NEWS: R. May Lee, Visionary Entrepreneur and Education Leader, Named Olin College of Engineering President
The Olin College of Engineering (Needham, Mass.) Board of Trustees has announced the unanimous appointment of R. May Lee as the third President of the College. Her tenure will begin on August 18, 2025.
The Olin College of Engineering Board of Trustees has announced the unanimous appointment of R. May Lee as the third President of the College. Lee is a visionary leader whose career spans global higher education, corporate leadership and entrepreneurship. Her tenure will begin on August 18, 2025.
Lee is a visionary leader whose career spans global higher education, corporate leadership and entrepreneurship. With experience ranging from Wall Street to the nonprofit sector, and deep expertise in innovation, education and strategy, Lee brings a unique breadth of experience and insight to Olin.
“I am deeply thankful to Bruce Herring and the Presidential Search Committee for their dedication and diligence in identifying Olin’s next leader, and for representing the Olin community so authentically,” said Jeannie Diefenderfer, chair of the Olin Board of Trustees. “I believe May is precisely the kind of strategic, community-minded leader Olin needs right now and I look forward to working closely with her as we embark on Olin’s next chapter.”
“I am incredibly honored to be chosen to lead Olin College as its next president,” said Lee. “I am an engineer at heart, if not by training. My career has been defined by building—whether it's products, strategies or teams. Along the way, I’ve immersed myself in new industries, carrying forward insights from one sector to the next and using them as fuel for innovation in each new context. I am inspired by Olin’s mission and its people, and its resolute dedication to constant innovation, and look forward to leading this unique institution into the future. I am grateful to the Olin board and the search committee for their thorough, thoughtful process, and I am eager to get started.”
Lee comes to Olin from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), where she was the Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for Institutional Impact. There, she played a pivotal role in shaping and executing strategic priorities through the development and implementation of RPI’s long-term strategic plan, RPI Forward.
Prior to RPI, Lee was a partner at The Seelig Group, an investment firm focused on media and technology. She was the founding Dean of the School of Entrepreneurship and Management at Shanghai Tech University, where she established the first-ever interdisciplinary curriculum for science and engineering students, integrating social sciences, entrepreneurship and critical thinking. As Vice Chancellor at New York University, she spearheaded development of NYU Shanghai, NYU’s degree-granting campus in China.
“May is a tremendous leader with immense academic accomplishments and a great cultural fit for our community. We are very fortunate that she is coming to Olin,” said Bruce Herring, chair of the Presidential Search Committee. “I would like to thank the entire Presidential Search Committee and our partners at Spencer Stuart for their commitment to inclusion, collaboration, transparency and respect during this search.”
“May is an accessible and transparent leader who values shared governance and co-creation,” said Emily Tow, professor of mechanical engineering and a member of the search committee. “She is both a down-to-earth person whom I look forward to chatting with in the dining hall and a bold thinker who will enable our small school to achieve global impact.”
“Within a few minutes of our interview starting, I felt like I was talking to the next president of Olin,” said Carter Harris ’26. “With a clear understanding of the importance of co-creation, a willingness to engage in tough conversations, and a genuine interest in elevating what makes Olin different, May’s unique background is exactly what I think students are looking for to continue building Olin.”
Founded in 1997, Olin instills passion and ignites innovation in its students and prepares them to envision, create and deliver products, services, and systems that transform and improve people’s lives around the world. Olin teaches students to be explorers and creators who design their own path forward. By challenging norms and sharing its unique approach to education, Olin is revolutionizing the way undergraduate engineers learn and create knowledge. Located in Needham Massachusetts, Olin is ranked among the top three undergraduate engineering programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.