Nonie Lesaux Named HGSE Dean After 9 Months in Interim Role

Interim Dean Nonie K. Lesaux will become dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education after holding the interim position since July, the University announced on Thursday.

The decision to elevate Lesaux to the permanent deanship comes more than a year after prior HGSE Dean Bridget Terry Long announced her plans to step down.

Lesaux, a developmental psychologist, has been a part of the HGSE faculty since 2003. Her research has focused on early learning and improving literacy outcomes among children.

She serves as an expert consultant to the Educational Opportunities Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

Lesaux also served on the Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care from 2015 to 2022. Before that, she sat on the U.S. Department of Education’s Reading First Advisory Committee from 2007 to 2009.

She spent a seven-year research-practice partnership working with the San Diego Unified School District to raise literacy rates and had a 10-year partnership with the New York City Department of Education.

Lesaux, who was considered a leading contender for the permanent HGSE deanship, has also held posts as academic dean and faculty director of doctoral studies at the school. She drew praise from colleagues both before and after Thursday’s announcement.

On Wednesday, before Lesaux was named dean, HGSE professor Paul Reville praised Lesaux’s leadership and collaboration with faculty.

“Nonie Lesaux has done a really fantastic job under the circumstances of some real challenges, not only facing the school, but facing the University,” Reville said.

He said Lesaux was prepared to lead HGSE at a moment when Harvard is bracing for the impact of threats to federal funding — and education policy faces a turbulent period as President Donald Trump attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.

“We’re, like others, trying to deal with the chaos of the moment in our national politics, we have various financial challenges and substantive challenges in terms of how we think about our work going forward in the future, and she’s well equipped to deal with these,” Reville said.

Lesaux, he said, was an astute leader.

“She’s incredibly adept at multitasking, managing complex situations — not only from a technical standpoint, but from a faculty politics standpoint, figuring out a way to get people moving forward,” he added.

HGSE professor Elizabeth Bonawitz wrote in an email shortly after the announcement that she had already received “excited” texts from her colleagues.

“The consensus is: we’re delighted,” Bonawitz wrote. “Nonie is a brilliant scholar and a deeply respected leader. She has already been guiding the school through challenging times, and I am confident she will continue to serve with thoughtfulness, vision, and strength.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

—Staff writer Mackenzie L. Boucher can be reached at mackenzie.boucher@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @Mactruck0528.