Stephen Trachtenberg Chairman, Education Specialty Practice Washington DC
“Experience matters if you keep your eyes and ears open and learn from it. If not, 30 years is just the first year over and over again.”
In this role, Mr. Trachtenberg leverages his decades of higher education experience to work with search committees and boards of the country’s most respected institutions to identify, recruit and develop leadership talent.
Mr. Trachtenberg was the 15th president of The George Washington University since its founding in 1821, serving the university from 1988 to 2007. He combines his role at Korn/Ferry with his continued responsibilities at the university as president emeritus and university professor of public service.
Mr. Trachtenberg was previously president and professor of law and public administration for 11 years at the University of Hartford. Prior to that, he was dean of arts and sciences and vice president at Boston University.
During the Johnson Administration, he served as secretary for a White House Task Force on Education.
Mr. Trachtenberg was also special assistant to the U.S. Education Commissioner, Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Preceding his academic career, he was an attorney in the New York office of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and an aide to a U.S. congressman.
Mr. Trachtenberg’s publications in academic journals and the national media have received wide acclaim. He has written five books and is the coeditor of The Art of Hiring in America’s Colleges and Universities. His newest book, BMOC: A University President Speaks Out, will be released by Simon and Schuster in June 2008. He is currently teaching a graduate course on “The University President in America.” Recognitions for his contributions to education include numerous honorary degrees, most recently from Columbia University. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He holds a juris doctorate from Yale University, a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University.
