Dr. Adrianna Kezar, co-director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education and professor of higher education at the USC Rossier School of Education, has been named a 2025 Fellow by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)

Kezar was recognized as part of ASHE’s inaugural cohort of Fellows for her integrity, advancement of knowledge, mentoring and service to the industry. According to ASHE, this inaugural cohort is representative of the diversity of ASHE membership and the field of higher education.

“I’m so honored to be acknowledged by my colleagues in this way. ASHE has been my scholarly home for three decades, and this honor as a fellow means a lot to me,” noted Dr. Kezar. “I also want to congratulate the many other higher education colleagues that receive this Fellows designation.” 

The Fellow cohort will be recognized during an invite-only induction ceremony at the ASHE 50th Annual Conference, held in Denver, CO on November 13-15.

“Adrianna’s selection as an ASHE Fellow is a powerful acknowledgment of her transformative impact on the field of higher education,” said USC Rossier Dean Pedro Noguera. “Her scholarship, leadership and unwavering commitment to equity and institutional change have shaped national conversations and inspired a generation of researchers and practitioners. We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved honor.”

Adrianna Kezar is the Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education, Dean’s Professor of Leadership and serves as the co-director of the Pullias Center. An expert on change leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, faculty, STEM reform, collaboration, and governance in higher education, Kezar is well published with 26 books/monographs, more than 100 journal articles, and over a hundred book chapters and reports.

She has acquired over $22 million dollars in grant funding and has worked on grant-funded projects exceeding $35 million dollars on a variety of projects to fundamentally improve higher education. At the Pullias Center, Kezar directs the Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success, The Change Leadership Toolkit for Advancing Systemic Change in Higher Education, Building a Culture of Shared Equity Leadership in Higher Education and the Faculty, Academic Careers & Environments (FACE) projects. She consults with government agencies, accreditation bodies, foundations, state systems, consortiums, and individual campuses. Kezar is regularly quoted in the media, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Atlantic, Boston Globe, Washington Post, PBS, and NPR (national and local stations), among others.