Aims C. McGuinness, Jr.

Aims C. McGuinness, Jr. is a senior fellow at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), specializing in governance and state coordination of higher education, the history and current issues of public university systems, and international education reform. Before joining NCHEMS in 1993, he served as director of higher education policy at the Education Commission of the States (ECS) and as executive assistant to the chancellor of the University of Maine System. Over the past four decades, McGuinness has advised numerous states on higher education reforms, including the development of the 1997 Kentucky Postsecondary Education Reform Act. Internationally, he has conducted policy reviews and offered guidance on education policy through organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank, working in countries like Australia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Israel, Ireland, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and Turkey. McGuinness earned his BA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from The George Washington University, and a PhD in social science from Syracuse University.

updated 2025