{{Short description|Former President of Hunter College (1988 - 1993)}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} thumb|right|alt=A black-and-white bust-length photo of a young white man in a light-colored suit and tie|LeClerc in his senior yearbook photo in 1959 '''Paul LeClerc''' is a scholar in French literature, former President of Hunter College, and former President and CEO of the New York Public Library. LeClerc is also a trustee of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as Director of the National Book Foundation, as Director of the Maison Française of Columbia University.
== Early life and education == LeClerc was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire. LeClerc's grandparents were French Canadian immigrants.<ref name="nypl_leclerc">{{cite web|author=Herb Scher|title=Paul LeClerc to retire|url=http://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/2009/12/09/dr-paul-leclerc-retire-president-new-york-public-library|accessdate=2010-12-31|publisher=New York Public Library}}</ref> In 1959, LeClerc graduated from Holy Cross High School in Flushing, New York.
LeClerc earned a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross in 1963 and spent a postgraduate year studying at the University of Paris. He later earned a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in French literature from Columbia University.<ref name="nypl_leclerc"/>
== Career == In 1988, LeClerc became the President of Hunter College in New York City, New York.<ref name="nypl_leclerc"/>
LeClerc served as president of the New York Public Library from December 1, 1993 until July 1, 2011.
LeClerc was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Paul+LeClerc&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-05-25|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>
In 2012, LeClerc became the director of Columbia Global Centers (Paris) for Columbia University. LeClerc is the chairman of Maison Française Advisory Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://beta.global.columbia.edu/people/paul-leclerc |title=Paul LeClerc |publisher=columbia.edu |accessdate=August 2, 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/books/19library.html Library Leader in Era of Change to Step Down], The New York Times. Published 18 Nov. 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2012/04/23/former-new-york-public-library-president-direct-paris-global-center Former New York Public Library President Direct Paris Global Center], Columbia Spectator. By Melissa von Mayrhauser, Spectator Senior Staff Writer. Published 23 April 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.</ref><ref>[http://news.columbia.edu/oncampus/2741 Paul LeClerc Named Director of Columbia's Europe Global Center in Paris] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402145720/http://news.columbia.edu/oncampus/2741 |date=2015-04-02 }}, Columbia University News, April 12, 2012</ref>
== Personal life == LeClerc's wife is Judith Ginsberg.<ref name="nypl_leclerc"/>
== See also == * Voltaire
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.c-span.org/person/?paulleclerc Paul LeClerc at c-span.org] * [https://globalcenters.columbia.edu/content/paul-leclerc Paul LeClerc at Columbia University]
{{Hunter College presidents}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Leclerc, Paul}} Category:College of the Holy Cross alumni Category:Living people Category:Holy Cross High School (Flushing) alumni Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Category:University of Paris alumni Category:Union College (New York) faculty Category:Presidents of Hunter College Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Presidents of the New York Public Library Category:People from Lebanon, New Hampshire Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society