William Tierney

University of Southern California

University Professor Emeritus and Founding Director, Pullias Center for Higher Education

William G. Tierney is University Professor Emeritus and founding director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. He is a past president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA. He was awarded the Howard R. Bowen Distinguished Career Award from ASHE, and the Distinguished Research Award from Division J of AERA. Tierney is an elected member of the National Academy of Education, and a Fellow of AERA. At the USC Rossier School of Education, Tierney served as the associate dean for research and faculty affairs and as a department chair. He has served as academic dean at a Native American community college, a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco, a scholar-in-residence in Malaysia and a Fulbright Scholar in Central America, Australia and India. He has been a Fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Center in Bellagio, Italy, and a Fernand Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. His recent books include: Rethinking Education and Poverty; The Impact of Culture on Organizational Decision-making, Higher Education for Democracy: The Role of the University in Civil Society; Creating a Culture of Mindful Innovation in Higher Education and Get Real: 49 Challenges Confronting Higher Education. He earned a master's from Harvard University and a PhD from Stanford University.