Caroline Levander

Background

About Caroline Levander

Experienced Vice President with established track record and experience leading change in higher education. Serves on the advisory boards of several ed tech companies, including Coursera and 2U/EdX, and is a senior advisor of Honor Education, EtAl. Co-founded an ed tech platform company, OneForum Inc, that develops online community and sense of belonging, and sold it in 2022. Board member of global education organizations, including Chair of the Fulbright Association. Expert on Digital Innovation in higher education, Global Strategy development for higher education, as well as entrepreneurial business development in Nonprofit Organizations, Strategic Growth, Program Evaluation, Curriculum Development, Program Development, and Revenue Generation. In her current administrative role at Rice she sets and oversees Rice’s international strategy, program development, and the coordination of international activities across the university. She is responsible for starting new global campuses, in Paris and other regions, and in growing the institution's international brand. Levander works closely with faculty and leadership to direct Rice’s growing strategy for international engagement and impact in four major geographic areas: Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Africa. As Vice President for Global Initiatives and Strategy at Rice University, she is responsible for expanding the university's global impact through the development of new partnerships and academic programs and for innovating Rice's teaching and learning enterprise through the building of new international campuses. Prior to this administrative appointment, she was Director of Rice's Humanities Research Center for six years and then Vice President for Digital Strategy, Global Strategy, and Strategic Initiatives for a decade. Levander joined the Rice faculty in 2001 and is Professor of English and Carlson Professor in the Humanities. She has authored 8 books and over 50 articles. Her most recent book Invent Ed: How an American History of Innovation Can Transform College Today is forthcoming from MIT Press in 2025. She is the recipient of international awards and grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and National Humanities Center, among others. She holds a PhD and BA (with honors) in English from Rice University.