July 28, 2014 — Seven Penn GSE faculty members are advancing higher education and fostering open, equitable societies around the globe through the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy, or AHEAD.
Under the leadership of professors Laura Perna and Matt Hartley, GSE AHEAD colleagues Robert Zemsky, Alan Ruby, Peter Eckel, Diane Eynon and Eric Kaplan conduct research and apply a multidisciplinary approach to address issues regarding higher education’s contributions to society.
The alliance focuses on creating knowledge about effective public policies and institutional practices by building capacity for institutional leaders and policymakers to improve higher education. AHEAD seeks to accomplish this by developing and training academic leaders who support shared governance and academic freedom; leading the conversation about the challenges facing higher education; promoting the education and training of the next generation of leaders and scholars; encouraging collaboration between researchers and practitioners; and engaging globally, which aligns with Penn President Amy Gutmann’s Penn Compact 2020.