Todd brings to Lehigh a breadth of experience as a leader in nonprofit and higher education finance, business affairs, and research support, most recently overseeing all areas of Franklin & Marshall College’s business operations, including budget and financial planning, human resources, payroll, facilities, public safety and auxiliary services. A former decorated intelligence officer with a diverse experience and skill set, Todd will lead the spectrum of areas and teams within the portfolio of the finance and administration division.
President Joseph J. Helble ’82 said: “Mike is an exceptional, collaborative leader with the breadth of experience needed for leading the broad range of teams within the division. In addition to his decades of executive leadership in nonprofit and higher education finance and administration, he brings a dynamic perspective from his time as a decorated former intelligence officer and his experiences in residential life, research support, academic affairs, and business affairs across different institutions and functions. His insights and leadership will serve the division and the university well as we embark on our strategic planning process and chart Lehigh’s course and future together as a community.”
Before Franklin & Marshall, Todd was the chief operating officer and the executive associate dean at the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering, where he helped to bolster annual research expenditures, supported the hiring and funding of startups for faculty, launched new offices for data analytics and faculty and staff affairs and developed multiple capital projects. He also served as the treasurer of the School’s Board of Trustees.
At the University of North Carolina System, he served as the associate vice president for research operations, advising and evaluating UNC system’s multidisciplinary research centers and institutes. He also was the first executive director of the North Carolina Research Campus, overseeing all aspects of campus operations for the UNC system.
Todd’s selection followed a comprehensive and competitive process.
“Through the interview process, Mike demonstrated both his broad experience in working to support the mission of the institutions where he worked and his effectiveness as a communicator to broad audiences,” said Provost Nathan Urban, who chaired the search committee. “I am looking forward to working with Mike to find ways to best advance Lehigh’s educational, research and service missions.”
Todd said: “My family and I are excited to join the Lehigh University community. Throughout the search process, I was impressed by the commitment and enthusiasm of the faculty, staff and students I met. I am grateful to Provost Nathan Urban and the search committee, and I look forward to supporting President Helble’s vision for the future of Lehigh.”
Todd holds a master’s of business administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a master’s degree in physics from the University of Virginia and bachelor’s degrees in economics, Russian language, mathematics, and physics from the University of Missouri. He completed the leadership for senior executives program at Harvard Business School.