Thursday 16 January 2025
07:45
Prof. Sunil Kumar and Prof. Larry Kramer
The Role of Tertiary Education
We bring together the Presidents of two of the world’s leading universities, each of them immensely accomplished academics with exceptional track records, to discuss the future of tertiary education, the role of universities in addressing the major challenges our societies face, and the complexities of campus politics.
Sunil has been President of Tufts University since July 1, 2023. He is the 14th President of Tufts and also serves as a tenured Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to Tufts, Kumar served as the 15th Provost of Johns Hopkins University from 2016-2023, as Dean of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business from 2011-2016, and before that spent 14 years on the faculty of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was the Fred H. Merrill Professor of Operations, Information and Technology and served as the Senior Associate Dean for academic affairs, overseeing the school’s MBA program. Born in India, Kumar received a Master of Engineering degree in computer science and automation from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Mangalore University in Surathkal, India. He earned a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Larry has been President and Vice Chancellor of the London School of Economics and Political Science since April 2024. He previously served as President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation from 2012 to 2024. Larry has spent most of his career in the academy, including as the 15th Dean of Stanford Law School, a position he assumed in 2004. Previously, Larry researched and taught at the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and New York University, where he served as Associate Dean for Research and Academics and Russell D. Niles Professor of Law. He serves as board chair of iCivics and has been a director on the boards of numerous non-profit organisations, including the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the ClimateWorks Foundation, the Independent Sector, and Equal Justice Works.
President of Tufts University; President of the London School of Economics
Sunil has been President of Tufts University since July 1, 2023. He is the 14th President of Tufts and also serves as a tenured Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Prior to Tufts, Kumar served as the 15th Provost of Johns Hopkins University from 2016-2023, as Dean of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business from 2011-2016, and before that spent 14 years on the faculty of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he was the Fred H. Merrill Professor of Operations, Information and Technology and served as the Senior Associate Dean for academic affairs, overseeing the school’s MBA program. Born in India, Kumar received a Master of Engineering degree in computer science and automation from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Mangalore University in Surathkal, India. He earned a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Larry has been President and Vice Chancellor of the London School of Economics and Political Science since April 2024. He previously served as President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation from 2012 to 2024. Larry has spent most of his career in the academy, including as the 15th Dean of Stanford Law School, a position he assumed in 2004. Previously, Larry researched and taught at the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and New York University, where he served as Associate Dean for Research and Academics and Russell D. Niles Professor of Law. He serves as board chair of iCivics and has been a director on the boards of numerous non-profit organisations, including the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the ClimateWorks Foundation, the Independent Sector, and Equal Justice Works.
