Expanded History of the Higher Education and Student Affairs Programs

An abbreviated history of the Indiana University School of Education (SoE) was published in late 2023 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the School (Leiber, 2023). The Educational Leadership and specifically the graduate programs in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) use this opportunity to expand upon our history and provide more context on the 100th anniversary book.

Introduction

From their earliest days, the HESA graduate programs were recognized nationally for their quality. This was largely due to the stature of the founding faculty who were accomplished campus administrators and leaders of national organizations. These exceptional professionals shaped both the Indiana University (IU) graduate programs and influenced the development of similar programs at other institutions (Sandeen, 1982).

First, a brief orientation to acronyms, the HESA programs and their organizational placement in the School of Education. Then, the HESA history is divided into periods marked by shifting curricular emphases and changing faculty and student interests and proclivities with regard to teaching, research, and service.

Nomenclature and Departmental Affiliation

Originally, the EdD and PhD programs were known as Higher Education (HE) and the master’s program was called College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA). The first CSPA master's degree in student personnel was awarded in 1951 from the Department of Counseling and Guidance. The first Higher Education doctoral degree was awarded in 1959. In 1962, the CSPA program moved from the Department of Counseling and Guidance to the Department of Higher Education. The CSPA program was designated a department in 1969 separate from the Department of Higher Education, both of which were part of the Division of Administration and Administrative Studies in the SoE.

A reorganization of the SoE in 1984 eliminated the divisional structure at which time the Division of Administration and Administrative Studies became the department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS), and Higher Education (HE) and College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA) became known as program areas. For the purpose of parsimony, the acronym, HESA (higher education and student affairs), is used in this document then referring to both the doctoral and master’s programs unless otherwise stipulated.

Appendix A includes a list of full-time tenure track HESA faculty from 1945 through the present.

Five Eras of HESA

To understand and appreciate the nuances and implications of how the HESA programs changed over time, their evolution can be divided into five eras:

1. The Beginnings, 1945-1959
2. The Practitioner, 1960-1975
3. The Practitioner-Scholar, 1976-1990
4. The Scholar-Practitioner, 1991-2010
5. Equity Centered Scholar-Practitioner, 2011-Present

The years and duration of the eras reflect changes in the external environment and schools of education nationally and the changing needs of practice and scholarship in higher education and student affairs. Most important, as we shall see, the teaching, research and service contributions of the HESA faculty have influenced the evolution of the degree programs, the ELPS department, the School of Education, the IU Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses, and national organizations.

1. The Beginnings, 1945 to circa 1960

The impetus for the CSPA master’s program was the appointment of Dr. Kate Hevner Mueller* as the first Dean of Women at IU, a position she held from 1937 to 1947. Hevner Mueller was first and foremost a psychologist, having earned a PhD in Psychology from the University of Chicago. Soon after becoming Dean of Women, she began doing paraprofessional training in the residence halls so that residence life staff could develop an understanding of human growth and development to guide their work with students. Her view of student personnel staff was that they were not only managers but educators as well. In 1947, Hevner Mueller accepted a faculty position in the Counseling and Guidance program in the School of Education and taught courses through the 1950s and established the  CSPAmaster’s degree program. Among many other publications, she wrote two books, Educating Women for the Changing World (1954) -- a treatise focused on what the world is demanding from the modern college educated woman -- and Student Personnel Work in Higher Education (1961), one of the first scholarly texts for the college student personnel profession.

Dr. Robert (Bob) H. Shaffer* was also instrumental in building the curriculum at both the doctoral and master’s programs. With a freshly minted PhD from New York University in hand, he began his career at IU as both an Assistant Dean of Students and a faculty member with appointments in both the Schools of Business and Education. He taught regularly in the CSPA program from 1945 through 1955. He served as Dean of Students at IUB from 1955 through 1969 and became a major figure on the faculty and in student affairs professional organizations, roles which we discuss later. 

The Higher Education (HE) doctoral program was founded in 1957 by Dr. Raymond (Ray) Gibson* who joined the School of Education in 1956 from Duluth State Teachers College. The rest of this decade was devoted to recruiting doctoral program faculty and developing coursework appropriate for the task at hand. Both the EdD and PhD were approved in late 1950s. In addition to Gibson, the doctoral program faculty expanded to include Dr. August Eberle* and Dr. Ray Butler*, the curriculum expanded to focus on courses about the history of higher education in the US, leadership and governance, finance, legal aspects of education, and topical seminars that addressed current issues. along with coursework in allied School of Education areas including research methods. As with other similar education doctoral programs, a major independent scholarly project (dissertation) was required. 

