Askwith Essentials: Leadership for Student Success

The size and scale of today’s higher education challenges —access gaps, exclusive curricula, non-equitable outcomes, lack of career readiness — are putting a new accent on the need for effective, student-centered leadership in colleges and universities. At the Askwith Forums on October 11, a panel of higher education leaders and stakeholders will examine those challenges and drive a conversation about what it will really take to lead for student success.

This event is being held in conjunction with the Institute for Education Management’s (IEM) 50th anniversary symposium, marking the history and continued impact of IEM — the nation’s longest running professional development program for college and university leaders. One of many leadership programs within the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education (HIHE), IEM has instructed more than 1,500 postsecondary leaders since 1970, several of whom will return to Harvard for the symposium.

Moderated by IEM’s faculty chair Matthew Miller, Ed.M.’01, Ed.D.’06, associate dean for learning and teaching at HGSE, the event will feature three panelists who approach the call for transformative leadership from varying perspectives:

Archie Cubarrubia is the deputy director of institutional transformation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Having worked in institutional leadership and as a policymaker and advocate, Cubarrubia specializes in postsecondary policy, programs, and data.

Bridget Long is the dean of the HGSE faculty and the Saris Professor of Education and Economics. Her research focuses the barriers to educational attainment and the transition from high school to higher education and beyond.

James Honan, Ed.M. ’85, Ed.D. ’89 is a senior lecturer at HGSE and the faculty co-chair of IEM. His research interests include nonprofit financial management, organizational performance, and higher education administration.