Marjorie Hass

As president of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) since 2021, Marjorie Hass champions independent higher education institutions nationwide, drawing on decades of transformative leadership at Rhodes College (TN), Austin College (TX), and Muhlenberg College (PA). She is the author of A Leadership Guide for Women in Higher Education. The American Council on Education (ACE) presented her with the 2024 Donna Shavlik Award, which honors an individual whose leadership demonstrates a sustained commitment to advancing women in higher education. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education named Hass to a list highlighting 40 outstanding women in higher education. She is the creator of a widely read monthly newsletter, where she applies philosophical frameworks to contemporary challenges in higher education. A philosopher by training, Hass earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has published widely on the philosophy of language, logic, and feminist philosophy and is an award-winning teacher—experience that informs her commitment to rigorous inquiry, inclusive dialogue, and ethical leadership.