President Emeritus, Lehigh University

In 2014, John D. Simon was named as President of Lehigh University. He served as Lehigh’s 14th president until 2021. During his tenure as President, John raised the university’s national profile, oversaw the growth of its research infrastructure, expanded its global programs, significantly expanded its undergraduate and graduate student populations, recruited new faculty, built new academic and student housing facilities, established a physical presence on the west coast through a partnership with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco, and launched a number of interdisciplinary initiatives including a new college focused on health - the first new college at the university in 50 years. John was one of the first university presidents to join corporate leaders in the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, the largest CEO-driven business commitment of its kind. He served on the campaign cabinet for the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and was a member of the Lehigh Valley Partnership. In 2021, John was awarded the Downtown Vision Award by the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce for his work with the city.

John served from 2011-2015 as the Executive Vice President and Provost at the University of Virginia. At UVA, John established a set of cross-school interdisciplinary degree programs and facilitated several international partnerships and online education ventures. John was Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at Duke University from 2005 to 2011, and Chair of the Department of Chemistry from 2000 to 2005. John joined Duke as the George B. Geller Professor of Chemistry in 1998, following 13 years (1985-1998) at UC San Diego.

John is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society. John has received several awards for his scientific work. In June 2019, the faculty of biochemistry, biophysics and biotechnology at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland awarded John a silver Plus ratio quam vis medal for his role in collaborative research between Polish and American scientists.

John received his B.A. from Williams College in 1979 and his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1983. He was a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA from 1983-1985. John has published over 240 scientific articles and is a co-author of three textbooks and a recent book on academic leadership.

John was engaged in searches for university deans, provost, academic medical center leadership, and president with Education Executives from 2022-2026, prior to joining ZRG AspenLeadership Group. He is also currently a senior advisor with Academic Analytics LLC, a consultant to the education practice at Deloitte Consulting LLP, and engaged with a University President roundtable through the Center for Corporate Innovation, Inc.

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