Jelani Cobb is a staff writer at the New Yorker, to which he has been contributing since 2012. In 2015, he won the Sidney Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism for his columns on race, the police, and injustice. In addition, he is the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism at Columbia University, joining the faculty in 2016. Previously, Cobb was associate professor of history and director of the Africana Studies Institute at the University of Connecticut, where he specialized in post-Civil War African American history, 20th-century American politics, and the history of the Cold War. Earlier, he taught at Rutgers University and at Spelman College. He is a recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright and Ford Foundations. Cobb is co-editor of the just-published anthology The Matter of Black Lives: Writing from The New Yorker (2021) and author of Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress (2010), To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic (2007), and The Devil & Dave Chappelle and Other Essays (2007). He recently edited and wrote a new introduction for the Kerner Commission—a historic study of American racism and police violence—contextualizing it for a new generation. Cobb is the recipient of the Walter Bernstein Award from the Writer’s Guild of America for his investigative series Policing the Police, which aired on PBS Frontline. Another recent Frontline documentary, Whose Vote Counts, explores allegations of voter disenfranchisement and fraud in the 2020 election. Cobb earned his undergraduate degree from Howard University and a PhD in American history from Rutgers University.

Ronald J. Daniels has served as the 14th president of Johns Hopkins University since 2009. Before coming to Johns Hopkins, he was provost and professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and dean and James M. Tory Professor of Law at the University of Toronto. A law and economics scholar, he is the author of the recently published What Universities Owe Democracy, and co- author of books and scholarly articles on the intersections of law, economics, development, and public policy in areas such as corporate and securities law, social and economic regulation, and the role of law and legal institutions in promoting third-world development. Daniels is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He received a Carnegie Corporation of New York Academic Leadership Award in 2015 and was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2016. Daniels earned a BA and a JD from the University of Toronto and an LLM from Yale University.

Thasunda Brown Duckett is president and chief executive officer of TIAA, a Fortune 100 provider of secure retirements and outcome- focused investment solutions to millions of people working in higher education, health care, and other mission-driven organizations. She is one of two Black women currently leading a Fortune 500 firm, and just the fourth Black woman to serve as a Fortune 500 CEO. As TIAA’s CEO, Duckett leads a company whose mission is defined by financial inclusion and opportunity—goals and values she has upheld throughout her career. Duckett joined TIAA after serving as chief executive officer of Chase Consumer Banking, where she oversaw a banking network with more than $600 billion in deposits and 50,000 employees. Previously, she was the CEO of Chase Auto Finance, one of the leading U.S. providers of auto financing, and national retail sales executive for Chase Mortgage Banking, where she managed 4,000 mortgage bankers. Earlier in her career, Duckett was director of emerging markets at Fannie Mae, where she led the implementation of national strategies designed to increase homeownership among Black and Hispanic Americans. She serves on the boards of NIKE, Inc., Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Sesame Workshop, National Medal of Honor Museum, and Economic Club of New York, as well as the University of Houston Board of Visitors and the Dean’s Advisory Board for Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business. In addition, she is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and Jack and Jill of America Inc. Duckett founded the Rosie and Otis Brown Foundation, in honor of her parents, to recognize and reward people who use ordinary means to empower and uplift their community in extraordinary ways. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from the University of Houston and an MBA from Baylor University.

​Linda A. Livingstone is the 15th president of Baylor University in Texas. She previously served as dean and professor of management at the George Washington University School of Business, as dean and professor of management at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, and as a tenured faculty member and associate dean of graduate programs at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business. Livingstone is a scholar in organizational behavior, leadership, creativity, and university accreditation and extensively published in these fields. She serves on the boards of Baylor College of Medicine, Capital Southwest Industrials, Waco Industrial Foundation, the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, Inc., the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity, and the AGB Council of Presidents. In addition, she serves as the vice chair of the Big XII Conference board of directors, as the secretary for the board of directors of the American Council on Education, on the NCAA Division I board of directors, and on the NCAA board of governors. Livingstone was inducted into Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) Hall of Fame in 2019 for her performance in women’s basketball. She also is a member of the OSU Spears School of Business Hall of Fame, was the first recipient of the Outstanding PhD Alumnus Award, and is a recipient of the OSU Distinguished Alumni Award. Livingstone earned a BS in economics and management, an MBA, and a PhD in management and organizational behavior, all at OSU.

