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Rob Urstein
Lecturer, Stanford Graduate School of Business | Past: Co-Founder @ Gather (Acquired by Mighty Networks)
Rob Urstein is a Lecturer in Management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches courses on innovation in higher education and education technology.12 With over 25 years of professional experience, Urstein has held various leadership roles at Stanford University and in the education sector.13
Career Highlights
- Stanford Graduate School of Business: Lecturer in Management since 2008, teaching MBA students and graduate students in education and engineering.4
- Gather Learning: Co-founder of this software company.3
- Stanford University: Served as Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education from 2012 to 2015.3
- Stanford Graduate School of Business: Assistant Dean from 2004 to 2012, leading the PhD Program.1
- Fulbright Senior Scholar: Worked for the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Education in Oslo, Norway in 2000-2001.3
Education and Research
Urstein holds a BA in History & Literature from Claremont McKenna College, and an MA and PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa.3 He collaborates on research projects and serves as a governing board member of the College Transition Collaborative, focusing on creating more equitable higher education outcomes.1
Additional Roles
- Principal at Guild Education (2020)
- Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Entangled Ventures (2017-2020)
- Co-founder and Board Chair of Bay Area Youth Sports Foundation (2007-2015)4
Urstein's work focuses on the intersection of the future of learning and the future of work, with a particular emphasis on innovation in higher education and education technology.3
Highlights
Closing out the last week of the quarter at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. I'm extremely grateful for...
the amazing guests who generously made the time to visit my GSB class Disruptions in Education this winter. Every year my co-instructor Matthew Rascoff and I are fortunate to have some of the best founders, CEOs, non-profit leaders, investors, and policy makers visit the GSB to spend time with our equally amazing students to talk about their work, share their insights about the future of postsecondary education, learning, and work, and most importantly to be honest about the field, their own successes and failures, and the hard and important problems they are trying to solve.
Thank you Paul Freedman for starting us off every year and sharing the Altius Education, Inc story; Mike Adams for doing the same with MissionU (Acquired by WeWork); Jaclyn Pinero for inspiring our students with your work to make college more affordable for students and families at uAspire; David Blake for sharing the Degreed journey, hard won entrepreneurial lessons, and always challenging the status quo in the future of work, learning, and education; Coursera CEO and GSB alum Jeff Maggioncalda for your insights about Coursera and the future of online learning across the globe; Stanford colleague and Workera Co-Founder and CEO Kian Katanforoosh for helping students understand how AI can map and measure skills; GSB alums Van Ton-Quinlivan CEO of Futuro Health and Julian N. CEO of LaunchCode for showing students how your organizations are creating more pathways and opportunities for a diverse group of adult learners that lead to good jobs and better lives; Ethan Pollack Senior Director of Financing the Future at Jobs for the Future (JFF) and Jordan Lee CEO of Backer for exploring alternative financing models for higher education with us; and stellar investors Amit Patel from Owl Ventures; James Kim from Reach Capital; and Vivian Wu from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for sharing your wisdom and inspiring great questions and conversation about impact investing.
Today is GivingTuesday and all of us at Gather are proud to partner with some of the world's best organizations--museums, universities, and cultural institutions--that welcome millions of curious people into their physical and digital homes every day to learn, to connect with others, and to be inspired. These organizations serve the public, are anchors in their communities, educate learners of all ages, and are loved and trusted. Most of all, they're for everyone and you can find them in nearly every city and town.
There are many ways to support these organizations today and any day. Visit when you can. Participate in an in-person or virtual program. Take a class. Buy or gift a membership. Send a donation.
We all need great places like California Academy of Sciences, Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) New York University, Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning, American Battlefield Trust, Stanford University, J. Paul Getty Trust, The Leakey Foundation National Nordic Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Guggenheim Museum, Minnesota Historical Society Museum of Dance (IMOD) ...
There are many ways to champion them and tens of thousands of institutions like them so they can continue to bring people together and enrich our lives. #givingtuesday2023 #museums #lifelonglearning #connection
