Lisa Anderson

Lisa Anderson is the President of the American University in Cairo, Egypt. She assumed this position in January 2011 after having served as Provost of the same institution from September 2008 through December 2010. Her academic background is as a professor of international relations, with special expertise in state formation and regime change. As a specialist on Libya, she has made numerous media appearances in connection with the political turmoil that erupted there in 2011.

Anderson holds a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a Ph.D in political science from Columbia University, where she also received a certificate from the Middle East Institute.

From 1981 to 1986, Anderson was an assistant professor of government and social studies at Harvard University. In 1986, Anderson joined the faculty of Columbia University. Anderson was James T. Shotwell Professor of International Relations at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs and served as director of Columbia's Middle East Institute from 1990 to 1993. From 1997 until 2007 she served as dean of the faculty.

Anderson was president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America in 2003, and chair of the board of directors of the Social Science Research Council. She is a member of the council of the American Political Science Association and serves on the board of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. She is member emerita of the board of Human Rights Watch, where she served as co-chair of Human Rights Watch/Middle East. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.