Harvey Mudd College Selects New President

Onetime USC administrator Jon C. Strauss was named Monday as president of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont.

Strauss, 56, who takes over in March, is vice president and chief financial officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. Harvey Mudd officials described the research institute as the nation’s largest private philanthropic organization.

Strauss, a former professor of electrical engineering, once headed Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts and was a vice president at USC. He also held administrative and teaching posts at several other schools.

“Jon brings to the post an impressive combination of executive and academic skills and experience,” said Clifford A. Miller, chairman of Harvey Mudd trustees.