Global gathering: Sheila Hassell Hughes is one a handful of leaders from around the globe invited to “Education Innovation Summit: Reimagining the Future of Higher Education.” / Photo courtesy Sheila Hassell Hughes
Saint Mary’s Professor Sheila Hassell Hughes Invited to Global Summit Reimagining the Future of Higher Education
She is one of only 30 thought leaders worldwide to participate in this global gathering in Malaysia in December.
Saint Mary’s College of California is pleased to announce that Professor Sheila Hassell Hughes has been invited as one of only 30 thought leaders worldwide to participate in the “Education Innovation Summit: Reimagining the Future of Higher Education,” to be held December 8–12, 2025, in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Hosted by the United Nations Global Compact’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) initiative and the Tsao Pao Chee–Octave Institute, the intimate summit brings together diverse global experts—including academic leaders, innovators, and youth voices—to design transformative models for higher education aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and emerging global needs.
Professor Hassell Hughes’ invitation reflects her record of academic leadership at Saint Mary’s and her role as CEO of the futurist nonprofit Human Energy. At the College, as Professor of English and former Dean of the School of Liberal Arts, she has led innovative, integrative approaches to liberal arts education rooted in Lasallian pedagogy and Catholic Intellectual Tradition. Through both roles, she contributes to national and international efforts focused on educational innovation, ethical leadership, and the evolution of human purpose.
This summit represents an important opportunity for Saint Mary’s to contribute to global discussions on redesigning higher education systems to better serve society in a rapidly changing world.
Hassell Hughes began serving as CEO of Human Energy in 2025, after previously serving as the organization’s first chief operating officer. Human Energy’s team of scholars, scientists, philosophers, educators, and professionals represent top international universities and think tanks at the forefront of new research into the future of human collective consciousness.
PRME is the UN Global Compact's initiative for higher education institutions to engage, as a comparable Principles-based approach to integrating sustainable development. In 2024, the UN Global Compact announced a partnership with the Tsao Pao Chee–Octave Institute, the nonprofit arm of global conglomerate TPC (Tsao Pao Chee), to transform higher education and better prepare young people for the demands of a rapidly evolving world.
