Gregory D. Hess, Ph.D., is President and CEO of IES Abroad, a not-for-profit academic consortium of 270 top-tier American Colleges and universities, with more than 240 additional partner universities worldwide.
IES Abroad provides premier study abroad and internship programs around the world through IES Abroad, IES Internships, IES Abroad Customized & Faculty-Led Programs, and The Study Abroad Foundation.
With more than 400 study abroad programs in 85 global locations worldwide, the organization creates authentic global education opportunities for more than 10,000 students annually. IES Abroad has more than 140,000 alumni who have benefited from studying abroad on IES Abroad programs since its inception, and offers more than $6 million in scholarships and financial aid.
Having joined IES Abroad in 2020, Greg is an extremely well-rounded leader, and brings a wealth of expertise and experience across higher education, liberal arts, and business. His passion for education and economics brings an important and distinctive perspective, which greatly benefits IES Abroad.
Prior to joining IES Abroad, Greg was the President of Wabash College. He led national efforts articulating and promoting the value of a liberal arts education, while directing the planning and development efforts that provided a roadmap leading to the College’s 200th anniversary in 2032.
His many achievements at Wabash College also included hosting a conference entitled, “Celebrating the Value of the Liberal Arts,” with scholars, college presidents, foundation leaders, and representatives of the business, medicine, and law fields attending. He also directed the development of co-curricular “WabashX" initiatives in Democracy and Public Discourse, Digital Arts and Human Values, Global Health, and the Center for Innovation, Business, and Entrepreneurship.
In addition, Greg initiated a rebranding of Wabash College and provided critical leadership during a master planning process that included enhancements in campus life, academics, and infrastructure. As part of Wabash College’s “Giant Steps: A Campaign for Wabash College” initiative, Greg Hess secured a $40 million gift—the largest single gift in the College’s history.
Greg has also served as a consultant for Honda Motors of North America and as a member of the Ohio Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. He has served as a Visiting Scholar at the Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Kansas City, the Bank of Japan, Korea University, the IMF Institute, and the Hoover Institution. He has been a member of the Shadow Open Market Committee since 2002.
Prior to Wabash, he served as Dean of the Faculty and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Claremont McKenna College in California. While at Claremont McKenna, he served as the James G. Boswell Professor of Economics and a George R. Roberts Fellow, a role which gave him responsibility for the college’s academic affairs, including the Center for Global Education, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurism, athletics, institutional research, student learning outcome assessments, and information technology.
Greg has also held teaching positions at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Kansas, St. John’s College (Cambridge), the University of Cambridge, London Business School, and Oberlin College.
Greg is a widely published author with more than 60 articles, book chapters, and books to his credit, has served as an editor for Economics and Politics and Macroeconomic Dynamics, and presented at more than 90 scholarly international seminars and events.
Greg earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Davis, and master's and doctoral degrees at Johns Hopkins University. He studied abroad at the London School of Economics as part of the school’s General Course Degree program.
Hear more from Greg in this episode of the podcast "The Caring Economy with Toby Usnik" (an IES Abroad Vienna and Paris alum), as well as in his feature in our Global Leadership SerIES.
