Dieter Leonhard is W3 Professor of Municipal Environmental Technology at Saarland University of Applied Sciences (htw saar) and has headed the university since 2019. He previously headed the Franco-German University of Applied Sciences (DFH) for five years, first as Vice President and then as President, and Mannheim University of Applied Sciences for eleven years as Rector.
Leonhard studied at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Institut Polytechnique in Grenoble (F). After completing his doctorate in the field of urban water management at KIT, he worked for several years in various companies. He has published around 50 articles on water-related topics, international university cooperation and university governance. Leonhard has taught as a guest lecturer at the International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering in Delft (NL), at the Institut Supérieur Aquitain des Bâtiments et Travaux Publics in Pau (F) and at the Universidad Politécnica - Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica de Obras Públicas in Madrid (E). Leonhard is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Fraunhofer Institutes for Non-Destructive Testing and for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT).
Leonhard is active throughout Europe and nationally as an expert in the field of quality assurance at universities. Among other things, he was a member of the national commission for the assessment of master's programs of the Ecoles d'Ingénieurs in France and vice president of an international expert group for the assessment of the higher education system in the French-speaking part of Belgium.
From 2012-19, Dieter Leonhard was a member of the Board of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and - as a representative of the German Rectors' Conference - of the University Council of the Franco-German University (DFH). Since 2019, he has been a member of the Senate of the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) and the permanent HRK commissions for research and young academics and for the internationalization of universities. Leonhard has been Chairman of the German University Consortium for International Cooperation (DHIK) with the Chinese-German University of Applied Sciences (CDHAW), the Mexican-German University Cooperation (mdhk) and, since 2021, the Indo-German Center for Higher Education (IGCHE) for many years.
From 2012 to 2017, he chaired the Association of German Engineers (VDI) in the North Baden-Palatinate district. In 2020, Dieter Leonhard was appointed to the steering committee of the Franco-German Future Project.
Dieter Leonhard was awarded the Order of a Knight of the French Legion of Honor by the Republic of France for his services to Franco-German science.