Marquette’s Les Aspin Center director chosen for higher education leadership program

Dr. Paul Nolette, director of the Les Aspin Center for Government, has been chosen to be a fellow in the 11th cohort of the Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership, a program for entrepreneurial leaders working in four-year higher education institutions who seek to create innovation and change that enhances higher education's reach and impact.

The cohort of 28 leaders represents a cross section of higher-education scholars and leaders from other sectors of the economy facing similar challenges. The fellows will participate in four intensive sessions co-hosted by Georgetown University and Arizona State University that will focus on preparing the fellows to lead organizational change at colleges and universities. Fellows will be introduced to the latest thinking and research about change leadership, teaching, and external challenges facing higher education and the financial sustainability of institutions.

"This program offers an excellent way to engage with higher education leaders from across the country on developing innovation in our rapidly changing environment," Nolette said. "I look forward to taking what I learn from the program to best serve our students and our broader Marquette community. Thank you to Dean Heidi Bostic and the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences for making this opportunity possible."

Participants will also engage in peer-to-peer learning and coaching to reimagine the future of higher education. A mix of seminars, hands-on workshops, design sessions and fireside chats with leading thinkers from various industries will help the fellows prepare for leading innovation at their own institutions. Participants will create a campus innovation opportunity and refine their ideas with their peers through the Innovation Co-Laboratory.

Nolette was named director of the Les Aspin Center in June 2023 after serving as chair and associate professor of political science in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences. His teaching and research interests focus on the dynamics of contemporary American federalism, courts and public policy, and the interplay between politics and law. His book, "Federalism on Trial: State Attorneys General and National Policymaking in Contemporary America" (University Press of Kansas, 2015), examines how state litigators have used lawsuits against large corporations and the federal government to influence national policy. Nolette's research on the politics of state attorneys general has also appeared in several scholarly journals, and his analysis of AGs frequently appears in state, national and international media venues.

The Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership, a partnership between Arizona State University and Georgetown University, is the premier training ground for those who aspire to senior leadership positions in higher education, and those who want to lead organizational change at colleges and universities in the future.

About the Les Aspin Center for Government 

The Les Aspin Center for Government provides academic and internship programming focused on the public policy making process. With offerings in Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee, the Les Aspin Center integrates theoretical and experiential approaches to generating knowledge and provides its students, faculty, and staff with the opportunity to contribute to ethical, substantive and innovative policy making work - locally, domestically and internationally.

Over the past 35 years, more than 3,000 Les Aspin Center students have interned at nearly 100 congressional offices, the State Department, the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Secret Service, the White House, the Department of Defense, the Federal Communications Commission, nonprofit organizations, private firms, and offices for Wisconsin-based corporations.

At any given time, there are approximately 50 Les Aspin Center alumni working as professional staff members in Congress. Alumni also have tremendous opportunities to work at other levels of government throughout the country and world.

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