David W. Leebron

David W. Leebron is the President and CEO of Texas 2036, a nonprofit, nonpartisan state policy organization working to improve the well-being and opportunities of all Texans as we approach the state’s bicentennial in 2036 and beyond.

Prior to joining Texas 2036, Leebron served as president of Rice University for 18 years, from 2004 to 2022. He now holds the title of President Emeritus and continues to serve on the faculty as University Professor. Under his leadership, Rice experienced significant growth and transformation, increasing its undergraduate and graduate student populations by nearly 80%, quadrupling its applicant pool, and investing over $1.8 billion in new construction and ongoing capital improvements. He also led efforts to broaden and increase the university’s research endeavors while also deepening the relationship with its home city of Houston, earning greater visibility locally, nationally and internationally. He established Rice’s first international campus in Paris, and oversaw the building of Houston’s innovation hub, the Ion.

Leebron currently serves on the boards of the IMAX Corporation, the Holdsworth Center, the Universities Research Association, and Fulbright Canada. He is also a member of the Anthropic Higher Education Advisory Board. His prior board service includes the NCAA, Greater Houston Partnership, Association of American Universities, National Security Higher Education Advisory Board, BioHouston, Consortium on Financing Higher Education, American Law Deans Association, and the Internet2 Board of Trustees. He was also a member of the Commission on Federal Election Reform chaired by President Jimmy Carter and Secretary of the Treasury James Baker.

His leadership has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) from the Government of France; the Real Orden de Isabel la Católica (Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic) from the Kingdom of Spain; the International Executive of the Year award from the Greater Houston Partnership; the Lifetime Achievement in Diversity in Business Award from the Houston Business Journal, and the Roy M. Huffington Award for Contributions to International Understanding from the Texas Asia Society. Leebron is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Before his tenure at Rice, Leebron served as dean of Columbia Law School from 1989 to 2004. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review, he began his legal career as a clerk for Judge Shirley Hufstedler of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He later taught at UCLA School of Law and the NYU School of Law, where he directed the International Legal Studies Program.

David lives in Houston with his wife Ping Sun, who is active with several nonprofit organizations in Houston and serves as counsel to the law firm of Yetter & Coleman LLP. Leebron and Sun have two adult children.