During this period, the seeds were sown for what became “the Black College pipeline.” The HE doctoral program, along with other programs in the School of Education and other academic units on campus, offered summer coursework that attracted doctoral students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), primarily in the south. Most of these students had academic year appointments at their home institutions which allowed them to be full-time students during the summer at IU. Some students accelerated degree progress by taking a one-year leave of absence from their full-time jobs. This made it possible for graduate students who were barred from attending graduate programs in segregated universities in the South to earn a doctorate in education from IU.  After completing their HE doctorates, many of these students went on to become college and university presidents or served in other academic leadership positions. 

This nascent era of HESA programs set the foundation for the development of graduate coursework that focused on preparing students for a variety of administrative roles in colleges and universities.

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2. The Practitioner, 1960-1975

This period is marked by an emphasis on preparing students for various administrative positions in colleges and universities. The faculty were former administrators, primarily focused on teaching students the skills and competencies necessary to succeed on the job. During this period, faculty concentrated primarily on teaching and service to the profession.

In 1962, the CSPA program was transferred from the Counseling and Guidance Department to the newly created Higher Education Department that included faculty members Dr. Kate Hevner Mueller, Dr. Elizabeth (Betty) A. Greenleaf*, and Dr. Bob Shaffer as the core faculty. The significant contributions of these pioneers are briefly summarized in this section. More details can be found in Kuh and Coomes (1986), Coomes, Whitt, and Kuh (1987), and Hunter and Kuh (1989).

Betty Greenleaf earned her EdD from IU in 1952 in Counseling and Guidance after which she worked in various student personnel roles at the University of Southern Illinois and San Jose State University. She returned to IU in 1959 as Director of Counseling and Activities for the IU Bloomington (IUB) residence halls and later as Dean of Women. During this time, she created many assistantships in housing and elsewhere on campus, most of which were filled by CSPA students. In 1969, Greenleaf – known to thousands of students as “Dr. G” -- became a full-time faculty member and chair of the CSPA Department and worked tirelessly to expand the numbers of assistantships across the campus for the more than 120 students in the master’s program. As a result of her efforts, every CSPA student had an assistantship on campus or an internship at a nearby institution. She also flew around the country to recruit students.

During the Greenleaf years, the CSPA curriculum included courses about young adults and society, managerial and professional practices, use of counseling and teaching skills in work with students, and legal procedures. As with Hevner Mueller, Dr. Greenleaf championed women’s rights long before feminism became mainstream and advocated for female students, pushing to overcome barriers that prevented women from advancing in university administration. Her mantra and charge to students was posted on a large sign that hung on her office wall that read: “You have a big job to do. Get it done. Get it done right and have some fun doing it.” 

In 1967, the Indiana University Student Personnel Association Journal was established (Journal of the Student Personnel Association at Indiana University, n.d.). This annual publication produced by CSPA students is a venue for master’s students to showcase their best work, often based on class projects. The Journal continues today and has expanded to include co-editors from the masters and doctoral cohorts.

As noted earlier, Hevner Mueller, Greenleaf and Shaffer were very active in state, regional, and national student affairs associations. For example, Hevner Mueller was involved in the National Association of Woman Deans, Administrators and Counselors (NAWDAC), editing its journal for 10 years. In this way, she connected IU to the larger student affairs profession, a hallmark of the program that continues today with the current faculty. Greenleaf was elected President of the American College Personnel Association and NAWDAC among other association leadership positions. Shaffer served as the first President of the American Personnel and Guidance Association (now the American Counseling Association) in 1951-53 and later was the editor of the Journal of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He published a major book in 1966, Personnel Work in Colleges and Universities. 

From the earliest years through the present, the CSPA master’s program and to a lesser extent the HE doctoral programs relied on affiliated faculty members to teach courses and supervise internships and assistantships. The program engaged full-time professionals in residence life, student activities and other areas to teach in the classroom, emphasizing the importance of learning both through practice and scholarship. Because every master’s student was required to have two practicum experiences in addition to an assistantship or internship, cooperation and participation in the instructional program by professionals from campus offices was essential. These partnerships have and continue to be critical to the success and effectiveness of the program, particularly but not exclusively at the master’s level. The combination of rich practical experiences via assistantships, internships, and practice coupled with classes taught by national leaders and exceptional practitioners put IU CSPA graduates in high demand as higher education enrollments in the US continued to expand, both in numbers and diversity, and as many more student personnel workers were needed.

