Accomplishments
An American Council on Education Fellow at Franklin & Marshall College with President Dan Porterfield, he has also co-directed the Arizona State University-Georgetown University Academy for Innovation in Higher Education Leadership Intensive Program. His new book Start Up U: Stories from 21st Century Colleges and Universities is under contract with Princeton University Press, and he is the author of articles and opinion pieces on innovation and globalization in higher education as well as two books on immigration and citizenship. Dr. Pickus previously taught at Middlebury College as well as in China and Israel. He has held fellowships from the Thomas J. Watson Foundation, the A.W. Mellon Foundation, and the H.B. Earhart Foundation. Pickus earned a bachelor’s degree in the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University and a doctorate in politics from Princeton University.
Noah Pickus is the Chief Academic Officer at the Minerva Project where he oversees its programs in higher education, high school, and professional learning. He was previously Associate Provost at Duke University and Dean of Undergraduate Curricular Affairs and Faculty Development at Duke Kunshan University. A faculty member at Duke for 25 years, he is currently Professor of Social Sciences at Minerva University. At Duke, he directed strategic planning, cross-university initiatives, and academic innovation. At DKU, he led the design and implementation of an interdisciplinary and problem-based undergraduate curriculum and oversaw the faculty hiring process.
Dr. Pickus earlier served as the Nannerl O. Keohane Director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, where he established the institute as a signature university-wide interdisciplinary program and oversaw its expansion in research, policy engagement, and high impact undergraduate programming. Prior to joining the Kenan Institute for Ethics, he was the founding director of the Institute for Emerging Issues under former Governor James B. Hunt Jr. at NC State University, a university-based venture in shaping public debate, public policy, and institutional practices.