Denis Simon

Denis Fred Simon
2nd Executive Vice Chancellor of Duke Kunshan University
In office
August 1, 2015  July 1, 2020
Preceded byMary Brown Bullock
Succeeded byAlfred Bloom
Personal details
EducationState University of New York at New Paltz (BA)
UC Berkeley (MA, PhD)

Denis Simon is an American professor and academic administrator who is currently a distinguished fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies (ICAS), a Chinese Communist Party entity, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He has received the People's Republic of China Friendship Award from the Communist Party, 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.

A scholar of China, Simon has experience in the business and technology strategy fields. He previously served at the Duke Fuqua School of Business as a Professor of China Business and Technology, and 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 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.