Paul LeBlanc

Dr. Paul J. LeBlanc is a Visiting Scholar and Special Advisor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where he is completing a new book on AI and Education (Wiley 2026). He was the co-founder and Board Chair for Matter and Space, focusing on AI and Education. Until June 2024, he served as President of Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). He remains at SNHU as a researcher, writer, and advisor. Under the 21 years of Paul’s direction, SNHU grew from 2800 students to over 250,000 and is the largest non-profit provider of online higher education in the country. Paul is considered one of America’s most innovative educators. Forbes Magazine has listed him as one of its 15 “Classroom Revolutionaries” and Washington Monthly named him one of America’s ten most innovative university presidents. In 2012, SNHU was #12 on Fast Company magazine’s “World’s Fifty Most Innovative Companies” list and was the only university included. In 2018, Paul won the prestigious IAA Institute Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence in Higher Education, joining some of the most respected university and college presidents in American higher education. In 2024 the University of Pennsylvania awarded him The Zemsky Medal for Innovation in Higher Education. He has also received the Ernest L. Boyer Award (NACU), the Distinguished Alumnus Award (AASCU), and the Ray Schroeder Leadership Award (UPCEA). He has honorary degrees from Coventry University (UK), University Camilo José Cela (Spain), and Westfield State University (US).