bakridge@HEDprogram.org

Dr. Akridge serves as Interim Executive Director of Higher Education for Development. His academic credentials include a PhD in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a certificate in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has experience in higher education as a post-doctoral researcher and professor.  His academic affiliations have included: University of Missouri-St. Louis, Washington University-St. Louis, the University of Maryland-College Park, and the University of Maryland University College. He has over 16 years of international business experience with the IBM Corporation in the areas of government and university relations, corporate philanthropy, executive education and marketing to universities and colleges. Prior to joining HED, he was CEO of the international education consultancy, WorldWise Services, Inc.  Dr. Akridge has studied Japanese, Spanish and KiSwahili, and has over four years of experience living abroad—working, teaching, studying and traveling in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.