There is a large literature on the productivity of universities. Little is known, however, about how different types of leader affect a university's later performance. By constructing a new longitudinal data set, I provide evidence that the research quality of a university improves after it appoints a president (vice chancellor) who is an accomplished scholar. The findings have policy implications for governments, universities, and a range of research and knowledge-intensive organizations. Appended are: (1) Universities in the Sample; (2) Description of the Data (Means) Across Three Time Periods; and (3) Citation Normalization Process. (Contains 7 tables, 1 figure and 19 footnotes.)