Executive Editor of Change Magazine, AERA Fellow, Member, National Academy of Education
PhD, Higher Education Administration, University of Michigan
Adrianna Kezar is the Dean's Professor of Leadership, Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education at the University of Southern California, and Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education.
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.
Expertise
Changing faculty trends | Contingent faculty | Change management and leadership | Institutional culture | Shared governance in higher education | STEM reform
Current Projects
Latest News
USC Pullias Center for Higher Education to Administer the ACE Fellows Program, the Nation’s Premier Executive Leadership Development Experience for Higher Education
“The Delphi Award: Institutional Transformation to Support VITAL Faculty” webinar recording now available
Meet the Pullias Researchers at AERA in Los Angeles, April 8-12, 2026
“Launching the Alliance for Better College Teaching (ABCT): Initial Strategy and How to be Involved” Webinar Recording Now Available
2026 Delphi Award Application Now Open
OneHE and Adjunctions Join the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education as Sponsors for the Annual Delphi Award
Pullias Center Co-director Adrianna Kezar Elected to National Academy of Education
Pullias Center Co-Directors Adrianna Kezar and Julie Posselt Ranked Among Top RHSU Edu-Scholars for Public Influence in 2026
Building Better Boards: The 2026 Governance Agenda Webinar Recording Now Available
Pullias Center Co-Director Adrianna Kezar Named a 2025 Fellow by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
2025 Delphi Award Winners Announced by USC’s Pullias Center for Higher Education
USC Rossier Unites Two Leading Research Centers to Advance Equity in Higher Education
The Strategic Vision and Goals Behind Uniting the Pullias Center for Higher Education and Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice
“Supporting Equity on Campus in Today’s Contentious Political Environment” Webinar Recording Now Available
“Building Impactful Professional Learning Communities in Higher Education to Support Student Success” Webinar Recording Now Available
SUNY Chancellor Dr. John B. King, Jr. is the Featured Speaker at the 46th Pullias Lecture set for Monday, April 7, 2025 at 11:15 a.m.
Meet the Pullias Researchers at AERA in Denver, April 23-27, 2025
“Institutional Transformation to Support VITAL Faculty” Webinar Recording Now Available
The Pullias Center Accepts Special Merit Award From the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
Pullias Center Continues to Enhance and Expand the Change Leadership Toolkit Project with New Funding
New Delphi Award Case Studies for 2024 Winners the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters Now Available
The Pullias Center Honored with 2024 Special Merit Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
Meet the Pullias Researchers at ASHE in Minneapolis, Nov. 20-23, 2024
University of Massachusetts Amherst and Michigan State’s College of Arts & Letters Chosen as 2024 Delphi Award Winners
Adrianna Kezar’s Welcome Letter to September 2024
Dear Colleagues, It’s Time to Rock the Vote! Welcome to a new academic year! This will be a very eventful semester with the most high-stakes...
Resources to Help Your Non-Tenure Track (or VITAL) Faculty
An Updated Change Leadership Toolkit (2.0) – What’s New?
HigherEdJobs Podcast Explores the Delphi Project and Interviews Adrianna Kezar
Pullias Center Receives $400,000 Grant from ECMC Foundation to Continue Shared Equity Leadership Research
“Starting Shared Equity Leadership: Insights from Research and Practice” Webinar Recording Now Available
USC Pullias Center Director Adrianna Kezar Receives 2024 ‘Exemplary Research’ Award from AERA’s Division J
A Tribute to Tatiana: Busting Organizational Barriers for Students in Math and STEM
Meet the Pullias Researchers at AERA in Philadelphia, April 11-14, 2024
Institutional Transformation to Support Contingent Faculty – A Delphi Award Webinar — Wednesday, February 21
Kezar, Harper & Carducci Release New Book: Higher Education Leadership
Higher Education LeadershipChallenging Tradition and Foraging Possibilities Higher Education Leadership offers a groundbreaking exploration of leadership in higher education. Rozana Carducci, Jordan Harper, and Adrianna...
Adrianna Kezar, Ron Hallett and Joseph Kitchen serve as co-authors on new book “Creating a Culture of Campus-wide Student Success”
Meet the Pullias Researchers at ASHE in Minneapolis, Nov. 15-18, 2023
How Leaders Can Implement Systemic Change: the Change Leadership Toolkit
Pullias Center Announces 2023 Delphi Award Winners
New Shared Equity Leadership Report and Webinar Explore Creating Emotionally Supportive Spaces for Campus Teams
Institutional Transformation to Support Contingent Faculty
Pullias Expands Change Leadership Toolkit Project with Support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
The Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California (USC) is launching an expansion of the Change Leadership Toolkit, with a $250,000 grant...
Putting a “FACE” on Faculty: Pullias Launches Ambitious National Study of Faculty
New Developments in Shared Equity Leadership
New Reports and Webinars Explore Accountability, Roles in SEL and Capacity Building Over the past two years, Pullias Center Director Adrianna Kezar, Senior Postdoctoral Scholar Elizabeth Holcombe, former...














