Laura Perna

Laura Perna, PhD is Senior 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 as chair of the board of directors for the Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI) and member of the board of the Lenfest Scholars Foundation.