Dr. Denis Fred Simon is Executive Vice Chancellor at Duke University's new joint venture campus in Kunshan, China. In that capacity, he is the chief operating officer responsible for leading and managing the development of a new interdisciplinary liberal arts university offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees. He also is responsible for development of an active research capability at DKU across science and engineering, social sciences, and the humanities. Dr. Simon also holds a faculty appointment as Professor of China Business and Technology Affairs in the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Moreover, he also serves as one of Duke's thought leaders regarding innovation and higher education developments in contemporary China.

Dr. Simon joined DKU in August 2015 from Arizona State University, where he had served as senior adviser to the president for China-related strategic initiatives, executive director of the University Design Institute, and Foundation Professor of Contemporary Chinese Affairs in the School of Politics and Global Studies. He previously held international affairs leadership positions and faculty appointments at several prominent research universities in the United States and China. An expert on science and technology policy and innovation strategy, he also has extensive private sector experience, having held China-based leadership roles at both Monitor Consulting Group and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). He has written and lectured widely regarding innovation issues, high technology development, foreign investment and corporate strategy, and higher education in the Pacific-Rim and is frequently quoted in the Western and Asian business press regarding commercial and technology trends in China, Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific region.

Having first visited Asia in 1976 and the China mainland in 1981, Dr. Simon has developed an extensive network of professional relationships throughout business, government, and academia in the region. A member of the editorial boards of Chinese Management Studies and the Journal of Science and Technology Policy in China, he also has served as a senior adviser to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on technology and innovation matters related to China. From 2007-2015, he also served as member of the American Experts Group within the U.S.-China Innovation Dialogue organized by China's Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House. In 2006, he received the China National Friendship Award from former Premier Wen Jiabao, China’s highest form of recognition for foreign experts.

Dr. Simon received his B.A. degree in Asian Studies from the State University of New York in 1974. He received his M.A. degree in Asian Studies in 1975 and Ph.D. in Political Science in 1980 from the University of California at Berkeley. He both speaks and reads Mandarin Chinese.