On July 1, 1997, Jared L. Cohon became the eighth president of Carnegie Mellon University.
Cohon earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He spent 19 years at Johns Hopkins University, where he rose from the faculty ranks to become associate dean of engineering and vice provost for research.
Cohon came to CMU from Yale University, where he was dean of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and professor of environmental systems analysis.