Nora Reikosky has joined Penn State's Rock Ethics Institute (REI) as assistant director, bringing a research agenda focused on the influence of private power on public institutions and a professional background spanning academia, education and the private sector. She also will serve as an assistant research professor of public policy in the College of the Liberal Arts' School of Public Policy.
Reikosky's scholarship examines the role of corporations, philanthropists and other powerful private actors in shaping public education, including questions about democratic accountability, workforce preparation and the purposes of education. She earned a joint doctorate in political science and education from the University of Pennsylvania.
"Nora brings an interdisciplinary perspective that fits remarkably well with the mission of the Rock Ethics Institute," said Ted Toadvine, Nancy Tuana Director of the Rock Ethics Institute. "Her work engages important questions about power, institutions and public responsibility, and she brings experience connecting scholarship with students and broader communities. We're very pleased to welcome her to Penn State and look forward to the contributions she will make across the University."
As assistant director, Reikosky will help oversee the institute's conferences and events, lecture series, student and faculty fellows programs and other activities. She also will work with faculty, students, staff and partners across Penn State on interdisciplinary initiatives and programs that broaden engagement with ethics research.
"One of the things that drew me to the Rock Ethics Institute is the opportunity to build and strengthen relationships across departments, colleges, institutes and centers," Reikosky said. "I'm also excited about expanding the range of opportunities for undergraduates and members of the broader Penn State community to engage with ethical thinking and research. There is already tremendous work happening across the University, and I see an important role for the institute in connecting people and making those opportunities more accessible."
Before joining Penn State, Reikosky was the 2024-26 Visiting Assistant Professor of Ethics and Leadership at the University of Houston's Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership in the Hobby School of Public Affairs. Before entering academia, Reikosky held positions with Google and KIPP Bay Area Schools, where she served as associate director of technology.
That experience outside academia has informed how she approaches questions about institutions, organizations and the relationship between public purposes and organizational power, Reikosky noted. Her current research includes a book project, "Schooling for Work: Philanthropy, Corporations, and the Quest to Educate Future Workers," as well as work examining philanthropic power, public accountability and the role of private interests in public education.
Reikosky succeeds Ben Jones, who remains at Penn State as assistant professor of ethics and public policy in the School of Public Policy and research associate in the Rock Ethics Institute.
The Rock Ethics Institute was established in 2001 through the support of Doug and Julie Rock. The institute promotes engaged ethics research and ethical leadership from its home in Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts.
