John Douglas Simon
American academic
John D. Simon (born February 11, 1957) was the 14th President of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2021. He previously served as executive vice president and provost at the University of Virginia.
Background
Born in 1957, Simon received his B.A. in Chemistry from Williams College in 1979 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1983. After a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA, he joined the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California-San Diego in 1985, and then moved to Duke University as the George B. Geller Professor in 1998.
Simon's research interests for the past decade have been focused on understanding the structure and function of human pigmentation. Most recently, he has been collaborating with scientists from around the world to study the only known intact pigments recovered from the Jurassic period.
Simon is married to Diane Szaflarski, an associate professor in Virginia's School of Nursing.
Presidency of Lehigh University
Simon was officially installed as Lehigh's 14th president during the university's annual Founder's Day ceremony in early October, 2015. The historic celebration also marked Lehigh's Sesquicentennial.
In his installment speech, Simon said he was advancing an ambitious agenda with the support of the Board of Trustees, who committed to an investment of $250 million in institutional resources in the areas of teaching, learning, research and student life.
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