Mike Magee, Ph.D.

Mike Magee is an education entrepreneur and scholar who builds organizations that expand access globally. He became the second president of Minerva University in 2022 and has led Minerva’s pioneering work in AI and sustainability, embedding experiential learning opportunities in the curriculum, and producing global leaders.

Honored as “the World’s Most Innovative University” for three years in a row by the World University Rankings for Innovation, Minerva focuses on solving pressing global problems as students study on four continents in four years. Minerva’s courses enhance critical thinking, creativity and communication skills while instilling a global perspective. Under Magee’s leadership, Minerva has added a rotation city – Tokyo – expanded scholarship options, started a Costa Rica summer program in sustainability, and formed partnerships to expand access. 

Previously, Magee was founding CEO of the nonprofit Chiefs for Change, supporting groundbreaking  K-12 public education systems. He co-founded and served as CEO of Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, a network of racially and economically diverse public schools.  ‍Magee taught American literature and philosophy for a decade at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and the Rhode Island School of Design. His book Emancipating Pragmatism won the Elizabeth Agee Prize in American Studies. 

A Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow, Magee moderates seminars for the Pahara Institute and the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s from the College of the Holy Cross.