Jonathan R. Alger

Jonathan Alger serves as the inaugural America 250 Fellow for the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and American Council on Education (ACE), where he leads national initiatives on the public and civic purposes of higher education. He chairs the National Leadership Council to Advance Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement, which brings together dozens of higher education and civic organizations and is preparing for a Democracy Decade Action Plan for higher education starting in 2027.

Alger is also Adjunct Professor of Education Policy at Brown University. He is a nationally recognized thought leader, scholar and speaker in higher education, civic engagement, and law. He previously served as president at James Madison University and American University and developed transformative strategic plans at both institutions focused on engaged learning and civic and community engagement.

Alger has provided leadership for many higher education organizations and has chaired the boards of AAC&U, Campus Compact, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys as well as the Association of Governing Boards’ Council of Presidents and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.  He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, and Council on Foreign Relations.

Alger previously served as senior vice president and general counsel at Rutgers University and as assistant general counsel at the University of Michigan, where he played a key leadership role in the university’s efforts in two landmark Supreme Court cases on admissions and coordinated one of the largest amicus brief coalitions in Supreme Court history. Earlier in his career he provided national-level policy and legal leadership at the American Association of University Professors and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. He began his legal career in the labor and employment section of the international law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Alger graduated with Honors from Harvard Law School and with High Honors from Swarthmore College (which awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2026). He has taught courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels on law, higher education, public policy, diversity, and leadership.

Areas of Expertise

• Higher education law
• Higher education leadership
• Access to excellence in higher education
• Civic education and engagement
• Freedom of expression and academic freedom
• Strategic planning
• Governance
• Athletics and education