Throughout 23 years (1995-2018), Dr. Lance de Masi taught at AUD, while serving as President for 21 of those years. He is fond of the hybrid nature of his responsibilities as both a professor and administrator and of his commitment to Hispanic Studies and Marketing Communications.

President de Masi’s tenure at the university witnessed AUD’s transformation from a small, up-start operation to an institution of higher learning of substantial size and credible academic reputation. Dr. de Masi holds Bachelor of Arts (Spanish), Master of Arts (Hispanic Language and Literature) and Master of Business Administration (Marketing) degrees, the latter two from Indiana University where in the mid-seventies he was an Associate Instructor. In 1997, he was granted a Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Schiller International University. Dr. de Masi’s articles and speeches on education, marketing and communications-related disciplines are noteworthy for their candor, insight and passion for subject areas to which he has dedicated numerous years of ponderous consideration. He is the past President of the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).

Lance de Masi retired as AUD’s President in 2018 and has continued to serve on the university’s Governing Board. In 2023, at the invitation of the Board, he returned to the university to serve as Interim President.