Pullias Center’s founding director to retire from USC

William G. Tierney will retire from the University of Southern California after 26 years of service at the USC Rossier School of Education.

He will step down as co-director of the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education on June 30, 2019, remaining on the USC faculty as University Professor and Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education until December 31, 2019, when he will retire.

“It’s been a good run,” Tierney said. “The University of Southern California has been my intellectual home for a quarter of a century, and during that time, we have worked to establish the Pullias Center as the preeminent center for higher education research. I’m proud of our work on equity, organizational performance and high school to college transitions.”

Tierney is widely recognized as an influential figure in higher education research. A past president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), he has written and edited more than 80 books and monographs on topics ranging from digital equity to queer theory to institutional culture and academic decision-making. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Education and a fellow of AERA.  He has held Fulbright Scholarships to Central America, Australia and India, and has been an interdisciplinary research fellow at the University of Hong Kong.  He recently was awarded the Howard R. Bowen Distinguished Career Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

“Bill has made a significant contribution not only to the Pullias Center, but also the Rossier School of Education and USC,” said Karen Symms Gallagher, Dean of the Rossier School of Education.  “We are fortunate that Adrianna Kezar has agreed to become director of the Pullias Center.”

Founded by Tierney in 1994 as the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis, the Pullias Center for Higher Education was established under Tierney’s leadership in 2012 by a donation from the Earl V. Pauline Pullias Family Estate. Since then, the center has received funding from the Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Susan Thompson Buffet Foundation, Weingart Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, ECMC Foundation, National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education and the State of California, among others.

The Pullias Center for Higher Education has secured approximately $35 million since its founding.

“Bill Tierney is highly respected internationally for his remarkably broad ranging research spanning almost all important aspects of higher education,” said University Professor Lloyd A. Armstrong Jr., who was USC’s provost when the Pullias Center was founded. “His research has provided new insights and understanding of many critical issues, and, importantly, he goes on to develop practical approaches to move those insights to action. President Stephen Sample and I were very fortunate to have Bill to call upon for advice and counsel as we guided USC through a period of great change and opportunity.”

USC’s current provost Michael Quick echoed those sentiments: “Bill’s voice in higher education continues to reverberate around the globe. Equally important has been his strong voice right here at USC.  His advice, and especially his willingness to speak hard truths, has made us a much better institution.”

Adrianna Kezar, Dean’s Professor of Higher Education, will step up from co-director to sole director of the Pullias Center at the end of the fiscal year. Kezar, whose research is multi-faceted and focuses on change and innovation, leadership, student success and organizational performance, will continue to lead the center’s work to advance innovative, scalable solutions to improve college outcomes for underserved students and enhance the performance of postsecondary institutions.

Kezar has authored 19 books focused on change and leadership and over 100 articles in peer reviewed journals. She is considered a major scholar in the United States on higher education change, which has led to her appointment to the National Academies Consensus panel on STEM reform in undergraduate education and consulting for the Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, and Spencer Foundation. A fellow of AERA and a former commissioner of the Western Association of Colleges and Universities, Kezar has obtained and worked on over $12 million in grants.

“We have a firm foundation on which to build the Pullias Center,” Kezar said. “I’m optimistic about our future as Pullias has a great set of researchers, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students, but it will be very difficult for all of us to have Bill leave as he has been a visionary force for Pullias as well as higher education as a field.  I know I have enormous shoes to fill.  Bill has been one of the foremost thinkers in higher education worldwide the last three decades.  But I hope to continue Bill’s important legacy of working with educators on the ground to develop innovative and scalable solutions.  That is how we have had an impact and we will continue that work.”

Tierney joined USC in 1994 from The Pennsylvania State University, where he was a professor and a senior scientist at the Center for the Study of Higher Education. He previously served as a senior associate at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and as academic dean at Fort Berthold Community College, a tribal college in North Dakota. He holds degrees from Stanford, Harvard and Tufts universities, and served in the Peace Corps in Morocco.

During his quarter-century at USC, Tierney mentored numerous students who went on to faculty and leadership positions at other academic institutions and organizations.

“Intellectually, I’m not going anywhere,” said Tierney.  “Retirement will enable me to complete a book on innovation and another about higher education for democracy.”  He also intends to do volunteer work.

His book on higher education for democracy will present a comparative perspective about higher education in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and New Delhi.

“I’ve always thought that higher education can play a critical role in advancing democracy,” said Tierney, “and I want to point out how we might do a better job.”

The book will form the basis for the Pullias Lecture, an annual event that brings a nationally recognized scholar to the USC campus. His talk will be given on March 26, 2019.

“We are excited that Bill agreed to give the Pullias talk this year,” Kezar said. “And we are hoping that the higher education community comes out to celebrate Bill’s illustrious career with us.”