The Governing Body of Queens’ College, Cambridge has announced the election of Dr Mohamed A. El-Erian as its 42nd President. He will take up office on 1 October 2020.
Mohamed A. El-Erian read Economics as an undergraduate scholar at Queens’ (1977-80) and completed his MPhil and DPhil at Oxford University, also in Economics. He is a columnist at Bloomberg News, a Financial Times contributing editor, on the board of several non-profits and one corporate board, and has advised governments, industrial and financial companies. He has served as chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council. He was a Deputy Director at the International Monetary Fund and President of Harvard Management Company. Throughout his career, Dr El-Erian has been involved with universities and think tanks around the world. He served on the boards of the International Center for Research on Women and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and is on the executive committee of the National Bureau for Economic Research. He co-chairs Cambridge’s Collegiate University capital campaign Dear World, Yours Cambridge. He is presently Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz and was co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO.
Dr El-Erian said:
“Having experienced the transformational power of Queens’ and Cambridge, I am honoured to have the opportunity to work with my colleagues to build on the College’s many accomplishments under the 23-year leadership of Lord Eatwell. I am particularly privileged to return to Queens’ at a time of great change, not only in social and economic affairs, but also due to exciting technological innovations that influence education and our society in so many ways. Underpinned by our deep commitment to academic excellence, we will work in an inclusive way to continue to broaden access, deepen diversity and promote an ever more supportive environment for intellectual curiosity, deep learning and impactful research.”
The Vice President of Queens’, Professor Richard Weber, said:
“We are delighted with Dr El-Erian’s appointment at a time of unique opportunities and formidable challenges for the University and its colleges. He shares our determination to attract motivated students with outstanding potential from all backgrounds. We are confident that, under his leadership, Queens’ will continue its commitment to academic excellence and world-leading research.”
The JCR President met with Dr El-Erian when he visited the College. She writes:
“Dr El-Erian talked with us about various aspects of College life, student concerns and changes we hope to see. It was evident that he really cares about the College and its students. We left feeling positive, inspired and all thinking Mohamed would make a great President.”