AFPI Names Higher Ed Expert Dr. Michael Shires as Vice Chair of Education Opportunity
Washington D.C.—Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) named Dr. Michael Shires as Vice Chair of Education Opportunity, adding significant higher education expertise to the growing bench of policy leaders at AFPI. Dr. Shires recently guided the launch of one of America’s newest universities, the University of Austin (UATX), a world-class institution dedicated to the relentless pursuit of truth, academic excellence, and freedom of speech.
Prior to his time at UATX, Dr. Shires served as an administrator and professor at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy for 23 years and as a fellow for the Public Policy Institute of California. As a nationally recognized expert on all aspects of higher education, Dr. Shires will spearhead AFPI’s vision for an educational system that prioritizes the needs of the American people by returning power to states, parents, and students.
“With the announcement of Dr. Shires joining the ranks of AFPI thought leaders, we have positioned ourselves at the forefront of the future of American education,” said AFPI’s interim President & CEO Greg Sindelar. “Dr. Shires’ decades of experience in higher education are only outmatched by his lifelong commitment to bold and innovative educational solutions for the 21st century. I welcome him to AFPI and greatly look forward to his contributions to an America First educational system that benefits all.”
“Higher education is at a crossroads, having lost the public trust and reeling from bloated bureaucracies and social experiments gone awry,” said Dr. Shires. “I am excited and honored for this opportunity to join the talented team at AFPI to both revitalize the public compact with the academy and to help transform it into the engine for innovation, opportunity and success that America needs to sustain its freedom and prosperity.”
Dr. Shires received his M. Phil. and Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the RAND Graduate School of Policy Studies and his M.B.A. and B.A. in economics at the University of California, Los Angeles.