Hironao Okahana

Adjunct Faculty

organization and leadership; science and the society; innovation and transformation; graduate education; public policy

Hironao Okahana is a mission-driven professional who thrives on working to help the postsecondary sector meet its full potential as a public good and a vehicle for social change and equity. He thinks deeply and innovatively, connects ideas and people, and offers insights and counsel. Through his work and by bringing together stakeholders, leaders, and experts, he seeks to amplify underserved voices and facilitate the evidence-based discourse that will serve as a catalyst for institutional changes and policy reforms in postsecondary education.

He first joined the American Council on Education (ACE) in 2021 as the head of research and currently serves as vice president and executive director of Education Futures Lab. In this capacity, he is at the forefront of advancing ACE’s thought leadership areas—systems dynamics, learner success, and leadership—and leads a portfolio of high-impact and evidence-inspired programs.

Okahana is a nationally and internationally recognized leader at the nexus of postsecondary education research, practice, and policy. In addition to his work at ACE, he also serves in several other roles, including as a member of the Board on Higher Education and Workforce at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; a member of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative at the National Center for Education Statistics; and an international affiliate fellow at the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy in Japan. Prior to joining ACE, he worked at the Council of Graduate Schools for over eight years, culminating his time there as the vice president for research and knowledge development. Okahana has written a number of technical reports, research briefs, and peer-reviewed articles, and he has given academic presentations and delivered invited talks at national and regional convenings. He has also been quoted by outlets such as the Associated Press, The Boston Globe, Business Insider, Teen Vogue, and The Wall Street Journal.

Since 2015, Okahana has been an adjunct faculty member in the Higher Education Program at George Mason University. In this role, he teaches graduate-level courses in higher education, supervises independent study courses, and serves on doctoral dissertation and comprehensive portfolio committees. He is a member of the editorial review board for Innovative Higher Education, was the 2024 conference committee chair for the Association for the Study of Higher Education, and worked as an adjunct assistant professor of education at the William & Mary School of Education from 2020 to 2024.

Originally from Tokyo, Japan, he resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, Dr. Saleha Bholat—associate dean of the Language, Arts, and Social Sciences division at Northern Virginia Community College Loudoun Campus—and their two boys. Okahana earned his PhD in education and master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles and his undergraduate degrees from California State University, Long Beach.

Selected Publications

Okahana, H., Zhou, E., & Gao, J. (2020). Graduate enrollment and degrees: 2009 to 2019. Council of Graduate Schools.

Okahana, H. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on graduate education. (CGS Research-in-Brief, June 2020). Council of Graduate Schools.

Klein, C., & Okahana, H. (2020). STEM doctoral student degree attainment: How demands, structures, and networks impact timely degree completion. In A. Tyler, S. Hancock, & C. Lewis (Eds.), Seeing The HiddEn Minority: Increasing the Talent Pool through Identity, Socialization, and Mentoring Constructs, Contemporary Perspectives on Access, Equity and Information Age Publishing.

Zhou, E., Mitic, R.R., West, C.P.L., & Okahana, H. (2020). International graduate applications and enrollment: Fall 2019. Council of Graduate Schools.

Zhou, E., & Okahana, H. (2019). The Role of department supports on doctoral completion and time-to-degree. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 20(4), 511–529. *First published online in December 2016.

Okahana, H. (2018). Suggestions for improving the IPEDS collection of graduate students data. (NPEC 2018). U.S. Department of Education. National Postsecondary Education Cooperative.

Okahana, H., & Hao, Y. (2019). Are they worth it?: Master’s degrees and labor market outcomes in the STEM workforce. Innovative Higher Education, 44(3), 165-185.

Okahana, H. (2018). Increasing number of graduate and professional students are former Pell recipients. (CGS Data Sources, July 2018). Council of Graduate Schools.

Okahana, H., Klein, C., Allum, J., & Sowell, R. (2018). STEM doctoral completion of underrepresented minority students: Challenges and opportunities for improving participation in the doctoral workforce. Innovative Higher Education, 43(4), 237-255.

Ortega, S.T., & Okahana, H. (2017). Expanding the pipeline: Beyond graduate admissions – Strategies for diversifying the computer science workforce. Computing Research News, 29(5).

Sowell, R., Allum, J., & Okahana, H. (2015). Doctoral initiative on minority attrition and completion. Council of Graduate Schools.

Okahana, H., & Allum, J. (2015). Graduate student debt data: What we can and cannot tell. (CGS Data Sources, October 2015). Council of Graduate Schools.

Courses Taught

HE722: Organization and Administration in Higher Education

Fall 2016, Fall 2017, & Fall 2020 (co-teaching)

HE792: Special Topics

Topical Issues in Higher Education Policy - Summer 2015
Funding Issues, Priorities, and Strategies - Summer 2018
Current Issues in Higher Education - Spring 2020
Higher Education in Challenging Times - Summer 2021

HE897: Independent Study

Education

University of California, Los Angeles

Ph.D. in Education
M.A. in Education
M.P.P. in Public Policy

California State University, Long Beach

B.A. in Economics
B.S. in Environmental Science & Policy

Recent Presentations

Setting students up for fulfilling career pathways. An invited session at the 2021 Virtual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring hosted by the Southern Regional Education Board (Virtual, 2021/4).

How to capitalize on supporting graduate student mental health. Panel discussion with T. Marchell hosted by the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (Virtual, 2021/4).

Diversity in graduate education. Inside Higher Ed Editorial Webcast hosted by D. Lederman (2021/3).

Equity in graduate education. Panel discussion with R. Cuttler, J. Posselt, D. Feldon, K. Griffin, and C. Tofel-Grehl at the Chaos Learning Lab in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University (Virtual, 2021/3).

A case for more policy and practice relevant research of graduate education. Invited talk for the Education Research Institute Seminar Series at the University of California, Irvine (Virtual, 2021/3).

In the Media

Symposium Tackles Higher Education’s New, COVID-Era Realities, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education (2021/11/20).

College president turnover sees an uptick in 2021. What's driving the churn?, Business Journal (2021/9/23).

Meet the New International Student, Chronicle of Higher Education (2020/1/12).

Post-College Path No Longer So Clear, Voice of America (2019/9/21).

The Trump Administration Is Making Life Hell for International Students, teenVogue (2019/9/15).

A threat to the future of graduate education, Axios (2019/2/8).

Why are international students turning their back on American colleges?, MarketWatch (2019/2/7).

Will U.S. Restrict Visas for Chinese Students?, Inside Higher Ed. (2018/3/16).