Dr. Kimo Ah Yun was unanimously elected the 25th president of Marquette University by the Marquette Board of Trustees on Nov. 20, 2024. He had served in the dual acting president and provost roles since June 10, 2024. He joined Marquette in 2016 as dean of the Diederich College of Communication, was named acting provost in 2018 and then permanent provost and executive vice president for academic affairs in 2019. Prior to joining Marquette University, he was associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters at California State University, Sacramento, where he also served as chair of the department of communication studies, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, and professor of communication studies. During his 20-year tenure at Sacramento State, he co-chaired the President’s Committee to Build Campus Unity, which programmed and executed campuswide conversations on topics such as discrimination, identity and privilege.

President Ah Yun has received teaching awards from California State University, Sacramento, and the International Communication Association. He also received the President’s Research Award from California State University, Sacramento, and the Jack Hunter Meta-Analysis award from the International Communication Association. He has published in Communication Education, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Communication Research, Wisconsin Medical Journal, Communication Studies, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of the Association for Communication Administration, Metropolitan Universities Journal, and The National Teaching and Learning Forum. His research has been supported with grants from the Centers for Disease Control, Wisconsin Department of Public Health, California Criminal Justice Cabinet, California Department of Transportation, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

President Ah Yun earned his bachelor’s degree in communication studies from California State University, Sacramento, his master’s degree in speech from Kansas State University, and his doctorate in communication from Michigan State University.