News & Notes: Herbst ’83 to become Colgate president

Herbst graduated summa cum laude from Princeton as a Wilson School major. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in political science at Yale, but he later returned to Princeton to teach political science. During his tenure at the University, he served as chair of the politics department, director of the African Studies program and acting associate dean of the Wilson School.

“Jeff is an inspired choice to lead Colgate University,” Wilson School Dean Christina Paxson said in a Colgate statement. “He is deeply committed to undergraduate education, and appreciates the important role of faculty research and scholarship in a liberal arts education. Jeff also has boundless energy and enthusiasm.”

Herbst goes to Colgate after serving as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Miami University in Ohio for five years. In his academic research, he focuses on sub-Saharan African politics and examines peacekeeping and international involvement in the region.

“I worked closely with Jeff when he was at Princeton so I know first-hand how capable he is — as a scholar, as a teacher, and as a highly collegial leader,” former Princeton president William Bowen GS ’58 said in the Colgate statement. “This is, in my view, a stellar appointment.”