Simon came to Lehigh from the University of Virginia, where he served as executive vice president and provost. He took office at Lehigh on July 1, 2015 and was installed as Lehigh’s 14th president on October 2, 2015. Shortly thereafter, he began formulating the various elements of his “Path to Prominence” plan, which was formally approved by the Board of Trustees in 2016. During his time in office, Simon worked to expand Lehigh’s global footprint, make a Lehigh education more accessible to students of all backgrounds and grow the university’s research program.