One of the world’s most influential leaders in the health ecosystem never thought he’d make it to college, let alone to the C-Suite of a major corporation helping diversify the American health care workforce. But Steve Beard isn’t your average CEO.
Raised on the south side of Chicago, Beard just assumed he was destined for a blue collar career after high school. But a guidance counselor, seeing something in Beard that he didn’t see in himself, urged him to apply to college. Four years later Beard was a graduate of the University of Illinois. A brief stint in banking led to a desire to go even further with his own education. Three years later—Steve Beard, JD.
And now the Indiana University Maurer School of Law alumnus is a member of the TIME100 Health class of 2025, alongside a number of other prestigious leaders including Melinda French Gates, Bill Nye, and Kate Middleton.
Beard, the Chairman and CEO of Adtalem Global Education, oversees a number of higher education institutions that have more than 90,000 students currently enrolled. Over the past few years Adtalem has become one of the country’s leading educators of doctors, nurses, and veterinarians. And many are from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.
“At Adtalem, we believe that expanding access to quality education is one of the most powerful ways to advance health equity,” Beard said. “Across our institutions, we are building a healthcare workforce that not only addresses critical shortages, but also reflects the diversity of the patients they serve. This mission is urgent and it is personal.”
Adtalem’s schools include the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Ross University School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, Walden University, and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Its medical schools educate more Black doctors than any other American medical school, and five times the number of women physicians than the national average.
“Our medical students achieve a 95 percent-plus first-time residency attainment rate—many in primary care and underserved communities,” Beard said. “And our nursing programs lead the nation in degrees earned by students from culturally and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.”
It comes as little surprise, then, to learn TIME honored Beard as one of 18 “Titans” on the TIME100 Health list. He is alongside Alice Walton, the wealthiest woman in the world who is launching her own school of medicine in her native Arkansas; Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health; and head of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and other major players advancing health care across the globe.
“Steve Beard has established himself as one of America’s leading champions of health care diversity,” said Indiana Law Dean Christiana Ochoa. “Not only is that evident by his TIME100 recognition, but also by the nearly 90,000 future physicians, nurses, vets, and social workers enrolled in Adtalem’s schools. Steve is an invaluable member of the Indiana Law community, and we’re so proud to see him recognized on the global stage.”
Beard is a member of the Law School’s Board of Visitors, supporting the school’s mission and enhancing its programs and reputation. After graduating from Indiana Law, Beard served as a clerk to the Hon. Frank Sullivan on the Indiana Supreme Court. He served as an associate with Schiff Hardin, LLP for four years in Chicago before joining Heidrick & Struggles, where he rose from assistant general counsel to executive vice president and chief administrative officer before joining Adtalem as its COO in 2018.
In addition to his degrees from the University of Illinois and the Maurer School of Law, Beard is a graduate of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.