FOR RELEASE: Thursday, July 26, 2018
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Arthur Levine to Step Down as President of Woodrow Wilson Foundation

Higher Education Visionary Has Transformed Foundation, Education Preparation Throughout 13-Year Tenure

PRINCETON, N.J. (July 26, 2018) –Arthur Levine today announced that he will be stepping down from the presidency of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, as of July 2019.

Under Levine’s leadership, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation transformed into a national leader in educator preparation and school improvement. Staying true to the Foundation’s mission of identifying and developing leaders and institutions to meet the nation’s critical challenges, Levine created a portfolio of new and innovative programs designed to improve educational opportunities, particularly for high-need communities.

In the past decade, this work has included:

• The WW Teaching Fellowship, where the Foundation has worked with 31 universities in six states to transform their STEM teacher preparation programs, building new initiatives to identify, recruit, prepare, and support individuals with strong STEM content knowledge and guide them to careers as educators in high-need schools;
• The WW MBA Fellowship in Education Leadership, where the Foundation has helped three states re-envision their approach to school leader preparation, creating new MBA programs to better equip education leaders with the tools needed to successfully lead the schools and school districts;
• The WW HistoryQuest Fellowship, identifying some of the top K–12 social studies teachers in the nation, providing them the professional development to make history come alive for their students through the creation of meaningful history-based games and simulations; and
• The WW Higher Education Policy Fellowship, a new initiative that will soon bring together higher education policymakers and practitioners in eight states to establish meaningful state-based policy initiatives to improve the quality, access, and impact of postsecondary education.

Levine’s most significant effort at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation has been the creation of the Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning, a cutting-edge graduate school of education designed to equip a new generation of aspiring K–12 teachers with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to succeed in both the classrooms of today and the schools of tomorrow. Constructed in collaboration with MIT, the competency-based institution of higher education welcomes its first class of graduate students this fall. Massachusetts state officials previously provided the WW Academy degree-granting authority and the ability to recommend candidates for teacher licensure. The Academy is in the process of becoming an independent 501(c)3.

“Under Arthur Levine’s leadership, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation became a true leader in education innovation, instituting new programs that have had a direct impact on teaching and learning throughout the country,” said Thomas C. Hudnut, chairman of the WW Foundation Board of Trustees. “We, along with millions of students, are grateful for all Arthur has done to ensure that every learner has an effective teacher and a high-quality education. In all of his actions, Arthur has demonstrated how education is a noble profession that can have immeasurable impact of generations of individuals.”

The WW Foundation Board of Trustees named Levine its sixth president in 2006. Prior to joining the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Dr. Levine served as president and professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He also previously served as chair of the higher education program, chair of the Institute for Educational Management, and senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is the author or co-author of 12 books and dozens of articles and reviews, including a series of reports for the Education Schools project on the preparation of school leaders, teachers and education researchers.

“For more than a dozen years, it has been an honor and a privilege to work with the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, its staff, its Trustees, its Fellows, and its partners,” Levine said. “Since its establishment, Woodrow Wilson has had a lasting impact on higher education and the professoriate and now on K–12 education and educator preparation and supports. Through both policy and practice, we continue to make a real difference in our nation and on teachers and learners around the world.”

Through its array of programs, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation has been privileged to support the development of more than 27,000 leaders—teachers and scholars, leaders and business people, artists and innovators. They include 15 Nobel Laureates, 38 MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellows, 20 Pulitzer Prize winners, 27 recipients of Presidential and national medals, and many others.

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About the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
Founded in 1945, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (www.woodrow.org) identifies and develops the nation’s best minds to meet its most critical challenges. The Foundation supports its Fellows as the next generation of leaders shaping American society.

The position description can be found here (PDF).

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