Jonathan R. Alger

Jonathan Alger is President of American University in Washington, DC, where he founded the new Civic Life initiative for civic learning to support democracy. He previously served as President of James Madison University and has also held positions at Rutgers University, the University of Michigan, American Association of University Professors, U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, and the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. He has served as chair of the boards of the American Association of Colleges & Universities, Campus Compact, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys, and of the Association of Governing Boards' Council of Presidents. Alger has spoken and written extensively about higher education law and policy, access and inclusion, academic freedom, and civic engagement among many other topics. He is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, Council on Foreign Relations, and Council on Competitiveness, and is a graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School.