Samuel H. Bersola

Samuel H. Bersola serves as dean of students for the Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He has more than 30 years of experience in higher education, most recently as assistant vice provost for graduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles. A first-generation-to-college Filipino-American, Bersola has championed equity, inclusion, and diversity in higher education throughout his career, leading numerous programs that have increased the enrollment, retention, and graduation rates of underrepresented and low-income students. He began his career in undergraduate admissions; later he served as vice president of student services at a California community college and as chief operations officer for residential life at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has published on the transitions from high school to college and from college to graduate school. Bersola received his PhD in education policy from Stanford University.

updated 2004