Date January 9, 2025
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School of Professional Studies Dean Shankar K. Prasad to depart to join Carnegie

A longtime academic leader at Brown who expanded master’s and non-degree programs as dean and broadened access for diverse learners around the world, Prasad will join the firm as chief strategy officer.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Shankar K. Prasad, dean of Brown University’s School of Professional Studies since 2022, will step down effective Jan. 31 to join the senior leadership team at Carnegie, a higher education marketing and enrollment strategy firm, as chief strategy officer.

Prasad, a Brown University Ph.D. alumnus, will depart Brown after a decade-long tenure that also included appointments as deputy provost, vice president for academic innovation, and associate director of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Since his appointment as School of Professional Studies dean, he has led an expansion in master’s degree, professional and non-degree programs, and strengthened support for master’s students at Brown.

“Shankar has been instrumental in building on Brown’s academic strengths, delivering instruction in compelling new ways and making Brown’s world-class education accessible to a diverse range of learners across the globe,” said Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III. “He leaves a long and successful track record of leadership and innovation, and a lasting impact on Brown priorities ranging from online education and new academic programs to global engagement efforts and support for graduate students on campus.” 

As the third dean of the School of Professional Studies and Brown’s first vice president for academic innovation, Prasad provided executive oversight of SPS’s academic programs, finance and administrative operations, and student life, and worked with academic leaders across campus to develop new areas for growth and success. He developed and managed a growing portfolio of master’s degree and professional programs and created initiatives to reach learners across the globe through digital education platforms, including partnering with the School of Public Health to launch an online master of public health program, Brown’s first exclusively online degree program. 

With a focus on meeting the needs of diverse learners at various stages of their professional careers, Prasad expanded Brown’s suite of non-degree programs, including corporate education programs, certificate programs and short courses that focus on rapid skill development. Additional initiatives launched under his leadership have focused on increased outreach to Brown alumni to promote learning opportunities, and wider access for University staff members to enroll in SPS professional programs.

Prasad led an expansion in support for master’s students on campus, including through the launch of a Center for Master’s Student Excellence to provide student support, professional development and career services, and alumni engagement services. To cultivate a campus-wide approach to strengthened support for master’s students, he focused on building strong collaborations with key units across Brown, including Campus Life, Global Brown and the Graduate School.

It has been deeply rewarding to advance Brown’s mission by creating pathways for diverse learners worldwide, all while collaborating with dedicated and brilliant colleagues.

Shankar K. Prasad Dean, School of Professional Studies
 
Shankar K. Prasad

In a series of leadership roles in the Office of the Provost from 2016 to 2022, Prasad worked closely with Brown leaders to advance academic excellence, improve operational effectiveness and financial sustainability, and promote community through a range of priorities and initiatives. Among other efforts, he played important roles in academic continuity and return-to-campus planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, strategic planning and reorganizations for multiple Brown schools, institutes and centers, and the transition of the Brown Arts Initiative to the expanded Brown Arts Institute.

With a longstanding focus on cultivating a diverse and inclusive community, Prasad also played a key role in advancing campus engagement efforts to support the development of Brown’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) in 2016, was a member of Brown’s Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Board and served in governance and advisory roles for the Leadership Alliance and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Brown. He wrote the University’s first global strategy for advancing research, teaching and learning around the world, working simultaneously to create an inclusive community for international students, staff and faculty on campus. In recognition of those efforts, the launch of the Global Brown lounge and the expansion of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Brown was awarded a Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internalization in 2019.  

In assuming the role of chief strategy officer for Carnegie, a leader in higher education marketing and enrollment strategy, Prasad will be responsible for overall enterprise strategy and will oversee student search and success and presidential advisory offerings for the company.

“Working at Brown over the last decade, and particularly serving as dean of the School of Professional Studies, has been a distinct honor and privilege,” Prasad said. “It has been deeply rewarding to advance Brown’s mission by creating pathways for diverse learners worldwide, all while collaborating with dedicated and brilliant colleagues. I am profoundly grateful to this University for the tremendous opportunities it has given me as a student, an alum and an administrator.”

Prasad holds a Ph.D. in political science from Brown, an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and bachelor’s degrees in finance, political science and French from Rutgers University. He served as director of undergraduate studies and clinical professor of public policy at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service from 2009 to 2014. 

In 2014, he returned to Brown as associate director of the Watson Institute, where he was instrumental in redesigning the undergraduate and graduate policy programs, and led the transformation of the master of public affairs program into a one-year, global program.

Sandra Smith, senior associate dean for professional and executive education at the School of Professional Studies, will serve as the school’s interim dean, and Doyle will develop plans for a national search for a new dean in the coming weeks.