Office Hours with John Gardner
We are searching for big ideas that inspire hope and action in higher education around institutional transformation and innovation to advance student success and more equitable student outcomes. Joining John Gardner are higher education leaders and other relevant persons of interest who will discuss innovation and strategies that improve higher education.The Gardner Institute, a 24-year-old non-profit, has been at the forefront of innovation in higher education; our mission very clearly connects us to the broader societal efforts to increase social justice.The Gardner Institute connects with thousands of professionals in the higher education ecosystem; through a wide array of activities such as Transformative Conversations, the Teaching and Learning Academy, and the Socially Just Design Series, and through our work as an Intermediary for Scale supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As a leader in the student success movement in higher education, we strive to provide support for institutions interested in social justice and institutional transformation.
Office Hours with John Gardner
Phyllis Curtis-Tweed- Building a Shared Vision
Dr. Phyllis Curtis-Tweed earned her Ph.D. at Emory University in Educational Studies with a focus on educational leadership and issues in psychology, specifically agency development, and moral development. She pursued postdoctoral training in psychology in the Clinical Research Training Program in Social Psychiatry at Harvard University where she was also an instructor for five years and taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Simmons College and at the Harvard affiliated Hospitals. She previously served as College-wide Dean at Oakland Community College in Michigan and worked in various capacities at Medgar Evers College, CUNY including Director of the Freshman Year Programs, Assistant Provost for Student Success and Assessment, and interim Associate Provost.
Dr. Phyllis Curtis-Tweed then served as the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Bermuda College where she transformed the Division of Nursing into the Division of Nursing and Allied Health, and added multiple programmes including pre-health, medical imaging, and pre-medicine. She developed strong relations with community and industry leaders in re/insurance leading to the development of numerous internships and scholarships opportunities for Bermuda College graduates. She also led the strategic planning and implementation initiative, collaborated with college task forces to improve campus culture and develop a shared governance model. She also served as co-editor of Bermuda College’s Voices in Education journal. Dr. Curtis-Tweed also worked with community partners to support the pipeline for higher education by improving reading literacy outcomes for children in elementary education. Dr Curtis-Tweed is an Executive Board Member and Treasurer for the Association for Moral Education, and is the co-chair for the Association’s Special Interest Group on Race and Social Justice. She is a co-researcher on a project designed to improve the experience of education for teachers and students by addressing issues of race and contexts of racial meaning in education and concomitant intersections with religion and culture via authentic dialogue in response to selected films. She has published and presented at national and international conferences on issues in psychology and education, particularly regarding the first year experience. Dr. Curtis-Tweed also worked with community partners to support the pipeline for higher education by improving reading literacy outcomes for children in elementary education.
Dr. Curtis-Tweed is an Executive Board Member and Treasurer for the Association for Moral Education, and is the co-chair for the Association’s Special Interest Group on Race and Social Justice. She is a co-researcher on a project designed to improve the experience of education for teachers and students by addressing issues of race and contexts of racial meaning in education and concomitant intersections with religion and culture via authentic dialogue in response to selected films. She has published and presented at national and international conferences on issues in psychology and education, particularly regarding the first year experience. Dr. Curtis-Tweed has also served as an invited external evaluator for accrediting agencies including the Southern Association of Colleges and School (SACS) and the Western Association of Schools and College (WASC) and was a Commissioner-Elect for the New England Commission for Higher Education (NECHE).
Dr. Curtis-Tweed is currently the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York(CUNY).
