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From Pullias Scholar to Dean
September 9, 2026
Newly appointed UCSB Dean Jaime Lester reflects on how her time at USC Rossier shaped her approach to leadership and career in higher education.
Shared Equity Leadership Start-Up Toolkit Offers a Road Map for Campus Change
September 8, 2026
The new Shared Equity Leadership Start-Up Toolkit provides higher education leaders with a comprehensive guide for developing a shared institutional commitment to equity. The Toolkit…
Meet the Co-Directors, Zoë Corwin & Royel M. Johnson
August 25, 2026
Scholars Zoë Corwin and Royel M. Johnson to serve as Co-directors of the nation’s premier higher education research center.
USC Pullias Center for Higher Education Announces New Leadership
August 16, 2026
Scholars Zoë Corwin and Royel M. Johnson to serve as Co-directors of the nation’s premier higher education research center.
Royel Johnson named incoming editor of ASHE’s The Review of Higher Education
August 6, 2026
Royel M. Johnson, USC Rossier associate professor of higher education and faculty member of the Pullias Center for Higher Education, has been appointed editor of…
New Statewide Dashboard Tracks Black Student Success Across California’s 31 Black-Serving Institutions
July 13, 2026
First-of-its-kind public accountability tool for the nation’s first state-level BSI designation unveiled at the 6th Annual CABSE Institute. Royel M. Johnson, PhD, associate professor at…
Prioritizing Professional Development with the USC Leadership in Enrollment Certificate Program
June 10, 2026
Organizational research in higher education indicates that institutions that prioritize professional development experience lower staff burnout, stronger talent retention, and more sustainable enrollment strategies, particularly…
USC College Advising Corps: Providing Capacity and Changing Lives
June 9, 2026
The USC College Advising Corps (USC CAC) program places well-trained, near-peer college graduates full-time at high schools to provide college guidance. Each year, USC CAC…
USC Pullias Center for Higher Education to Administer the ACE Fellows Program, the Nation’s Premier Executive Leadership Development Experience for Higher Education
June 9, 2026
The USC Pullias Center for Higher Education is proud to announce a landmark partnership with the American Council on Education (ACE). Through it, the Pullias…
Equity in Graduate Education Consortium Announces New Directors
June 2, 2026
The Equity in Graduate Education Consortium is pleased to announce Annie Wofford and Sara Xayarath Hernández as its new Co-Directors, marking a new chapter in…
Pullias Center Founding Director William Tierney Awarded USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award
May 22, 2026
Noted higher education scholar and USC Pullias Center founding director William (Bill) Tierney has been awarded the prestigious 2026 USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award. Awarded…
How One Research Project is Changing the Way We Think about College Student Success
May 5, 2026
As a longtime member of the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) Advisory Board, I’ve had a front row seat to one of the most ambitious…
How Research-Practitioner Partnerships Catalyze Institutional Change: Reflections from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
May 5, 2026
As the Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), my work centers on creating a campus culture…
Congratulations to our 2026 Pullias Center Graduates
May 5, 2026
This May, the Pullias Center is proud to have three of our hard-working Ph.D. students graduating from the Rossier School of Education, as well as…
Reflections from Rising Higher Education Scholars & Professionals
May 4, 2026
As research assistants who joined the PASS team at various points over the years, our roles have each looked a little different. We conducted student…
“Broadening Access through Law-Attentive Design: Change as a Process: Navigating Politics, Timing and Institutional Context” Webinar Recording now Available
April 29, 2026
Leading organizational change today requires more than strong policy ideas — it requires careful attention to process, people, and power. This session examined how leaders…
“What Works in Peer Mentoring: Evidence-Based Strategies to Support Low-Income College Student Transitions” webinar recording now available
April 29, 2026
In this joint Pullias Center-National Resource Center for First Year Experience and Students in Transition webinar, discover how thoughtfully designed peer mentoring can be a…
The Courage to Be Candid: Creating Spaces of Trust in a Guarded Profession
April 15, 2026
During this challenging time for higher education, we have been heartened to see members of the Equity in Graduate Education (EGE) Consortium leaning into our…
New Strategic Coaching Membership Available from the Equity in Graduate Education Consortium
April 14, 2026
During this challenging time for higher education, we have been heartened to see members of the Equity in Graduate Education (EGE) Consortium leaning into our…
Meet the Pullias Researchers at AERA in Los Angeles, April 8-12, 2026
March 18, 2026
Join our Pullias faculty and researchers as they present their findings on a variety of equity in higher education topics at AERA 2026.
