Neuroscience pioneer is Stanford’s next president

Marc Tessier-Lavigne
Marc Tessier-Lavigne will become the new president of Stanford on Sept. 1.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne, president of The Rockefeller University in New York City, will become Stanford’s 11th president on Sept. 1.

Tessier-Lavigne, 56, a pioneering neuroscientist, former Stanford faculty member and outspoken advocate for higher education, brings broad academic and administrative experience. Most recently, he has led The Rockefeller University, a premier biomedical research and graduate education institution, for the past five years. He will succeed John Hennessy, who announced in June 2015 that he will step down this summer after 16 years as president.

“Marc Tessier-Lavigne brings to Stanford an infectious energy, confident leadership, a distinguished academic record and a lifetime immersed in leading initiatives to develop knowledge for the benefit of humanity,” said Steve Denning, chairman of the Stanford Board of Trustees. “Marc has a sophisticated understanding of the breadth of the Stanford enterprise, the centrality of faculty and students to our mission, and the critical role of the president in preserving and enhancing Stanford’s excellence as one of the world’s great universities. He is an exemplary leader who we believe will continue Stanford’s accelerating trajectory.”

Tessier-Lavigne was the unanimous choice presented to the Board of Trustees by a 19-member Presidential Search Committee that spent the past six months and thousands of hours reviewing prospective candidates in a comprehensive, inclusive global search.

Read more on the Stanford News website.