Ponce de Leon replaces Alejandro Zaera-Polo, who resigned in October 2014 over a dispute with the university regarding questions of plagiarism.

"I am deeply honored by the trust that Princeton is placing upon me and I look forward to working with students and faculty in writing the next chapter in the history of the school," said Ponce de Leon in a press release.

Prior to the announcement, Ponce de Leon served as dean at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning for the last seven years. Before, she was a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Her appointment as dean at Princeton is effective January 1, 2016.

After co-founding the firm Office dA in 1991, Ponce de Leon went on to form her own practice in 2011, MPdL Studio. The architect is a pioneer in applying robotics to building fabrication and holds an M. Arch. from Harvard's GSD and a B. Arch. from the University of Miami.