Everything you need to know about LMU’s next president: Thomas Poon, Ph.D.

After LMU President Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., announced his retirement on Oct. 7, 2024, effective after the 2024-25 school year, several LMU community members were selected for a Presidential Search Committee to find his successor. On April 8, LMU announced that the Board of Trustees had unanimously elected Executive Vice President and Provost Thomas Poon, Ph.D., as the University's next president, effective on June 1.

Poon joined LMU in 2017 as executive vice president and provost under Snyder, overseeing both academic and student affairs at the University. Before LMU, Poon taught at Randolph-Macon College, Columbia University and the Claremont Colleges and studied chemistry at Fairfield University and the University of California, Los Angeles.

As provost, Poon oversaw the introduction of 21 academic programs at LMU alongside the expansion of the University’s study abroad program. His tenure coincided with the construction of LMU’s Playa Vista Campus in 2018 and the recent establishment of the University as a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (AANAPISI).

Poon makes LMU history as the first person of color to serve as University president, and is the third non-Jesuit — the first lay president in LMU history being President David W. Burcham, then Snyder after him.

“President-elect Poon puts students, faculty and staff at the center of his decisions. With reverence for LMU’s values and the courage to meet the demands of a changing world, he will guide our University to new heights in academic distinction, visibility and global engagement,” shared Paul S. Viviano, chair of the Presidential Search Committee and the Board of Trustees in an online statement.

In an interview with the Loyolan, President-elect Poon discussed aspirations for the first 100 days of his presidency, organizing them under three pillars: “reframe, reopen and reassess.” He affirmed that a significant focus for him is to “consult broadly and frequently,” expressing his desire to bring in people from various backgrounds to help inform his decision-making. This includes increasing engagement with LMU alumni — a group Poon believes hasn't received enough attention from the administration.

“Our alumni go out and do amazing things, and I want to reach out more to them to find out what they valued from their experience. But also to find out … what could we have done differently to better serve their needs as alums and people in the workforce,” said Poon.

Another change at LMU implemented during Poon’s tenure as provost was “LMUTW in Brief,” a website designed to keep LMU community members informed on the University’s responses to actions of the current U.S. administration — including the Department of Education’s (DOE) Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter. Poon asserted that, as president, he will continue fighting for what he believes are values inherent to LMU’s mission — like diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

“Our social justice mission is part of our DNA; it’s who we are. So we can never back down from that. One example is DEI — we do DEI because of our Catholicity. This is something that has been core to the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, the Marymount Sisters … the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange — our religious charisms … for decades and centuries,” said Poon. “So we will fight this if we are attacked in this regard … Can you imagine if we had none of those things here at LMU? We wouldn’t be recognizable.”

Poon explained that, because of actions from the current U.S. administration, many grants at LMU have been cut “because they have certain keywords in the title or in the narrative,” like “equity.” He affirmed that the University has been in the process of appealing these cuts, working alongside local Congress representatives like Ted Lieu and pushing to continue funding some of these grants.

During the interview, Poon defended the controversial “time, place, manner for social action” policy released ahead of the 2024-25 academic year — a policy that prohibits “unreasonable noise that disrupts normal University activities” and the construction of “temporary structures” on campus, among other items. Poon maintained that the policy is beneficial to student activists because it “provides safe environments for them to express themselves through free speech.”

Poon’s tenure as provost has not seen universal praise. On Feb. 20 — before Poon’s appointment — a motion passed at an LMU Faculty Senate meeting calling for a vote of “confidence/no-confidence” in Poon’s leadership. However, the legitimacy of the motion’s language and how it passed has been questioned in several instances since. For example, a recommendation from the senate’s Governance and Bylaws Committee deeming the motion’s passing unconstitutional was later rejected by a senate vote on March 27.

“What I think is really important here is the role that faculty have in shared governance and being able to direct the course of the University," said Mark Gaynor, philosophy lecturer, non-tenure track (NTT) faculty member and an at-large contingent within the senate — who proposed the initial motion — in an interview with the Loyolan prior to Poon's appointment. "I think given the marginalization that we have faced in that process, it's important that faculty have a voice in kind of expressing whether they approve of the way that [Poon] has navigated these issues."

Gaynor claimed that Poon and LMU’s administration had “not been particularly receptive to concerns of NTT faculty,” who are currently in the bargaining phase of their unionization process. At Poon’s last convocation on March 20, NTT faculty members and supporters held a silent protest outside of the venue. Bryan Wisch, rhetorical arts instructor and NTT bargaining team co-spokesperson, claimed the effort took place to bring community grievances forward to Poon.

Poon will be joined in the new position by his wife, Catherine Irwin, Ph.D. — professor and chair of the English department and advisor and coordinator for the gender and sexuality studies minor at the University of La Verne — as first spouse. Irwin’s LMU biography highlights her desire for “advancing inclusive dialogue and fostering a vibrant academic environment that champions diversity, creativity and empowerment” on campus — a sentiment that Poon appears to share.