The HE doctoral program continued to flourish in the 1960s. The faculty expanded to include August Eberle who had rich administrative experience as provost of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Ray Butler, and Dr. Phillip Chamberlain* who was an IU graduate and former Director of Admissions at the University of Louisville.

In 1969 Bob Shaffer became a full time HE faculty member after stepping down as the Dean of Students’. Shaffer and other IU staff were also very involved in international work sponsored by the Agency for International Development, especially in Thailand and Afghanistan. Two years after leaving his Dean of Students post in 1969, Shaffer was elected as the second President of the Bloomington Faculty Council, an unusual declaration of respect for Shaffer’s leadership and character after the contentious years of the 1960s when student protests at IUB were frequent and the Dean of Students was --next to the IU President -- the most recognizable person on campus. In their aforementioned article about Shaffer, Kuh and Coomes (1986) dubbed him “the quintessential do gooder.” Indeed, in Shaffer’s own words, he wanted to be remembered as someone “who did good whenever an opportunity was presented.” 

As noted earlier, the Black College pipeline continued to thrive, adding more diversity in terms of students' backgrounds to the HESA program. This in part contributed to the large number of college and university presidents with degrees from Indiana University, some of whom were graduates of the HESA programs. As a result, IU became known as the “mother of college presidents” (Capshaw, 2010; see also O’Leary, 2001 and Pinede, 2001).

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3. The Practitioner–Scholar, 1975-1990 

As with other applied social science graduate programs (e.g., social work, health and recreation, counselor education, school administration), the 1970s ushered in efforts in the higher education programs to increase rigor by infusing more theory and research into coursework and other experiences. Indeed, faculty searches in this era prioritized attracting candidates who had promising research agendas, as well as some administrative experience in higher education. In turn, this emphasis on research and theory, combined with practical experience, began to reshape course offerings and curricular requirements at both the master’s and doctoral levels.  Additional inquiry courses were required for PhD students. In turn, the nature of dissertations began to change with a greater emphasis on incorporating theory and analytical methods. 

In 1976, after a year on the faculty at the University of Iowa student development program, Dr. George Kuh joined Greenleaf as the second fulltime CSPA core faculty member. His initial teaching and advising responsibilities included developing two new courses, one about evaluation in higher education and another titled The College Student and the Environment. Later, the latter course was divided into two separate offerings, one of which became the first student development theory course offered at IU. Kuh continued to teach HESA courses, primarily at the doctoral level, until his retirement in 2010 as Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Higher Education.

In 1977, the Indiana University Student Personnel Association (IUSPA) sponsored the first Midwest Meeting of Graduate Students in Student Personnel (MMOGSISP). One hundred students, representing 12 universities, attended the first of what became an annual Midwestern graduate student event in the field of student affairs for almost 25 years.

Dr. John Schuh was appointed IUB director of residence life in 1978. Because of his emerging national reputation and scholarly orientation to residence hall work, Schuh had significant influence in curricular development for the CSPA program. He also helped expand assistantship opportunities and coordinated assistantship placement for both master’s and doctoral students. Schuh was also well-known and well-respected for his professional service to the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I), which provided an additional measure of prestige and quality to the CSPA program.

In the aftermath of Dr. Greenleaf’s sudden, untimely passing in May of 1979, Shaffer moved from coordinating the HE doctoral program to doing the same for the CSPA master’s program. He continued in that role until his retirement in 1981 when Kuh took over. Dr. Nancy Evans was recruited from the Bowling Green State University faculty in 1980 as a visiting assistant professor to teach in the CSPA program. One of her specialties was student development theory and she developed an advanced course in this area that was attractive to both master’s and doctoral students.

Another faculty vacancy occurred when Kuh became the ELPS department chair in 1982. This was a period of relative austerity for the School of Education, but HESA was fortunate to be able to hire several new faculty in the 1980s several of whom remained for the duration of their faculty careers. They included Dr. John Bean and Dr. Don Hossler, both of whom brought an additional measure of scholarly rigor and productivity. Bean published many well-regarded papers about student attrition and was among the most cited scholars during the 1980s and 1990s. He retired in 2010. Hossler was a pioneer in enrollment management, about which more will be said later.

Another important curricular influence in terms of breadth, depth and rigor of the HE doctoral program was the presence of David Clark*, the former Dean of the School of Education who divided his time between the HE doctoral program and the Educational Leadership doctoral program (formerly School Administration). Among his specialties were organizational theory and decision making, as well as federal educational policy. Clark had high expectations for himself, his colleagues, and his students. His course on designing dissertation research was especially rigorous, which further enhanced the quality of doctoral program. 

