Karen Schuster Webb, Ph.D.

President

Union Institute & University

Appointed Union's first African American female president in 2018, Dr. Karen Schuster Webb is a visionary leader, who brings more than 20 years of executive leadership to her impressive career in higher education. In March 2020, she was elected to serve on the Board of the American Council on Education (ACE). In addition, Dr. Webb recently has been honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University’s School of Education.

Prior positions include Antioch University Midwest campus president and senior advisor for Academic Innovation to the chancellor at the Antioch University System, associate provost for Community Engagement and founding university dean of the California School of Education at Alliant International University System and leadership positions at Southern University, Louisiana, the University of Kentucky, Howard University, Indiana University, and Coppin State University, Maryland.

Dr. Webb has dedicated her career to the pursuit of equity of access to educational excellence and to empowering those, especially women, who aspire to higher education leadership. Dr. Webb was named as one of the Top 25 Women in Higher Education and Beyond by Diverse Issues in Higher Education Magazine, and the 2018-2020 Chair of the American Council on Education’s Women’s Network Executive Council (WNEC). She is also a Presidential Sponsor for the ACE affiliated Women’s Network of Ohio.