Scott Bass Professor and Provost Emeritus Department of Public Administration and Policy
- Degrees
- PhD, Psychology and Education, University of Michigan
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MA, Clinical Psychology, University of Michigan
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BA, Psychology, University of Michigan. - Bio
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Dr. Scott A. Bass is Provost Emeritus and Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the School of Public Affairs at American University (AU). Since his arrival at AU in 2008, Dr. Bass has focused on strategic planning, diversity, inclusive excellence, strengthening the academic infrastructure, intensifying research productivity, and enhancing the total student experience. A sample of his accomplishments during this time include elevating the university to the R2 status; overseeing the hiring of over half of the full-time faculty; increasing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity; dramatically increasing student selectivity; enhancing academic standards; and creating many new and innovative curricular and academic programs. As a result, American University has become more student-centered and simultaneously a more nationally accomplished research institution. In his new role at the university, Dr. Bass is focusing on the development of a new university-wide center - the Center for University Excellence(CUE) where he serves as Executive Director.
Prior to AU, Dr. Bass was Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) were he helped expand research funding and enhanced graduate education. His first faculty appointment was at the University of Massachusetts at Boston where he was the inaugural Director and founder of the Gerontology Institute, the Ph.D. Program in Gerontology, and inaugural Co-editor of the Journal of Aging and Social Policy. A Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, Dr. Bass is a pioneer in gerontology, and was awarded the prestigious Donald P. Kent Award for exemplifying the “highest standards for professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service, and interpreting gerontology to the larger society.” He has written or edited 8 books, 27 book chapters, and 54 articles, earned a Fulbright Research Scholarship to Japan, and was a visiting professor at Stanford University in 2004 and 2019. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan and is widely recognized today as an innovator in higher education.
- See Also
- Center for University Excellence
- For the Media
- To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
AU Experts
Area of Expertise
Higher education, student success, institutional change, gerontology, aging and public policy; productive aging, Japanese Silver Human Resource Centers
Additional Information
Scott Bass was American University's Provost from 2008-2018. As chief academic officer, Bass provided leadership for AU’s seven schools and colleges, the University Library, the Washington Semester Program, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, enrollment, financial aid, the Office of the Registrar, undergraduate students, and graduate studies and research. Bass was previously Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), where he also held the academic appointment as Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Public Policy. Bass managed a growing research and graduate enterprise at UMBC, with five major campus-wide research centers directly reporting to him. He had overall responsibility for setting the vision and direction for graduate education and research, including recruitment, new initiatives, program and center reviews, academic policy, progressions, and graduation. He was also responsible for technology transfer; sponsored programs; compliance with state and federal scientific regulations; and collaborative research partnerships with federal laboratories, government agencies, other universities, and the private sector. An expert on gerontology, Bass has authored or coauthored more than 120 books, book chapters, articles, monographs, and reports; earned a Fulbright Research Scholarship to Japan; and is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. He has served as coeditor of the Journal of Aging and Social Policy and on the editorial boards of several other journals. He was a visiting professor in 2004 and a visiting scholar in 2019 at Stanford University. In 2011, the Gerontological Society of America selected Bass for the Donald P. Kent Award for exemplifying the highest standards for professional leadership in gerontology through teaching, service, and interpretation of gerontology to the larger society. Bass served on several national higher education committees and boards, including the Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Board, ETS GRE Minority Graduate Education Committee, joint ETS and Council of Graduate Studies Commission on the Future of Graduate Education in the United States, Council of Graduate Schools, and Council on Research Policy and Graduate Education.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.