Dennis M. Hanno

Dennis M. Hanno is a higher education leader, educator, and social entrepreneur. He has filled numerous senior leadership roles at institutions of higher education, including just completing a more than seven-year term as the president of Wheaton College in Norton, MA.

While at Wheaton, Hanno sharpened the college’s focus on creating positive change through the liberal arts. He led the college to establish a comprehensive set of programs to help students build the skills for social innovation and put their ideas into action. He has been a passionate advocate for engaging students in experiential learning inside and outside of the classroom. In recognition of these efforts and his personal commitment to providing students with meaningful learning opportunities, he earned national recognition with the 2021 William M. Burke Presidential Award for Excellence in Experiential Education given by the National Society for Experiential Education.

Hanno is the founder and CEO of IDEA4Africa, which educates, mentors, and incubates young entrepreneurs strengthening society in several African countries. He also serves on the boards of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative and the Global Business School Network and has been a commissioner of the New England Commission of Higher Education. He is the co-chair of the board of directors of Loop Academies in Liberia and serves on the Education Committee of Kigutu International Academy in Burundi.

Hanno also has served as dean, provost, and senior vice president at Babson College and, before that, as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Matters at the Isenberg School of Management of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His undergraduate degree in business is from the University of Notre Dame and he holds a master’s degree from Western New England University and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.