Professor Dr. Robert Schwartz

Biography

Robert B. Schwartz is a Professor Emeritus of Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has held a wide variety of leadership positions in education and government since joining the HGSE faculty in 1996. From 1997 to 2002, he served as president of Achieve, Inc., an independent, bipartisan nonprofit organization created to help states improve their schools in collaboration with governors and corporate leaders. Prior to this, he directed the education grantmaking program at the Pew Charitable Trusts, which is one of the nation's largest private philanthropies, from 1990 to 1996. Throughout his career, Schwartz has also served as a high school English teacher and principal, an education adviser to the mayor of Boston, and the governor of Massachusetts, among other roles. He was the assistant director of the National Institute of Education and a special assistant to the president of the University of Massachusetts. Currently, Schwartz co-leads the Pathways to Prosperity Network, which collaborates with states and HGSE to ensure that young people graduate high school and attain initial postsecondary degrees or credentials that hold value in the labor market, facilitating their career launches while leaving open the possibility for further education.

Research Interests