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Paul LeClerc

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A black-and-white bust-length photo of a young white man in a light-colored suit and tie
LeClerc in his senior yearbook photo in 1959

Paul LeClerc is an American scholar of French literature, former president of Hunter College, and former president and CEO of the New York Public Library. LeClerc is also a trustee of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as director of the National Book Foundation, as director of the Maison Française of Columbia University.

Early life and education

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LeClerc was born on May 28, 1941, in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the grandson of French Canadian immigrants.[1][2] French was spoken in his childhood home,[3] and he was raised in Queens, New York, where he attended parochial schools.[1] He attended Holy Cross High School in Flushing, graduating in 1959.[4]

After high school, LeClerc graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1963.[5] As an undergraduate at Holy Cross, he was active in several campus organizations, including the biology society and yearbook committee.[5] He also developed an interest in eighteenth-century French literature and Voltaire.[6] He spent the following academic year after graduation at the University of Paris, studying at the Sorbonne.[6][7] He then earned a Master of Arts in French literature in 1965 and his Ph.D. in French literature with distinction in 1969 from Columbia University.[7] As a doctoral student, he studied under historian Peter Gay.[7]

Career

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While still completing his doctorate, LeClerc became a faculty member of Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1966.[6]

In 1988, LeClerc became the president of Hunter College in New York City, New York.[8]

LeClerc served as president of the New York Public Library from December 1, 1993 until July 1, 2011.

LeClerc was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2006.[9]

In 2012, LeClerc became the director of Columbia Global Centers (Paris) for Columbia University. LeClerc is the chairman of Maison Française Advisory Board.[10][11][12][13]

Personal life

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LeClerc's wife is Judith Ginsberg.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "NYPL President To Receive Spanish Civil Order". The New York Public Library. May 25, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  2. ↑ "A Patriot in the Data Revolution". The Christian Science Monitor. September 23, 1993. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Dr. Paul LeClerc to Retire as President of The New York Public Library". The New York Public Library. November 18, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Hall of Fame". Holy Cross High School. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  5. 1 2 College of the Holy Cross (1963). Purple Patcher. Worcester, Massachusetts: College of the Holy Cross. p. 246. Retrieved August 19, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  6. 1 2 3 "Program Archive 2000–2014" (PDF). Columbia College and Columbia Engineering. p. 46. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "Paul LeClerc". Department of French. Columbia University. Retrieved August 19, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Herb Scher. "Paul LeClerc to retire". New York Public Library. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
  9. ↑ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Paul LeClerc". columbia.edu. Archived from the original on August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  11. ↑ Library Leader in Era of Change to Step Down Archived September 15, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times. Published 18 Nov. 2009.
  12. ↑ Former New York Public Library President Direct Paris Global Center, Columbia Spectator. By Melissa von Mayrhauser, Spectator Senior Staff Writer. Published 23 April 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  13. ↑ Paul LeClerc Named Director of Columbia's Europe Global Center in Paris Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, Columbia University News, April 12, 2012
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