Denis Simon


Denis Simon is an American professor and academic administrator who is currently a distinguished fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies, a Chinese Communist Party entity, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
He received the People's Republic of China Friendship Award from the Communist Party in 2008, an award given to "foreign experts" with "outstanding contributions" to China's economic and social progress.
Simon was previously the Executive Vice Chancellor of Duke Kunshan University in China from 2015-2020, replacing Mary Brown Bullock. He was a professor at the Duke Fuqua School of Business, and a senior adviser to the president for China affairs. At Duke Kunshan University, Simon oversaw the recruitment of the inaugural undergraduate class, campus construction, and faculty development.
In 2021, Simon was named executive director of the Center for Innovation Policy at Duke [University School of Law|Duke Law School]. In August 2023, Simon resigned from his position at University of [North Carolina at Chapel Hill], citing the increasingly challenging environment surrounding academic engagement with China.

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