Bridget Long, the Saris Professor of Education and Economics, is the 12th dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE).
A member of the HGSE faculty since 2000, Long is an internationally recognized economist whose research focuses on the transition from high school to college and beyond. Her work has shaped our understanding of the impact of affordability and academic preparation on access to higher education and on student success once there. She has studied the role of financial aid in increasing college enrollment, the effects of postsecondary remediation, and the impact of policies and programs on student outcomes. She and co-authors have developed and tested interventions designed to support families and students as they save for college, complete financial aid forms, and confront the challenges of earning a degree.
Leadership in Education
As dean of HGSE, Long is committed to realizing the transformative potential of education as a driver for equity, justice, and lifelong success and wellness. A key focus of her tenure as dean is addressing the needs of the field of education — by preparing the next generation of education leaders, scholars, and innovators who are ready to meet those contemporary needs, supporting cutting-edge research that aims to expand opportunity and improve learning, and offering an innovative, challenging, and supportive environment in which practicing educators can continue to develop within their professional spheres.
Long assumed the deanship on July 1, 2018. Previously, she had served as academic dean at HGSE, from 2013 to 2017, and faculty director of the Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs, from 2010 to 2013. Long earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Harvard University and her A.B. from Princeton University, majoring in economics with a certificate in Afro-American Studies.