|
On behalf of the university’s Board of Trustees, we are delighted to share the exciting news that Robert “Bobby” Ahdieh will become president of Pace University on January 1, 2027. Bobby currently serves in multiple capacities at Texas A&M: as dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Endowed Dean's Chair of Texas A&M University School of Law, vice president for Professional Schools and Programs at Texas A&M University, and chief operating officer of Texas A&M–Fort Worth.
A renowned global legal scholar as well as a fierce and innovative believer in the power of higher education to transform lives, Bobby will be the ninth president of Pace, succeeding Marvin Krislov, who announced earlier this year that he would step down after nearly a decade in the role. You can learn more about Bobby at www.pace.edu/nextpresident.
Bobby was unanimously elected by our trustees following a comprehensive and inclusive search process. The search committee set their sights high in seeking a bold, values-driven, and visionary leader to serve as Pace’s next president. Grounded in our enduring motto, Opportunitas—and by the belief that education is a powerful engine of social mobility and life-changing opportunity—we are confident that Bobby is the right person to lead a university that serves our ambitious, diverse, and driven student body. As you know, at Pace success is measured not only by the credentials students earn but also by the futures those credentials unlock.
Bobby holds a AB from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a JD from Yale Law School. Prior to entering academia, he was a law clerk and a litigator, serving as a clerk to Judge James R. Browning of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the US Department of Justice.
He began his professional academic career at Emory University, where, over 18 years, he served in many roles including the K.H. Gyr Professor of Private International Law; vice dean of the law school with active responsibility for admissions, curriculum, development and alumni relations, student affairs and engagement, and finance and administration, among others; and director of the Center on Federalism & Intersystemic Governance. Bobby also helped raise Emory Law’s national ranking from 30th to 19th, the highest ranking the law school has achieved to date.
He then moved to Texas A&M, where his transformational achievements align closely with Pace’s aspirations. Bobby helped raise Texas A&M Law’s ranking into the top 25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Law Schools rankings, increased the postgraduate employment rate from 81.9 percent to 100 percent, the highest in the nation, and improved the bar passage rate from 73.2 percent to nearly 100 percent. Under his leadership, law school enrollment more than quadrupled in seven years, growing from 458 to more than 2,000 students, and Texas A&M Law became one of the nation’s most research-active law schools.
With a visionary interest in interdisciplinary and experiential learning, Bobby developed and led the fundraising for an innovation campus at Texas A&M that brings together health sciences, engineering, business, law, and other academic disciplines to collaborate with co-located industry partners around R&D initiatives, workforce training, and student-to-employee pipelines. In addition, he developed many new revenue-generating programs at the law school and across the A&M campus, including a new Texas A&M Online university framework to support online/hybrid programs.
Raised in New York City by parents who immigrated to the US in search of educational opportunities they were denied because of religious persecution, Bobby has lived Opportunitas and brings his record of institutional transformation and vision back to New York to help ensure that those same opportunities are available to the Pace Community.
Attracting an exceptional leader such as Bobby would not have been possible without the many achievements of Pace during the presidency of Marvin Krislov. Since 2017, when President Krislov joined Pace, the institution has gone through a period of progress and transformation. Pace has secured record levels of public and private funding, launched the Sands College of Performing Arts, and reimagined its New York City Campus through landmark investments, including the opening of 15 Beekman and the renovation of One Pace Plaza East. The University went through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with steadiness and resolve, while emerging as a leading advocate for student mental health and well-being. Krislov prioritized student success and Pace’s graduation rates improved. He advanced Pace’s mission to provide the highest quality of teaching, including personally teaching law students at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law and undergraduate students. These achievements reflect the enduring commitment of the Board of Trustees, President Krislov, his leadership team, faculty, and staff to expanding opportunity, strengthening the student experience, and positioning Pace for a vibrant and successful future.
We would like to thank the Presidential Search Committee, comprised of representatives from across the university, who contributed countless hours in pursuit of our goal: to identify the right leader to build on Pace’s strong foundation and growing momentum to advance a creative, innovative vision to meet the challenges that all in higher education face today and into the future. That vision will elevate academic quality, strengthen student success and career outcomes, and reimagine Pace as a university where opportunity, excellence, and impact converge.
Marvin, Bobby, and the board will be working closely to ensure a smooth transition in January. This time also gives our community opportunities to meet Bobby and celebrate Marvin and his many contributions to Pace. We will share more details about these events soon.
Please join us in welcoming Bobby to the Pace Community and back to his New York roots. He will be a relentless champion for Pace, bringing an innovative and transformational approach to our academic mission and our can-do spirit.
| 
