Announcing New York University's 16th President

On behalf of all our colleagues on the Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Committee, we are pleased and proud to announce the appointment of Vice Chancellor Andrew Hamilton—the University of Oxford’s senior officer, a noted chemist, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and the former Provost of Yale—as the 16th President of New York University. He will officially take up his duties in January 2016.

Professor Hamilton plans to visit NYU regularly before taking up the Presidency and greatly looks forward to meeting future colleagues and getting to know at first-hand the breadth and dynamism of the University. In addition to his duties as President, he intends to maintain an active program at NYU of teaching and research.

New 16th President of NYU

It is a testament to NYU’s stature, reputation, and academic momentum that the search for a new president drew an extraordinary field of superbly qualified and talented leaders in higher education from which Professor Hamilton emerged as our top candidate. The Search Committee—aided by the guidance we received from the more than two dozen listening sessions we attended—worked together seamlessly on our shared goal: to find the best possible president for NYU. What set Professor Hamilton apart for the Committee from the formidable field of candidates was the unusual combination of his outstanding scholarship in his field, his record of achievement in leadership posts at top universities, his commitment to academic excellence and support for the faculty’s role in achieving this, his commitment to teaching and undergraduates, his support for graduate and professional school education, his belief in diversity and inclusiveness, his accomplishments in fundraising at Oxford, and his global background and outlook.

The committee was also impressed by his great intelligence, personal warmth, energy and entrepreneurial spirit, and natural feel for complex institutions. Everywhere he has served has benefited from the quality and style of his leadership. And it was clear to us that he understood NYU—our urban character, our distinctive global presence, our vibrancy, our diverse community, our focus on the future, our innovative spirit, our sense of being on the move, and our habit of exceeding others’ expectations.

In short, the committee believed that Professor Hamilton was just the right person at this moment in NYU’s history to build on the University’s academic momentum (the University has come so far in what is, by the standards of higher education, such a short time) and lead it to even greater achievements.

- Martin Lipton, Chair of the NYU Board of Trustees, and
  William Berkley, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and Chair-Designate of the Board of Trustees


Search Committee

The Search Committee—led by William R. Berkley ’66, a Trustee and chair-designee of the Board of Trustees—was committed to conducting a wide-ranging search and welcomed ideas and nominations. The 25-member committee included 14 trustees, many of whom are alumni; six faculty; two deans; two students; and an administrator.


Community Engagement

To better inform the recruitment process, the Search Committee held listening sessions with faculty, students, and staff to hear their ideas on the attributes, skills, and experience our next president should have. The committee was assisted by the search firm Isaacson, Miller, a leader in higher education search.