehigh University Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of John D. Simon as Lehigh’s 14th president. He will assume the presidency on July 1, 2015. Simon has previously served as the executive vice president and provost at the University of Virginia.
Simon is an internationally renowned chemist and a widely respected leader in higher education. His appointment culminates a comprehensive and wide-ranging search process that began following the announcement in January that former president Alice P. Gast had accepted the presidency of Imperial College London.
Simon was already familiar with Lehigh’s reputation for excellence before the search process began. His already positive impressions of the university only grew stronger throughout the search process, as he came to learn more about the university’s strengths; its excellence in teaching and research, its interdisciplinary approach and the close ties between its four colleges, its exemplary record of student outcomes, its expanding global reach and its strong role in the community.
During his tenure at Virginia, Simon spearheaded a number of global initiatives, including the establishment of a new major in global studies and the opening of a physical presence for the university in Asia. He played a leading role in the launch of the University of Virginia’s cutting-edge Data Science Institute as well as its Advanced Research Institute, and in creating the university’s Endowment for the Arts.
Simon has served in his current role at the University of Virginia since 2011. As executive vice president and provost, he is responsible for the academic administration of each of the university’s eleven colleges, as well as its library system, art museums, public service activities and foreign study programs. In all, Simon oversees the academic activities of 2,200 instructional and research faculty, 14,500 undergraduate students and 6,500 graduate students, and manages a budget of $1.4 billion.
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Erin Purcell
Staff Writer, covering MetroMBA's news beat for New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
