معرفی
Francesca Purcell is a Senior Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and serves as Faculty Co-Chair for the Online Master's in Education program. She previously held leadership roles as Provost/Chief Academic Officer at Massachusetts Bay Community College (overseeing 8,000 students across three campuses) and Associate Commissioner for Academic and P-16 Policy at the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, focusing on college completion, transfer systems, and financial aid policies. She also served as Program Director for Education and the Development of Knowledge at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, leading a national study on undergraduate education. Purcell holds a Ph.D. in Education from Boston College (2004), an M.S. from Northeastern University, and a B.A. from Amherst College.
Her research expertise spans career and lifelong learning, college access and success, diversity and inclusion, global education, organizational leadership, and policy-driven institutional change. She has co-authored works on international women’s colleges and consults for organizations like the World Bank and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
- Scientific Awards: Governor's Commonwealth Citation for Outstanding Performance in Public Higher Education.
Her advising and grants history includes leadership roles overseeing academic programs and policy initiatives but specific grant awards or advisee names are not listed. She has held adjunct faculty positions at Boston College, Suffolk University, and Roxbury Community College. Purcell is affiliated with the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education and contributes to LGBTQIA+ leadership development in higher education.
