Pace University, a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County known for combining academic rigor, real-world learning, and exceptional access to opportunity, today announced that Robert “Bobby” Ahdieh has been named the university’s ninth president, effective January 1, 2027. Ahdieh, a renowned global legal scholar as well as a fierce and innovative believer in the power of higher education to transform lives, has been unanimously elected by the Board of Trustees, following a comprehensive and inclusive search process. He succeeds President Marvin Krislov, who announced earlier this year that he would step down, after nearly a decade leading the university.

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Photo credit: Pace University

Photo credit: Pace University

Ahdieh joins Pace from Texas A&M University, where he served simultaneously 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.

“Bobby Ahdieh is exactly the kind of innovative leader that Pace University needs and deserves during an exciting moment of transformation,” said Robert S. Sands, Chairman of the Pace Board of Trustees. “He is a bold institution-builder who has demonstrated time and again the rare ability to elevate academic quality, expand access, and drive transformational growth. He shares our deep belief that education is a powerful engine of social mobility and life-changing opportunity. Bobby will lead Pace forward with vision, energy, and an unwavering commitment to the students and communities we serve. I express my deepest gratitude to the members of our Presidential Search Committee, who contributed countless hours to this process, in pursuit of the right leader for Pace’s future.”

Since becoming Dean of Texas A&M Law in 2018, Ahdieh led one of the most dramatic institutional transformations in the history of American legal education. Under his leadership, the school climbed from 83rd to 22nd in national rankings — the most significant rise of any law school in the past 25 years. Enrollment grew more than fourfold, from 458 to over 2,000 students, while post-graduate employment reached 100%, the highest rate in the United States, and bar passage climbed from 73% to nearly 100%. Annual fundraising quadrupled and the school’s budget moved from annual deficits to a revenue-positive position in under three years. And even as incoming academic metrics rose sharply, the racial and ethnic diversity of the student body nearly doubled as well.

Ahdieh’s impact extended beyond the law school as well. As Vice President for Professional Schools and Programs, he helped lead graduate enrollment growth across the entire university, including its colleges of Engineering, Medicine, Architecture, Education, Nursing, and Agriculture. As Chief Operating Officer of Texas A&M–Fort Worth, he conceived and spearheaded the development of a new $1 billion-plus innovation campus — a first-of-its-kind academic and industry hub integrating health sciences, engineering, business, law, and major private sector partners around research, workforce development, and student-to-employee pipelines.

Prior to Texas A&M, Ahdieh spent nearly two decades at Emory University School of Law, where he served as the K.H. Gyr Professor of Private International Law, Vice Dean, and Director of the Center on Federalism & Intersystemic Governance and helped guide the school to the highest student quality, diversity, and ranking achievements in its history.

Raised in New York City by parents who immigrated to the U.S. in pursuit of educational opportunities, Ahdieh returns home with a personal and professional commitment to ensuring those same opportunities are available to new generations of students.

“New York is where my family’s American dream began, and Pace’s motto – Opportunitas – resonates deeply with me,” said Ahdieh. “Higher education is at an inflection point, and those institutions that are willing to engage honestly with the moment, to lead with ambition, and to bring their communities along will be the ones that define what academia looks like for future generations. I cannot wait to work alongside Pace’s students, faculty, staff, and communities both in New York City and Westchester — who make the University what it is today — and together take it to even greater heights.”

Ahdieh holds an A.B. from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He began his career as a law clerk to Judge James R. Browning of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and subsequently served as a trial attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. A scholar as well as an administrator, his research spans financial regulation, corporate law, administrative law, and comparative and international law; he has held visiting professorships at Princeton, Columbia Law School, and Georgetown University Law Center.

Krislov will officially depart Pace at the end of the calendar year. Since he joined in 2017, 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.

“Pace made significant advancements during President Krislov’s nearly ten-year tenure,” said Chairman Sands. “Marvin has worked tirelessly on the advancement of Pace’s commitment to Opportunitas and on behalf of Pace students. The Board of Trustees is grateful for the many positive contributions Marvin has made and wishes him well in his future endeavors after Pace.”

About Pace University

Founded in 1906 and celebrating 120 years of preparing students for success in 2026, Pace University pairs real-life learning with strong academics to launch meaningful careers. With campuses in New York City and Westchester County, Pace serves 13,600 students across a range of bachelor, master, and doctoral programs through the College of Health Professions, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Elisabeth Haub School of Law, Lubin School of Business, Sands College of Performing Arts, School of Education, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems.

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