Another influential faculty member during this time was Egon Guba*, a nationally renowned proponent of naturalistic inquiry, a qualitative research methodology. Although Guba was not a HE faculty member, his courses were popular with HE students and he was a sought-after dissertation committee member by HE doctoral candidates. Guba legitimized naturalistic inquiry for HE students (and students in other SoE programs) whereas many higher education programs elsewhere in the US eschewed such qualitative methods until years later.

In 1985, Kuh became Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the School of Education, which created an occasion for HESA to petition for another faculty member. Dr. Frances (Fran) Stage from Arizona State University was hired in 1986 to teach both CSPA and HE courses. She was a strong researcher with a background in Mathematics and active in several HESA-related national organizations such as the Association for the Study of Higher Education. Stage also served as the school’s Associate Dean for Research in the 1990s.

The HE and CSPA programs also benefitted by the presence of Elizabeth Nuss who was Dean of the newly created IUB Division of Undergraduate Life. Nuss was well known nationally from her previous work at the University of Maryland. While at IU, she taught an occasional master’s course and supervised assistantship students. After her departure from IU, she became the executive director of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).

Twice during this period, the CSPA master’s program was ranked as one of top two programs in the country. The Sandeen (1982) study reported the results of a survey of chief student affairs officers’ perceptions of CSPA master’s program quality, where IU was ranked. 

During this period a number of awards were created to recognize and celebrate student, alumni and professional achievement, in the name of the pioneers of the program. Kate Hevner Mueller Senior Awards are presented annually to outstanding undergraduate seniors at IUB (Indiana University, n.d.). Within the HESA program the Kate Hevner Mueller Award is presented annually to the individual whose mentoring of students working in assistantships, internships, and practica emulates the exemplary contributions to the development of young professionals made by the distinguished administrator, scholar, and teacher for whom the award is named. Distinguished alumni are recognized annually by the program in the names of Robert H. Shaffer and Elizabeth Greenleaf. The Elizabeth A. Greenleaf Fellowship was established to acknowledge Dr. Greenleaf’s work with women graduate students who have excelled in the classroom, demonstrated practical competence, and have made outstanding contributions to the quality of the learning experience in the HESA program.

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4. The Scholar–Practitioner, 1990 – 2010

This era is marked by HESA faculty serving in campus leadership positions, increased national visibility for the individual HESA programs, and an unprecedented level of external funding for higher education related projects. While preparing practitioners remained a priority, especially at the master’s level, HESA faculty scholarly productivity increased, and many doctoral graduates continued to obtain professorial appointments in HESA-related academic programs at other universities. 

In 1996, the CSPA master’s program formally changed its name to Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) to reflect the changing nature of the field of practice and the expanded roles and responsibilities of student affairs professionals. Indiana University was one of the first -- if not the first -- in the country to adopt the HESA nomenclature. Soon after most of the major master’s programs with an emphasis on student affairs appropriated the HESA title for their academic degree programs. 

Starting in 1998, Kuh led the creation of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Center for Postsecondary Research (CPR). He became the leading national scholar and spokesperson for the importance of student engagement for successful student learning. The CPR history can be found here.

The appointment of Dr. Vasti Torres to the HESA faculty in 2003 along with Dr. Jillian Kinzie, who was the associate director of NSSE, resulted in a strong focus on college experiences and student development within the NSSE Institute. Torres was a respected practitioner and well known for her longitudinal research on Latino/a college students. She also has expertise in factors that contribute to student success in college, identity development of students (especially Latino/a students), and use of qualitative research methods in higher education and student affairs. She was the first Latina elected President of ACPA (2007-08).

The HESA faculty roster during this period was among the most highly regarded and productive among their peers at similar nationally recognized programs. In addition to those already mentioned, other HESA faculty during this era included Dr. Guadalupe Anaya, Dr. John Thelin, Dr. Edward St. John, Dr. Deborah Carter, Dr. Andrea Walton, Dr. Thomas Nelson Laird, Dr. Mary Howard-Hamilton, Dr. Gene Tempel, Dr. Robin Hughes, and Dr. Charlie Nelms.

