[2] Strauss received his bachelor of arts academic's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, his Master of Arts degree in physics from the University of Pittsburgh, and his PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) in electrical engineering from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, also in Pittsburgh.
[3] He then briefly served as the chief financial officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
[4] Strauss was the 4th president of the Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, serving in that position from 1997 to 2006.
[8] From 2011 to 2016, he served as the 12th President of Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York,[9] replacing Molly Easo Smith.
in Los Angeles, California and subsequently Vice President for Budget and Finance at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.