A conversation with Professors Adrianna Kezar and Julie Posselt on merging two leading research centers to advance equity, and student access and success in higher education

In a bold step to strengthen USC Rossier’s leadership in higher education access, equity and student success, the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice (CERPP) have officially merged. Professors Adrianna Kezar and Julie Posselt will co-direct the merged center, combining decades of research, policy and practice to lead transformative work from high school through doctoral education.

The newly-unified center will maintain the respected and well-known name of the Pullias Center for Higher Education, in large part due to the generous bequest by the Pullias family that sustains it. Kezar and Posselt reflect on the motivations for the merger, the center’s long-term vision and its impact on the future of higher education.

What inspired the merger of the Pullias Center and CERPP at this time?

Adrianna Kezar: We have two long-standing centers that are doing synergistic work around access, and it became clear they could benefit from working more closely together. Campuses are also increasingly trying to link their access initiatives with student success strategies as part of a more integrated approach to enrollment management. Pullias brings a long-time focus on student success that complements and enhances CERPP’s work.

Julie Posselt: Enrollment management is the infrastructure through which institutions realize their visions of access and success. With CERPP focused on enrollment and Pullias focused on higher education access and success, the two are natural partners. We also noticed both centers intentionally connect research, policy and practice—it has been in CERPP’s name and mission and is embedded in Pullias’s work as well. It became clear we would be stronger together.

What is the overarching vision for the new, unified center?

AK/JP: The joint Center will be a national leader in linking research, policy and practice to improve the systems that shape postsecondary access and success—from high school through doctoral education.

How will leadership responsibilities be shared, and what strengths do you each bring to the merged center?

AK/JP: We will serve as co-directors, building on our complementary strengths. Adrianna brings deep expertise in student success and leadership, a historic focus of Pullias. Julie brings a strong emphasis on access, central to both CERPP and Pullias. We’re both systems thinkers, and that lens will shape how we develop innovative, scalable solutions.

We’ve co-edited a book, Higher Education Administration for Equity and Social Justice, now in its second edition, which reflects our shared commitment to wisdom- and values-based leadership as a foundation for ethical practice in higher education.

How will the merger enhance your ability to impact higher education research, policy and practice nationally?

AK/JP: The merger allows us to expand into communities that have always been relevant. CERPP’s community will benefit from deeper access to researchers, research-practice partnerships and translational work that anchors our shared approach. Pullias will gain greater access to higher education enrollment professionals, high schools and districts across Southern California, especially through the USC College Advising Corps.

How will the merged center position USC Rossier as a national leader in higher education research, policy and practice?

JP: Over the past decade, I’ve helped launch two research-practice partnerships and know that for research to have real impact, it must be both accessible and actionable. But uptake also requires trust, respect and mutual benefit. Across our projects, we’ve built an extensive web of partnerships—from graduate schools and disciplinary societies to national organizations like the American Council on Education and the Urban Institute. This merger enhances our collective ability to bring relational leadership and community-driven research to the most pressing challenges in higher education.

AK: Few centers nationally combine deep expertise in both access and student success, and even fewer are so well connected to community practice. The diversity of perspectives we bring—spanning policy, psychology, sociology, organizational theory and leadership—fosters multidisciplinary innovation that’s truly unique.

What are your hopes for the Center five years from now?

JP: In five years, I hope the Pullias name is even more widely known—for the impact of our work, the strength of our partnerships and our leadership in translational research. I also hope we continue the Center’s tradition of mentoring and training the next generation of scholars committed to equity and justice in higher education.

AK: I hope we see even more collaboration across projects, people and areas of focus—unlocking the kind of synergy that leads to real systems change. We’ll need to be intentional to make this happen, and that’s where our co-directorship will be key. We’re already a national leader in research-practice partnerships, and this merger will only elevate our capacity.

What would you like to share with students, faculty and the wider higher education community about this merger?

JP: Academic research centers are at their best when they take their role as hubs seriously, and that means creating conditions to support people and communities with the best current evidence and cutting-edge theory, two currencies of the academies. This merger creates conditions and scope through which we can be maximally helpful to higher education at a critical time.

AK: This merged Center will have a tremendous impact on college access. We’ve long led in this space—and now, by directly connecting that work to student success, we’ll be able to do even more.