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David Attis

Managing Director, Research

Over the past decade, David has worked with more than five hundred colleges and universities in the US and Canada, leading workshops and strategy sessions for boards, cabinets, deans’ councils and department chairs and presenting to a wide range of audiences on the major trends impacting higher education.

His studies have explored data-informed decision-making in higher education, innovative academic program design, university budget models, academic organizational structures, managing large-scale multidisciplinary research, and the future of doctoral education.

Prior to joining the EAB, David was a senior director of policy studies at the Council on Competitiveness. While there he worked on the National Innovation Initiative, contributed to the National Academies’ Rising Above the Gathering Storm report, and collaborated with Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School on the council’s Competitiveness Index.

Areas of Expertise
Academic Program Planning, Strategy
Specialties
Academic Program Innovation, Board Relations, Budget Models, Future Market Trends, Metrics and Dashboards, Organization Change Management, Research Faculty Support

Upcoming Events

Roundtable

Separate the Hype from the Reality of Generative AI

Rare is the university not wading into the world of AI—but what's hype, what's real, and what's potentially differentiating? In this session, join EAB's senior research adviser David Attis as he shares his reflections on two years of engaging with senior management teams to think about their AI strategy.
Cohort

Focusing on the Program Portfolio

Most universities and their colleges share the same core priorities—financial sustainability, enrollment growth, and student success among them—but few are successful in aligning departmental incentives and evaluation with those priorities.
Roundtable

EAB IgnitED

EAB's annual IgnitED summit will bring together presidents, provosts, chief business officers, and heads of strategy in working sessions with peers from other institutions.
Roundtable

EAB IgnitED

EAB's annual IgnitED summit will bring together presidents, provosts, chief business officers, and heads of strategy in working sessions with peers from other institutions.