It was also during this time that the relationship between the School of Education in Bloomington and the Education offerings at the Indianapolis campus (Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis or IUPUI) became an important part of the master’s and doctoral programs. Although there had been a single HESA faculty member at IUPUI since the mid-1970s, in the 1990s, the number and stature of HESA faculty on that campus increased substantially when several IUPUI administrators joined the HESA faculty, as tenure-track faculty. They included Dr. Trudy Banta (Vice Chancellor for Institutional Improvement) who founded and led the long running annual Assessment Institute which continues today, Dr. Gary Pike (Director of Assessment and a prolific researcher), Dr. Nancy Chism (a well-regarded faculty development scholar and practitioner), and Dr. Victor Borden (Director of Institutional Research). Borden also developed and led the Post Master‘s Certificate Program in Institutional Research (PMCIR), sponsored by the Association for Institutional Research involving HESA students from both the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. Their expertise overlapped, complemented, and extended the impact of NSSE colleagues at the Center for Postsecondary Research and made Indiana University the national leader in areas related to student engagement, learning, and assessment.

In addition, during this time period, the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies created a PhD program in Policy Studies with a range of academic emphases including higher education. The Higher Education Policy Program grew rapidly and attracted international students from China, Russia, and South Korea. With Dr. Ed St. John and Dr. Robert (Rob) Toutkoushian, an economist of education, along with Bean and Hossler, the program had a strong scholarly focus on areas related to enrollment management and higher education finance. There have been various times where HE faculty have explored and expanded our international higher education climate. In regard to studying abroad, in June of 1991, Frances (Fran) Stage spent the academic year teaching in Malaysia. In 1995, Hossler led a group of administrators from IU to establish a partnership in Beijing. And in 2011, Nancy Chism and eleven IU doctoral students partnered with Thai higher education institutions on various projects to learn more about postsecondary education in Southeast Asia (IU News Room, 2011).

Integral to the continuing success of the CSPA masters program is the program coordinator. As faculty members such as Kuh and Hossler became more involved in campus administration and national projects, CSPA benefitted from a talented stream of recent HE graduates and current staff to advance and grow this nationally recognized program.  They included Dr. Kathy McKay, Frances (Fran) Stage, Dr. Theresa (Teri) Hall, Dr. Bruce Jacobs, Dr. Michael Parsons, Ada Simmons, Dr. Kathleen Boyle, Dr. Lori Patton Davis, Dr. Jillian Kinzie and Dr. Danielle DeSawal.  In 2005, the HESA master’s program coordinator position was converted from a temporary visiting role to a clinical faculty position. Dr. Danielle DeSawal was hired in this role and continues to lead the program.

As noted above, several senior administrators at the IUPUI campus contributed to the HESA program as instructors. This was also the case for IUB staff such as Dr. Doug Priest, Dean of Budget and Administration, Deb Olsen from institutional research, and Dean of Students, Richard McKaig. Some full-time HESA faculty put their administrative acumen and leadership skills to work on campus. For example, Don Hossler was tabbed to be the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Services (1997-2005), a major cabinet position that drew on his long standing scholarly interests in enrollment management; he also served as an Associate Dean in the School of Education (1996-1997; 2008-2010), ELPS Department Chair (1982-84; 1990-96), and HE Program Coordinator (1992-1996). Kuh was an Associate Dean of the Faculties (1997-2000), Associate Academic Dean of the SoE (1985-1988), ELPS Department Chair (1982-1984).

As we shall see in a later section, the tradition of HESA faculty serving in School and campus leadership positions has continued. So, while the program curricular emphases shifted to mirror the times and faculty scholarly productivity increased, the practitioner orientation and strong teaching for which HESA had long been known persisted.

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5. The Equity-Centered Scholar Practitioner, 2011 to Present

In 2010, as a result of Don Hossler’s long standing interest in enrollment management which included the postsecondary destinations and persistence patterns of students, and the institutions in which they enrolled, Hossler was asked to become the founding executive director of the Research Center of the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). Located in the Washington, D.C area, NSC is the only national data base that enables both public policy makers and researchers to track the postsecondary educational outcomes, including transfers, drop-outs, graduation, student major and more recently the receipt of postsecondary certificates. During this time, Hossler continued to teach 1-2 courses a year in HESA programs. In 2013 he stepped down from NSC and returned to full-time faculty status until his retirement in 2015 as Provost and Sonneborn Professor Emeritus of Higher Education.

Dr. Gary Pike began his tenure at Indiana University in 2006, when he took on the role of executive director of information management and institutional research at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), alongside his appointment as associate professor in the Bloomington-based Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) program. Throughout his distinguished career, Pike earned recognition for his deep expertise in institutional research, particularly his work in assessment and data-driven decision-making within higher education. He retired in 2020, leaving behind a legacy of contributions to the field. Pike’s accolades include numerous awards from AIR, ACPA, and even serving as the president of AIR in 2015.

