Farnam Jahanian appointed president

Earlier in March, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to make Farnam Jahanian the 10th President of Carnegie Mellon University. After a long and combined effort between student leaders and the board, then Interim President Jahanian remained the favorite for the job, as he has served as the interim president for the past semester. Before serving as the 10th president, he served as the Provost and Chief Academic Officer.

He started his path to leadership by serving as National Science Foundation Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. In this position, he managed a massive budget and pushed to increase access and innovation in technology and science. Though his alma mater is the University of Texas at Austin, he has been devoted to Carnegie Mellon for decades and made great efforts to increase the quality and consistency of education for all students on campus.

Many students view him as a genuine and charismatic person that cares deeply about the issues surrounding the students and faculty and staff. John Solomon, a sophomore in chemical engineering, said "I've talked with Jahanian once, and he has a genuine commitment to the school."

Some of these issues concern campus life as well as financial aid. A student, who wished to remain anonymous, found that "it would be great if he could contribute more funds towards reducing student tuition costs." However, there is reason to believe that President Jahanian will be able to tackle those issues directly.

For many sophomores and freshmen, President Jahanian is the only president they really know. When asked about what they remembered about former President Subra Suresh, an anonymous sophomore said that "the only thing I remember about president Subra Suresh are the memes." However, perhaps, this is an indictment of the transparency of the office of president and the responsibilities of the president. Pavi Bhatter, a freshman in information systems, believes that "[President] Jahanian will help to foster positive relations between the administration and [the student body]."

Thought students may not feel a daily impact from the decisions of the office of the president, he has the support of a student body eager to see his plans for the university.