David W. Leebron

Leebron became Rice University's seventh president in 2004. Under Leebron's leadership, the institution has increased its undergraduate student population, enhanced the campus with $800 million in new construction, extended its research endeavors and international presence, deepened its relationship with its home city of Houston, and earned greater visibility locally, nationally and internationally. Prior to Rice, Leebron joined the faculty of Columbia Law School in 1989, and in 1996, he was appointed Dean and the Lucy G. Moses Professor of Law. He is the co-author of a textbook on international human rights. He served as a law clerk for Judge Shirley Hufstedler on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Los Angeles.