David S. Lee, a U.S. scholar of Korean descent, was recently appointed Princeton’s new provost, becoming the first Asian to hold the post at the prestigious U.S. school.

“I am delighted that David Lee has agreed to serve as Princeton’s next provost,” Princeton’s president-elect Christopher Eisgruber said in announcing the appointment last week.

According to the university’s website, Eisgruber praised Lee as an “outstanding scholar” with good judgment, administrative skills and generous collegiality.

Lee said that after talking to Eisgruber, he came to realize the job would be a “fantastic way in which to serve Princeton.”

“I am very excited to take on the challenge,” he said.

Starting from July 1, Lee will serve as the Ivy League school’s chief academic and budgetary officer.

The 41-year-old Lee, currently professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton, has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and a master’s and Ph.D. in economics from Princeton.

He worked as a professor of economics at Columbia University and an assistant professor at the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard before joining the Princeton faculty in 2007.

Lee is married to Christina Lee, an associate research scholar at Princeton’s department of Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures. The couple has a daughter and a newborn son.

By Yoon Min-sik and news reports
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)