Jamienne S. Studley, President of WSCUC since 2018, has worked across higher education, public service, civil rights and non-profit management to advance equity, student success, and public engagement. She is known for listening, collaborating, and building bridges to build effective organizations and achieve policy change.
While serving as deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Education (2013-2016) she helped guide its work to advance student success and accountability through the College Scorecard, accreditor policy and dashboards, the “engines of opportunity” initiative, and K-16 community partnerships. During this time, she also served as acting undersecretary and assistant secretary for postsecondary education. Earlier she was a member and chair of the Department’s National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and deputy and then acting general counsel.
As President of Skidmore College, Ms. Studley focused on promoting equity access and success; student research, public service, and international opportunities; and public policy and the value of liberal education. She was Associate Dean & Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School, where she helped create a model public interest loan forgiveness program; professor of practice at Mills College; and adjunct faculty at UC Berkeley and Stanford Law Schools. She also served on the Association of American Colleges & Universities board and Harvard Law School Visiting Committee, and as National Policy Advisor for Beyond 12.
Ms. Studley’s nonprofit experience includes CEO and now President Emerita of Public Advocates Inc., and executive director of CARAL-North and the National Association for Law Placement. She was also an attorney with Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Bergson, Borkland, Margolis & Adler in Washington, DC. She now serves on the boards of KQED and the Foundation for Student Success. Her many volunteer activities have included chair of the San Francisco Ethics Commission and Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund; co-chair, California Civil Rights Coalition; co-founder, Washington Area Women’s Foundation and Collectors of Wood Art; and board member, SF Education Fund, Mills College, American Craft Council, and Museum of Craft and Design (SF).
She is a graduate of Barnard College (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and Harvard Law School. She received an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) from SUNY, the State University of New York, at SUNY Cobleskill in 2018.