Debbie Cottrell became the 16th president of Texas Lutheran University in 2019. Prior to assuming the presidency, she served as vice president for academic affairs for seven years. Previously, Cottrell served as provost of William Peace University, where she led academic affairs, enrollment, and student life. She also was associate dean of the faculty and director of graduate programs at Smith College. Cottrell began her career in higher education at Cottey College, where she taught history and government and served as assistant dean of the faculty. Prior to attending graduate school, Cottrell taught middle school and worked as an editor at the Texas Historical Commission. She is the author of a biography of Annie Webb Blanton, an educator who became the first woman in Texas elected to statewide office, which received the Liz Carpenter Award from the Texas State Historical Association. She serves on the executive advisory committee for the Handbook of Texas Women. Cottrell was the recipient of CIC’s Chief Academic Officer Award in 2017 and is a facilitator in CIC’s Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission program. A first-generation college student, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and a master’s and PhD in history from the University of Texas at Austin.

Isiaah Crawford became president of the University of Puget Sound in Washington in 2016. As president, he has promoted curricular innovation, which has led to the development of an array of new degree programs, including a master of public health; increased access for all students to high-impact experiential learning; expanded community engagement to include offering a bachelor of arts degree to the residents of the Washington Corrections Center for Women; and created a vice president for institutional equity and diversity position to support the university’s commitment to becoming a fully inclusive and welcoming community. From 2008 until his presidency at Puget Sound, Crawford served as provost and chief academic officer of Seattle University. Earlier, he was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago (2003–2008), where he joined the faculty of the department of psychology in 1987. Crawford’s program of research has focused on health promotion, human sexuality, and training mental health professionals. Crawford serves on the boards of the Annapolis Group, Independent Colleges of Washington, and the Northwest Conference, and he is chair of the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Crawford earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University and master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from DePaul University.

Charles W. “Chip” Pollard has been the president of John Brown University (JBU) in Arkansas since 2004. During his time at JBU, the university has been blessed to receive more than $290 million in gifts, to expand its endowment from $50 million to over $165 million, and to complete 17 major building projects. JBU also has initiated new academic programs in play therapy, nursing, computer science, and data analytics, and has seen its enrollment increase to over 1,900 students. JBU has been named seven years in a row by the Chronicle of Higher Education to its Honor Role in the “Great Colleges to Work For” survey (2015–2021). Pollard teaches regularly in the undergraduate program and speaks frequently in chapel and other venues. Before coming to JBU, he taught English literature at Calvin College for seven years and practiced law at Latham & Watkins for three years. He is the author of two books, May It Always Be True: Educating Students in Faith (2011) and New World Modernisms (2005). Pollard has been a member of the board of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities since 2009, serving as chair from 2013–2018. He also serves on the board of Wheaton College (IL), his alma mater. He is a member of the CIC Board of Directors. Pollard holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Wheaton College, a law degree from Harvard Law School, a master’s degree in English from Oxford University, and a PhD in English from the University of Virginia.

Marjorie Hass became president of the Council of Independent Colleges in July 2021, after years of strengthening independent higher education in various leadership roles. From 2017 until her appointment to the CIC presidency, Hass served as president of Rhodes College. During that time, she expanded the college’s engagement with the city of Memphis, enhanced inclusive excellence, and led a comprehensive and inclusive strategic planning process, positioning the college for success in the next decade. Previously, Hass served for eight years as president of Austin College where she defined a strong vision for the college’s future, pairing academic excellence with a commitment to educational access for talented students regardless of financial background, along with a strategic approach to securing the resources needed to achieve that vision. Earlier, she spent more than 16 years as a member of the philosophy faculty and subsequently as provost at Muhlenberg College.