Dr. Larry Jackson is a seasoned leader in higher education who oversees Columbia University's Core Curriculum. He is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Director of the Witten Center for the Core Curriculum, and a Lecturer in philosophy at Columbia University. He leads seminars on literature, philosophy, and music in the Core; teaches Justice Now for the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society and the Eric H. Holder Initiative for Civil and Political Rights; and co-leads the Practices in Community Building Fellowship seminar. Prior to Columbia, Larry held positions at The New School for Social Research, New York University, and the City University of New York. His writing has appeared in peer-reviewed academic journals and popular publications, he lectures internationally on education and philosophy, and he advises and assesses academic programs at universities throughout the world. Originally from the greater Philadelphia area, Larry was the first in his family to attend college and a low-income Pell Grant recipient. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy from The New School for Social Research, where he also received master’s degrees in Philosophy and Liberal Studies; he received his bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Skidmore College.