President's Office

Dr. David W. Hahn is Boise State University’s eighth president.

A nationally recognized academic leader, engineering scholar and public university administrator, Dr. Hahn brings more than three decades of leadership experience spanning higher education, federal agencies and national laboratories. His leadership is guided by a commitment to student success, experiential learning, research excellence, and strategic partnerships that align higher education with state and national priorities.

Before becoming Boise State’s president, Dr. Hahn served as the Craig M. Berge Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona, where he was also a professor and eminent scholar of aerospace and mechanical engineering. During his seven-year tenure, he led a period of significant growth and transformation, increasing first-year student enrollment by nearly 50%, expanding faculty positions, launching new academic programs and tripling external research expenditures. He also strengthened partnerships with industry, government, the military and philanthropic organizations to advance workforce development, innovation and economic impact.

Previously, Dr. Hahn spent 21 years at the University of Florida, where he served as chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. There, he championed research growth, experiential learning, student design and workforce-responsive education. Earlier in his career, he was a researcher at Sandia National Laboratories and a National Research Council postdoctoral associate at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

A mechanical engineer by training, Dr. Hahn is internationally recognized for his research in thermal sciences, energy, laser-based diagnostics, spectroscopy and laser-material interactions. He has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed journal publications, secured more than $50 million in research funding as a principal investigator or co-principal investigator, and holds 12 U.S. patents. He earned both his bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from Louisiana State University.