“Broadening Access through Law-Attentive Design: Communicating with Purpose: Explaining the What, Why and How of Institutional Action” Webinar Recording now Available
March 18, 2026
With a focus on key elements of institutional narrative, this third BALAD webinar in our series examines how institutions can communicate about their work clearly,…
2026 Delphi Award Application Now Open
March 16, 2026
The application period for the 2026 Delphi Award is now open. The Award is presented annually to two institutions that have created policies, practices and…
Promoting Successful First-Year Experiences through Research and Practice
March 10, 2026
Researchers from the Pullias Center’s Promoting At-promise Student Success (PASS) team and University of Nebraska practitioners came together to present at the Annual Conference on…
Powering Possibility: The Port of Long Beach Strengthens Financial Aid Access Through Its Partnership with USC College Advising Corps
March 10, 2026
Behind every completed financial aid application is a community working together to support a student's opportunity to get one step closer to college. The Port…
“Broadening Access through Law-Attentive Design: Managing Risk, Responsibility, and Mission — Law-Attentive Decision-Making in Practice” Webinar Recording now Available
March 10, 2026
This second webinar in the series explores how leaders can make thoughtful, mission-aligned decisions about how their institutions operate and move forward, amidst heightened scrutiny…
OneHE and Adjunctions Join the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education as Sponsors for the Annual Delphi Award
March 8, 2026
The USC Pullias Center for Higher Education is welcoming OneHE and Adjunctions as new fiscal partners for their Delphi Award, beginning in the 2026 awards…
Creative Learning in Practice: Organizational Learning, Art & Intergenerational Care
February 9, 2026
The same arts-based approach to collective sense-making carries forward in My Crown My Way™ and Hair-etage Conversations LIVE™ where creative practice becomes an intentional site…
Arts-Based Learning in Community: Enhancing Community-Engaged Inquiry & Institutional Service
February 9, 2026
The Black Ontology Project captures collective sensemaking across images and verse, illustrating how intergenerational learning emerges as a central practice between educators, researchers and school…
Pullias Center Co-director Adrianna Kezar Elected to National Academy of Education
February 2, 2026
The USC Pullias Center for Higher Education and USC Rossier is proud to announce that Adrianna Kezar, the Dean’s Professor of Leadership and the Wilbur-Kieffer…
“Broadening Access through Law-Attentive Design: Designing for Durability — Developing Sustainable Policy in a Shifting Landscape” Webinar Recording now Available
January 28, 2026
This fourth webinar in our series focuses on designing policies and initiatives that are built to last amid changing legal, political, and organizational conditions. Grounded…
Shared Equity Leadership Start-Up Toolkit
Jordan Harper, Elizabeth Holcombe, Ángel de Jesus González, Jude Paul Matias Dizon & Adrianna Kezar
Pullias Center for Higher Education (2026)
The new Shared Equity Leadership Start-Up Toolkit provides higher education leaders with a comprehensive guide for developing a shared institutional commitment to equity. The Toolkit helps institutions broaden participation in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work, navigate potential opposition and…
Creating a Student-Centered Campus-Wide Culture: Guidebook for Facilitating a Cross-Functional Professional Learning Community
Hallett, R. E., Corwin, Z. B., Hypolite, L., Kezar, A., & Nagbe, M. (2024)
Pullias Center for Higher Education
This guidebook, and a companion syllabus, are designed to support individuals who will be facilitating a Professional Learning Community (PLC). College and university faculty, staff and leaders have been exploring how to create a campus culture that is student-centered and…
The Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT) and Shared Equity Leadership (SEL) – Guidance for Using These Two Change Leadership Models Together
Elizabeth Holcombe, Adrianna Kezar & Susan Elrod
Pullias Center for Higher Education (2026)
Two frameworks of change leadership developed by Pullias Center scholars and affiliates have complementary perspectives — the Change Leadership Toolkit (CLT) and Shared Equity Leadership (SEL). These models are distinct yet complementary — both support leaders making meaningful changes, but…
The Campus Activist’s Guide to Divestment
Jude Paul Matias Dizon, Ph.D.
Pullias Center for Higher Education (2026)
In Spring 2024, divestment from the state of Israel was a common demand across campuses as students erected Palestinian solidarity encampments (Cutler et al., 2024). Student and faculty activists targeted university presidents and boards of trustees to demand disclosure, ethical…
Student-Mothers of Color in Higher Education – and How Institutions Can Support Them
Margaret W. Sallee, University at Buffalo; Alyssa Stefanese Yates, Independent Scholar; & Danielle Vegas Lewis, University at Buffalo
Pullias Center for Higher Education (2025)
Student-parents comprise a substantial portion of the current undergraduate student population — nearly one in five or 3.14 million students are pursuing a postsecondary degree or credential while parenting. In this Pullias Center Alumni Awards policy brief, we draw on…
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU): Centralizing Support for Part-time VITAL Faculty
Taheerah Mujahid and KC Culver
Delphi Award Winner, 2025
This brief is centered on Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). A 2025 winner of the Delphi Award, it is a public, regional comprehensive institution located in Southwest Florida, serving approximately 16,000 students across diverse undergraduate and graduate programs. As a…
360° Support for Adjuncts Through Advocacy, Inclusion, and Practical Support at Montclair State University
Barielnen Vita and KC Culver
Delphi Award Winner, 2025
This brief is centered on Montclair State University. A 2025 winner of the Delphi Award, it has grown into a dynamic public institution offering more than 300 programs across 14 colleges and schools, while maintaining a student-to-faculty ratio of 17:1…
Positioning Part-time VITAL Faculty for Success with 360° Wraparound Support at the Community College of Baltimore County
Taheerah Mujahid and KC Culver
Delphi Award Finalist, 2025
This brief is centered on the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC). A 2025 finalist of the Delphi Award, it is a large, multi-campus institution serving more than 51,000 students across credit-bearing and continuing education (CE) programs each year, positioning…
Mid-Atlantic Teaching Faculty Alliance: Fostering the Advancement of VITAL Faculty Through a Cross-Institutional Network
Barielnen Vita and KC Culver
Delphi Award Finalist, 2025
This brief is centered on the Mid-Atlantic Teaching Faculty Alliance (MATFA). A 2025 finalist of the Delphi Award, and located in the Philadelphia area, it is a decentralized grassroots organization that brings together VITAL faculty from different colleges and universities…
Lessons from the winners of the Delphi Award for VITAL Faculty
Adrianna Kezar & KC Culver,
The Delphi Project on the Changing Faculty and Student Success, TIAA Institute, 2025
This brief, co-authored by Adrianna Kezar and KC Culver, provides an overview of key insights learned from the Delphi Award winners and finalists about trends in supporting VITAL faculty. The Delphi Award for VITAL Faculty was created to document the successful…
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