New Mellon Foundation Leader Plans to Focus on Online Education

New job: Earl Lewis, 56, provost of Emory University, will take over in March as president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, in New York. He succeeds Don M. Randel, who is retiring.

Career path: Mr. Lewis, who has held the Emory job since 2004, previously taught history and served as vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. He began his academic career teaching at the University of California at Berkeley.

Education: Mr. Lewis received bachelor’s degrees in history and psychology from Concordia College and a doctorate in African-American history from the University of Minnesota.

On diversity in grant making: He sees parallels in the lack of racial diversity in academe and philanthropy, but views his appointment as Mellon’s first black president as a sign of progress. “Another ceiling has been broken open and there are opportunities for individuals with the requisite experience and background.”

On philanthropy: He hopes foundations will come to allow grantees more time on projects rather than expecting short-term results, especially for entrenched social problems.

On his agenda: He wants to step up grants focusing on online education and greater affordability of higher education.

Salary: He declined to reveal it.

What he’s reading: State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, and All I Did Was Shoot My Man, by Walter Mosley.