Stanford names new president to replace former leader who resigned under cloud
Stanford has elevated its business school dean Jonathan Levin to lead the university as its new president, replacing an interim leader who took over after former president Marc Tessier-Lavigne resigned under a cloud amid academic misconduct claims.
Stanford board of trustees chair Jerry Yang said Levin, 51, was the unanimous choice for president of the search committee and trustees, the university said in a news release Thursday. Levin, a member of President Joe Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, takes charge of Stanford on Aug. 1.
“Jon brings a rare combination of qualities: a deep understanding and love of Stanford, an impressive track record of academic and leadership success, the analytical prowess to tackle complex strategic issues, and a collaborative and optimistic working style,” Yang said in the news release. “He is consistently described by those who know him as principled, humble, authentic, thoughtful, and inspiring.”
Levin, an economist, becomes Stanford’s 13th president, succeeding Richard Saller, who took over when Tessier-Lavigne left the post in September 2023.
“I am grateful and humbled to be asked to lead Stanford – a university that has meant so much to me for more than three decades,” Levin said in a news release. “When I was an undergraduate, Stanford opened my mind, nurtured my love for math and literature, and inspired me to pursue an academic career. In the years since, it has given me opportunities to pursue ideas in collaboration with brilliant colleagues, teach exceptional students, and bring people together to achieve ambitious collective goals around the university.”
Stanford sophomore Adrianna Zhang, a public policy major, said that because Levin came from the university’s business school, she was “a bit concerned and curious about how he will address the issues of protest and speech on campus.”
Levin’s career at Stanford started in 2000 as an assistant professor of economics. Eight years later he became a full professor, and he chaired the economics department from 2011 to 2014.
He took over the deanship of the Stanford Graduate School of Business eight years ago after the previous dean, Garth Saloner, resigned during a scandal over his relationship with a professor at the school who was married to another professor.
Levin received two undergraduate degrees from Stanford, in English and math, in 1994, before obtaining a master’s in economics from Oxford University in 1996 and a PhD in the same field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999.
As a member of Biden’s advisory group since 2021, Levin has researched issues including extreme weather and the use of artificial intelligence for scientific discovery, Stanford said.
Levin, like the dozen Stanford presidents before him, is a White man.
“I think it’s disappointing to see Stanford continue to just put White men in power always,” said Stanford senior Nalani Santos, adding that she was not criticizing Levin himself because she did not know about his background. “There’s a lot of candidates and a lot people from diverse backgrounds that could better represent the school.”
Stanford did not immediately respond to questions about its appointment of a 13th White, male president. The university’s press release highlighted the Graduate School of Business’s outreach efforts it said “increased the representation of women and historically under-represented groups,” making its student population “the most diverse in the school’s history.
Levin is married to a doctor, with three children, according to the university.
Check back on this developing story.
– staff writer Ryan Macasero and Bay Area News Group intern Cameron Duran contributed to this report