Lee Huebner

President of The American University in Paris, 1995–97 

Lee Huebner is a current trustee and former President of The American University of Paris, serving in the latter role on an interim basis for two years from 1995–97. Hailing from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Huebner majored in history at Northwestern University before receiving his MA and PhD in history from Harvard. Following his studies, Huebner co-founded the Ripon Society, a political research organization, which caught the attention of future President Richard Nixon. Huebner went on to work as a special assistant and speechwriter to Nixon and, during the Nixon administration, was deputy director of the White House writing and research staff. 

Following his political career, Huebner moved to Paris, serving for 14 years as publisher and CEO of the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, the world’s first global newspaper. He was then, for 12 years, a professor of communication studies and journalism at both the School of Communications and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He later served as Airlie Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University (GWU) in the School of Media and Public Affairs. Huebner created and led GWU’s International Media Seminar in Paris during Spring Break. 

Huebner has been involved in many notable American international institutions across the City of Light. As well as serving as President of The American University of Paris, Huebner was President of the American Chamber of Commerce in France and has also chaired the European Council of American Chambers of Commerce and the Center for the Study of International Communications (CECI), which celebrated its 20th anniversary at AUP in 2019.