Dr. Elizabeth “Beth” L. Paul is president of Capital University, an independent not-for-profit university in Columbus, Ohio’s capital city. Prior to her appointment in 2016, she served as the senior academic officer at Stetson University in Central Florida, and at The College of New Jersey. As a national leader in higher education, Dr. Paul is recognized for her expertise in strategic planning and change management, higher education financial models and high-impact learning practices.  Dr. Paul has held national leadership roles in key higher education initiatives, including serving as president of the Council on Undergraduate Research.  She currently serves on the governing boards of the National Association of College and University Business Officers, the Council of Independent Colleges, and the Bonner Foundation.

Dr. Paul is an engineer of neighborhood-based community-engaged and experiential learning programs, local and global. Dr. Paul embraces the power of place for student and community thriving. She considers it a moral imperative of higher education to actively partner in innovation, ideas and learning approaches that extend beyond established boundaries to build capacity, tackle social challenges and stimulate social mobility. Dr. Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in statistics, and a doctorate in personality psychology, both from Boston University. She did a predoctoral training fellowship with the National Institute of Mental Health and earned a certificate in higher education administration from Harvard Institute for Educational Management.