Jonathan Alger is American University’s 16th president. An experienced and visionary higher education leader, President Alger spent the last 12 years as president of James Madison University. President Alger is a nationally recognized scholar and speaker on higher education policy, law, and civic engagement who has written for scholarly journals and publications such as The Journal of College and University Law and The Law of Higher Education. He previously served as senior vice president and general counsel at Rutgers University and as assistant general counsel at the University of Michigan, where he played a key leadership role in the university’s efforts in two important Supreme Court cases on diversity and admissions and coordinated one of the largest amicus brief coalitions in Supreme Court history. He is past president of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, a past member of the ABA’s Accreditation Committee for law schools, and a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School.