Who We Are
HigherEdImpact is a non-profit network providing research-based knowledge to assist colleges and universities employ impactful educational practices and develop effective educational programs, operations, and systems of lasting value.
HigherEdImpact is led by Dr. Richard A. Detweiler (Rick), the founder and
managing director of the organization. He is a social psychologist specializing in
intercultural relations, and earned his MA and PhD from Princeton University.
With years of experience as a college president, professor, and consultant, he
also holds an appointment as foundation fellow at Oxford's Harris Manchester
College and is President Emeritus of New York's Hartwick College and of the
Great Lakes Colleges Association. Previously he was a distinguished fellow
at the Council on Library and Information Resources in Washington, DC, and
professor of psychology at two different liberal arts universities.
He is the founder of the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (a coalition of 30 universities from 16 countries that works to strengthen learning in the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences) and recently completed a nearly 14 year presidency of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (a consortium of selective liberal arts colleges and universities). Professionally he has been an active researcher, consultant, and author in higher education, technology initiatives in higher education, institutional planning and research, intercultural relations, international education, and psychology. He has published dozens of articles related to higher education, psychology, and intercultural relations, and speaks frequently on issues related to the future of higher education, the role of technology in education, and the values of the liberal arts and sciences. He was a founding dean of the Frye Leadership Institute, the recipient of a Carnegie Mellon University/AMS Award for leadership in the innovative use of computer and communications technology, and has served as a board member of a number of higher education organizations.
His book reporting on the character, method, and impact of liberal arts education, The Evidence Liberal Arts Needs: Lives of Consequence, Inquiry, and Accomplishment was published by The MIT Press in 2021 .
