Higher Ed Influencers 2020: Who to Follow

The marketing and technology world is moving at an ever-changing pace. University and college marketers need to pay close attention to the latest trends to ensure they can stay at the cutting edge and be the first choice for prospective students.

In this article, we are bringing together our curated selection of the most influential higher education influencers from around the world to inspire you to continue to create change in innovative ways. These are the movers and shakers across technology, social media and marketing, the future of higher education, student tips, research, and faculty training.

Anant Agarwal (@agarwaledu)

Anant Agarwal is the Founder and CEO of @edXOnline, an online educator, MIT professor, entrepreneur, and Forbes contributor. Anant taught the first course on circuits and electronics from MIT, which drew 155,000 students from 162 countries.

Josie Ahlquist (@josieahlquist)

Josie Ahlquist brings together the best of tech and leadership by helping ambitious, passionate people and organizations strategically magnify their missions on social media. Through her research, speaking, consulting, and coaching, she teaches others how to show up on social media in a genuine, purpose-driven way that leads to real connection. Her podcast, Josie and the Podcast, brings together the best leaders on-campus and online - from the Senior Vice President of Snapchat to YouTubers with billions of views, as well as new media professionals.

Brandon Busteed (@brandonbusteed)

Brandon Busteed is president of University Partners at Kaplan and the former executive director of education and workforce development at Gallup. He oversees Kaplan’s higher education partnerships in North America, leveraging its global educational assets and regularly contributes to publications such as Forbes with insightful commentary on the current state of higher education in America and beyond.

Ellie Bothwell (@elliebothwell)

Ellie Bothwell is a reporter, feature writer and global rankings editor at Times Higher Education. She covers the World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings that assess universities against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Jeff Selingo (@jselingo)

Jeff Selingo has written about higher education for two decades. He is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, a contributor to The Atlantic and the Washington Post, and a special advisor at Arizona State University. He is also a visiting scholar at Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities. His next book, Who Gets In & Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, will be published by Simon & Schuster in September 2020.

Kelly Walsh (@EmergingEdTech)

Kelly Walsh is the founder of Emerging Edtech CIO/CSIO and Instructor at The College of Westchester. EmergingEdTech is a personal blog Kelly runs where she interacts with a worldwide community of educators and technologists, exploring the use of technology as an instructional tool and student success enabler. She also tweets frequently over @EmergingEdTech.

Sophie Bailey (@PodcastEdtech)

Sophie Bailey is the founder and host of The Edtech podcast, a podcast with the purpose of connecting education and technology for the future, through creative storytelling.

Seeta Bhardwa (@THEUniAdvice)

Seeta Bhardwa is the Times Higher Education Student Editor. She tweets from the @THEUniAdvice account about university student advice and study tips, as well as lifestyle content and university rankings.

Futao Huang (contributor to TImes Higher Ed)

Futao Huang is a Professor at the Research Institute for Higher Education at Hiroshima University, Japan. His major academic fields include internationalisation of higher education, academic profession and designing university and colleges curriculum in the comparative perspective. He is a regular contributor to Times Higher Education, writing on the landscape of higher education across Asia. Amy Laitinen is the Director for Higher Education at the New America Foundation. With a political background from both the White House and the U.S. Department of Education, she was named one of the top innovators for her work on federal policy by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her current focus includes increasing quality and transparency in the education sector in the U.S.

Amy Laitinen (@amylaitinen)

Amy Laitinen is the Director for Higher Education at the New America Foundation. With a political background from both the White House and the U.S. Department of Education, shw was named one of the top innovators for her work on federal policy by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Her current focus includes increasing quality and transparency in the education sector in the U.S. 

Bonni Stachowiak (@bonni208)

Bonni Stachowiak is the host of a long-running podcast, Teaching in Higher Ed, that shares recommendations to help faculty members become more efficient at facilitating learning. The podcast focuses on topics such as excellence in teaching, instructional design, open education, diversity and inclusion, productivity, creativity in teaching, educational technology, and blended learning. Bonni is also Dean of Teaching and Learning at Vanguard University of Southern California, which allows her to collaborate with other faculty toward continually improving teaching practices.

There you have it, our roundup of the top higher education influencers for 2020.

Take inspiration from these thought leaders on the latest in technology, the future of higher education, faculty training, student advice, and more.