Roberta Bassett

Global Lead for Tertiary Education, Education Global Practice

Roberta Malee Bassett, PhD is Global Lead for Tertiary Education and Senior Education Specialist at the World Bank, providing project leadership and technical expertise for initiatives related to post-secondary education reform initiatives around the world.   She has been team lead for a variety of tertiary and higher education projects, spanning topics such as finance and quality assurance reform, internationalization of higher education, equity and access, research and competitiveness, and skills development. Prior to joining the World Bank, Roberta was Lecturer in Higher Education at the Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy at the University of Southampton, UK.

Her experience in university administration includes serving as: Assistant Dean and Director of Summer Session at Stanford University; Managing Editor of The Review of Higher Education and Educational Policy; and Residence Director at Simmons College (USA).

She is the author/editor of numerous publications on topics related to international higher education including: The WTO and the University: Globalization, GATS, and American Higher Education (2006); International Organizations and Higher Education Policy: Thinking Globally, Acting Locally? (2009) and The Forefront of International Higher Education: A Festschrift in Honor of Philip G. Altbach (2014). Roberta received her Ph.D. from the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College; M.A. from Stanford University; and B.A. from Columbia University.