The 14th University President
Following an extensive international search, Paul Alivisatos was elected University President at a meeting of the University’s Board of Trustees on February 25 and will assume his role on September 1. The Board acted on the unanimous recommendation of the 12-member Trustee Search Committee, which has worked closely with the 10-member Faculty Advisory Committee over the last six months.
Paul will succeed Robert J. Zimmer, who has served as President since 2006. Bob will transition into a new role as Chancellor of the University on September 1.
For more information about our next President, please visit this website.
The Search For Our Next President
On Aug. 13, the University’s Board of Trustees announced that President Robert J. Zimmer will transition into a new role as chancellor of the University of Chicago at the end of the current academic year in June 2021.
Bob’s ambitious vision and inspired leadership have greatly enhanced the University’s eminence, and we are enormously grateful for his numerous accomplishments. During his presidency, the University has strengthened its position among the top-ranked research universities in the United States and the world and has further improved its status as a preferred destination for many of the world’s leading scholars and students. Through his devotion to the University’s core principles—with a particular focus on rigorous scholarly inquiry, academic freedom, and free expression, as well as diversity and inclusion, Bob has reinforced the institution’s distinct culture and heritage, while helping the University evolve to the unique challenges of our time. Under his leadership, the University expanded student access via the Odyssey Scholarship Program, elevated the eminence of the College, deepened our partnerships with our affiliated laboratories, and increased the diversity of our students and faculty. His ambitious vision propelled the University to achieve the largest capital campaign in our history, broaden our global engagement by opening new centers and campuses around the world, established innovative institutions including the University’s first engineering program and many other prominent institutes and centers, and strengthened our relationship with the Hyde Park and broader community.
Consistent with past practice, the Board has formed a Trustee Search Committee, which will work closely with a Faculty Advisory Committee to conduct an international search for the 14th president of the University of Chicago. Under the University’s bylaws, a new president will be elected by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees.
Throughout this search process, the Trustee Search Committee and Faculty Advisory Committee will be working to identify an individual who deeply values our rich traditions, displays the leadership skills to confront the challenges of our time, and brings a vision that will further enhance the University’s global eminence. Gathering insight from our community about the opportunities and challenges facing the University, as well as important priorities for the University, will be critical to our success. We welcome nominations and input from faculty, students, staff, alumni, and other friends of the University.
Joseph Neubauer
Chair of the Board of Trustees
The University of Chicago
– Joseph Neubauer
August 13, 2020
Position Specification
The position specification for the 14th President of the University of Chicago reflects the input of the Trustee Search Committee and Faculty Advisory Committee.
Committee Members
The Board has formed a Trustee Search Committee, which will work closely with a Faculty Advisory Committee to identify our next president.
Trustee Search Committee Members
- Debra A. Cafaro, JD’82, Chairman and CEO, Ventas, Inc
- James S. Crown, LLD’11, Chairman and CEO, Henry Crown & Company
- Daniel L. Doctoroff, JD’84, CEO & Chairman, Sidewalk Labs
- Mary Louise Gorno, MBA’76, Managing Director, Ingenuity International, LLC
- Kenneth M. Jacobs, AB’80, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lazard
- Joseph Neubauer, Chair of the Committee, MBA’65, Next Egg Investment Group
- Tom J. Pritzker, MBA’76, JD’76, Executive Chairman, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
- John W. Rogers, Jr., LAB’76, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Ariel Investments, LLC
- Andrew M. Rosenfield, JD’78, President and Managing Partner, Guggenheim Partners, LLC
- David M. Rubenstein, JD’73, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chairman, The Carlyle Group
- Alvaro J. Saieh, AM’76, PhD’80, Founder, CorpGroup
- Donald R. Wilson, Jr., AB’88, CEO and Founder, DRW
- Robert J. Zimmer, ex officio, President, The University of Chicago
Faculty Advisory Committee Members
- Kathleen A. Cagney, MPP’90, Professor in the Department of Sociology, and in the College
- Michael Franklin, Liew Family Chair and Professor in the Department of Computer Science, and in the College
- Erik Hurst, Frank P. and Marianne R. Diassi Distinguished Service Professor in the Booth School of Business
- Waldo E. Johnson, Jr., PhD’93, Associate Professor in the School of Social Service Administration, and in the College
- Jonathan Lear, John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought, in the Department of Philosophy, and in the College
- Peggy Mason, Professor in the Department of Neurobiology, and in the College
- Randal C. Picker, AB’80, AM’82, JD’85, James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor in the Law School
- Robert Rosner, William E. Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in the departments of Astronomy & Astrophysics and Physics, as well as in the Enrico Fermi Institute, the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, and in the College
- Kristen Schilt, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, and in the College
- Melody A. Swartz, William B. Ogden Professor in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, and in the College