Dr. Russell Edgerton
Chairman Emeritus
American Association for Higher Education

Russell Edgerton, Ph.D., is currently a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, where he is writing a book about the reform of undergraduate education.

Dr. Edgerton began his career in 1965 as an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He then moved into public service as a special assistant to Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) secretaries Robert Finch and Elliot Richardson, and as a member of the Planning and Evaluation Staff in the Office of the Secretary. He was deeply involved in working on the Education Amendments Act of 1972, and helped author several national reports on higher education. While at HEW, Dr. Edgerton helped establish the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), a small governmental foundation devoted to the improvement of post-secondary education. He was the deputy director of FIPSE from1972-1977.

From 1977 to 1997, Dr. Edgerton was president of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE). From there, he moved on to become director of the Education program for The Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the nation’s largest philanthropies. After four years, Dr. Edgerton became director of the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning. The Pew Forum is housed at the Education Trust, a non-profit organization that has become a respected national voice for setting high standards for all students, K-16. The Pew Forum also seeks to encourage colleges and universities to take responsibility, not just to provide instruction, but to help undergraduates achieve defined standards of learning. Dr. Edgerton left the Pew Forum in 2005.

Born in 1938, Dr. Edgerton grew up in Los Angeles, California. He graduated with distinction from Stanford University in 1960, and received a Ph.D. in Public Law and Government from Columbia University in1967.

In addition to being on this board, he is also on the Board of Trustees, Spelman College; the Board of Advisors, Teacher Education Accreditation Council; and Chair, Advisory Board, National Survey of Student Engagement.