Vassar Institute for Liberal Arts Programs

Innovation in Higher Education: Building Capacity for Inclusive Leadership

Today, systemic injustices of all kinds compel us to individually and collectively consider how we might contribute to transforming our global society into a more equitable one.

How can educational institutions leverage the liberal arts and multidisciplinary approaches to promote values and practices of inclusion? What strategies can we employ to spur and sustain critical discourse across the disciplines and perspectives? How do we translate capacities attained through higher education into creative problem-solving to address some of the most pressing and divisive global problems of our time?

To discuss these questions and share emergent models for inclusive leadership, Vassar will convene a forum with leaders in education from institutions in Rwanda, India, and Scotland:

  • University of Global Health Equity, Butaro, Rwanda
  • IIT Bombay Center for Liberal Arts, Mumbai, India
  • University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

Schedule

The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts invites you to join us to discuss efforts to develop inclusive leadership through the liberal arts with our global partners.

Leadership Panel: Tuesday, February 21

9:00 a.m. EST / 2:00 p.m. GMT / 4:00 p.m. CAT / 7:30 p.m. IST

President Elizabeth H. Bradley of Vassar College will moderate a panel featuring leaders from the collaborative institutions: Dr. Abebe Bekele, Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE); Dr. Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of Edinburgh; and Parag Saxena, Private Equity Executive, representing IIT Bombay.

Dr. Abebe Bekele, a person with short dark hair and wearing a dark jacket with a red tie smiles at the camera

Dr. Abebe Bekele

A gray-haired person wearing a suite and tie smiles at the camera

Dr. Peter Mathieson

A person with a bald head, glasses, and facial hair smiles at the camera. The person is wearing a dark suit.

Parag Saxena

A person with mid-length gray hair and a dark blue jacket smiles at the camera

Dr. Elizabeth H. Bradley

Special Guest Interview

10:00 a.m. EST / 3:00 p.m. GMT / 5:00 p.m. CAT / 8:30 p.m. IST

Tony James, former Vice Chairman of Blackstone, will speak with Vassar’s President Bradley about the value of liberal arts education for success in all sectors. See bio below.

Panel Discussion

10:20 a.m. EST / 3:20 p.m. GMT / 5:20 p.m. CAT / 8:50 p.m. IST

Faculty and students from collaborative institutions discuss models for inclusive leadership. Panelists include:

Special Guest: Hamilton “Tony” E. James

A dark-haired person wearing a suit and tie smiles at the camera

Tony James is the Chairman of Jefferson River Capital. In 2018, he became Blackstone’s Executive Vice Chairman and, in 2002, he became the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure at Blackstone, he was a member of the Board of Directors, a member of the Management Committee, and sat on the firm’s investment committees.

Prior to his time at Blackstone, James was Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Private Equity at Credit Suisse First Boston and a member of the Executive Board. Before the acquisition of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette by Credit Suisse First Boston in 2000, James was the Chairman of DLJ’s Banking Group, responsible for all the firm’s investment banking and merchant-banking activities.

James is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Costco Wholesale Corporation and has served on a number of other corporate and nonprofit boards and committees.

In 2018, he co-authored the second edition of Rescuing Retirement, a book proposing a solution to America’s looming retirement crisis. He has also published articles in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, the Harvard Business Review, and other major publications.

James graduated magna cum laude with a BA from Harvard College in 1973 and was a John Harvard Scholar. He earned an MBA with high distinction from the Harvard Business School and graduated as a Baker Scholar in 1975.

Past Events