Following a national presidential search, a Pennsylvania-based university has selected a prominent international and social justice scholar to lead the institution.
Arcadia University’s Board of Trustees announced that Dr. Ajay Nair has been named the 22nd president of the university. He will be the first person of color to lead the private, liberal arts university in its 164-year history.
“It’s a blessing to return home to the Philadelphia area to lead an institution with the potential to transform delivery of a liberal arts education to produce work-ready and life-ready students,” Nair said. “I look forward to working with our stakeholders to build a compelling vision for Arcadia that creates best practices in higher education.”
An advocate for multiculturalism in higher education, Nair currently serves as senior vice president and dean of campus life at Emory University. Since joining Emory in 2012, he has been strategic in supporting the nearly 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students at the institution.
Nair—a Philadelphia native who grew up in nearby Broomall—is a nationally recognized expert in student affairs issues and a prominent social justice, race and ethnicity scholar. He will join a minority of Asian American college and university presidents across the nation and said that it is “humbling to be in this position.”
“The underrepresentation of Asian American university leaders is problematic, but I hope I can help enhance a sense of community among these colleagues and create pipelines for the next generation of leaders,” Nair told Diverse.
In his current role at Emory, he provides financial oversight for an annual budget of more than $79 million, and oversees more than 20 departments including athletics, the career center and international student programs.
