Presidential Search

Announcing Antonio Merlo as Drexel’s 16th President

Drexel University’s Board of Trustees has confirmed by a unanimous vote political economist and academic Dr. Antonio Merlo as the 16th president in the University’s 133-year history. Merlo, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of New York University’s Faculty of Arts & Science, will succeed Interim President Denis P. O’Brien and begin his tenure at Drexel on July 1, 2025.

Read More about Drexel's New President

 

Drexel Trustee and LeBow College of Business alumnus J. Michael Lawrie, a globally recognized business and technology leader, and founder and CEO of The Lawrie Group, chaired the presidential search committee, which was charged with recruiting Drexel’s next president.  

Members of the committee included: 

Domenic M. DiPiero III
Trustee

Nicholas DeBenedictis, ’68, ’69, HD ’87
Trustee

Angela Dowd-Burton, ’74, ’79
Trustee

Richard A. Greenawalt, ’66
Chair of the Board of Trustees

Bernard F. Greene, ’99, ’14,
Trustee, Chair of the Alumni Board of Governors

Dave Griffith
Trustee, Chair of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University

Nina Henderson
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Academic Affairs Committee

Joelyne Jacob
USGA Student Body President

Michele Kutzler, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Faculty, Professor of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology

J. Michael Lawrie, ’77
Trustee, Search Committee Chair

Vibhas Madan, Ph.D.
Dean of LeBow College of Business, R. John Chapel Jr. Dean’s Chair, Professor of Economics

Denis P. O’Brien, ’87
Drexel’s Interim President

Kevin Owens, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Chemistry, Chair of the Faculty Senate

Richelle Parham, ’91
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees and Co-Chair of the Enrollment Management and Student Success Committee

Virginia S. Rose
Trustee

Subir Sahu, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President for Student Success

Stan Silverman, ’69, ’74
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees

University Messages and Updates

A Message From President-Elect Antonio Merlo

January 31, 2025

A Message from the Chair of Drexel's Board of Trustees

January 31, 2025

Drexel University’s Board of Trustees has confirmed by a unanimous vote political economist and academic, Antonio Merlo, PhD as the 16th president in the University’s 133-year history.


Launching the search for Drexel’s Next President

July 31, 2024

The members of the Presidential Search Committee are announced, and a survey link is shared with members of the Drexel community to provide input.

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