Gregor Thuswaldner

Senior Higher Education Leader | Author | Scholar | Keynote Speaker

I am an experienced senior higher education leader, having most recently served as Provost & Executive Vice President at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington (2020-2024). I am currently on sabbatical editing "The Provost's Handbook," which will be published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in 2025. I am also working on my tenth book, "EDU 2.0: Future-Proofing Higher Education with Integrative Learning."

Prior to joining Whitworth, I was Acting Provost, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Humanities at North Park University in Chicago (2016–2020). Earlier in my career, I was Chair of the Department of Languages and Linguistics (2006–2012) and Professor of German and Linguistics at Gordon College (2003–2016), where I received the Distinguished Junior Faculty Award in 2006.

A Past President of the Association of Chief Academic Officers, I am currently a Special Advisor to the Board. I serve on the Board of the American Association of University Administrators (2024-2027) and was also on the CAO Institute Taskforce of the Council of Independent Colleges (2023–2024). Previously, I served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area (2017–2019), President of the Austrian Studies Association (2018–2020), and as a Board Member of ACAD (2018–2023). From 2017–2020, I was a Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), and since 2020 I have been chairing accreditation site visits for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

I hold degrees in German and English Studies from the University of Vienna and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Ph.D.). I have an additional Master's in Higher Education Administration from North Park University in Chicago. As a committed lifelong learner, I have earned several certificates, including certificates in Fund Raising Management (Lilly School of Philanthropy, Indiana University) and Mediation Skills Training (Northwestern University).

I am an elected member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Leadership Fellow of the Society of Leadership Fellows at St. George's House, Windsor Castle. I also serve as an advisory board member of the Stefan Zweig Centre at the University of Salzburg, Austria, and as a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Austrian Studies, Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature, and the Journal of Higher Education Management.