Laura Perna

University of Pennsylvania

GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education and Vice Provost for Faculty

Laura Perna, PhD is Vice Provost for Faculty, GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education, and co-founder of the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (AHEAD) at the University of Pennsylvania. Her scholarship focuses on how to ensure that all people have the opportunity for high-quality higher education. Other research examines how to connect education research to policy and sources of observed inequity in faculty salary, rank, and tenure. Dr. Perna is the editor of Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, has served as President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education and Vice President of the Postsecondary Division of the American Educational Research Association, and is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and member of the National Academy of Education. She also serves on the board of directors for the Postsecondary Network Policy Institute (PNPI) and Lenfest Scholars Foundation and the advisory board for Bowdoin College’s THRIVE program.