In January 2008, Dr. Alex McCormick of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was appointed associate professor of HESA and Director of NSSE. He retired in 2022 after serving as NSSE’s second Director.

Dr. Gerardo Gonzalez served as Dean (Emeritus) and Professor of HESA and Adjunct Professor for Counseling and Educational Psychology. His memoir, A Cuban Refugee’s Journey to the American Dream: The Power of Education, was released in 2018 by IU Press, as part of the Well House Books Series commemorating Indiana University’s Bicentennial.

Since 2011, there has been a growing legacy highlighting the importance of salient identities and a sense of belonging in higher education, both nationally and internationally. This shift focuses on current trends within the campus climate that aims to create environments and conditions where marginalized students can thrive. In 2012, Dr. Lori Patton Davis returned to HESA as an associate professor and was promoted to full in 2016 and stayed at IUPUI until 2019. Dr. Patton Davis continues to be one of the most influential faculty in the field of higher education examining the effects of race and racism in higher education and the experiences of Black girls and women earning multiple national awards for her scholarship and leadership. Dr. Lucy LePeau also joined the faculty in 2012 and was promoted to associate professor in 2018 and she continues to serve on the faculty and is the current Director of the Center for Postsecondary Research and Presidential Faculty Fellow to the Board of Aeons. During this era, the program continued to emphasize hiring faculty focused on creating more equitable campus environments and using data-informed decision-making for minoritized faculty, staff, and students to thrive. Courses such as Critical Race Theory and Equity in Higher Education were developed embedded in the curriculum.

Dr. Sam Museus (2016-2019) brought the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) survey to IUB and founded the National Institute for Transformation and Equity (2017) along with Dr. Lucy LePeau (associate director). Drs. Cindy Ann Kilgo (2020-present) studying ways LGBTQ+ students thrive in college and the influence of high-impact practices and Maurice Shirley (2020-2024) who examines the effects of employment on student outcomes. Dr. Vasti Torres re-joined the HESA faculty in 2020 and has taken on advanced leadership roles at IU serving as the Executive Associate Dean for the School of Education (2021-2023) and is currently the VP for Undergraduate Education. Dr. Oscar Patrón joined the HESA community as a postdoctoral fellow for the Center for Research and Race and Ethnicity in Society (CRRES) and is now an assistant professor continuing his work investigating the ways that historical forms oppression (e.g., racism, heterosexism) influence the lives of minoritized people within postsecondary contexts and especially Latino/a undergraduate and graduate students. Most recently, Dr. Leonard Taylor joined the faculty as an associate professor (2023) and Director for the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Dr. Taylor’s work interrogates how faculty and other administrators use research and data to enhance postsecondary outcomes for students.

The changing landscape of higher education during this period resulted in the need for the program to explore the opportunity to add interdisciplinary academic programs, as well as certificates programs. During this time, HESA expanded their degree offerings to include undergraduate education. In cooperation with the counseling program at the SOE, DeSawal provided the leadership to develop the Counseling and Student Services undergraduate degree. As the first non-teacher education undergraduate degree program in the SOE, the CASS degree is also the first undergraduate degree, that we are aware of, that has a focus in higher education and student affairs. Continue to respond to the rapidly changing landscape and the emergence of Accelerated Master’s Programs (AMPs) on campus, the HESA program offers an AMP through CASS for a HESA M.S.Ed. Students at the IUB campus are able to complete a 3+1/2 program and graduate with a undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in 4-5 years.

The growth of graduate certificates also offered an opportunity for the HESA program to expand curricular opportunities through graduate certificates. An online graduate certificate in Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) was established and offers students who are not interested in obtaining a master’s degree in the field the opportunity to add to other degree programs. Particularly, we have seen many students use the certificate to complement the Adult Education M.S.Ed program. Additionally, DeSawal worked with campus partners, to establish an Academic Advising Graduate Certificate. Nelson Laird partnered with the College of Arts and Sciences to establish a College Pedagogy Certificate.

The program centers around fostering equitable spaces that directly impact student engagement and contributes to building a lasting student legacy. A key aspect of this movement is the alignment between faculty work and student experiences, ensuring that efforts to promote inclusivity and support are integrated into all levels of academia, at and beyond Indiana University.

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Conclusion

As with the HE and CSPA program founders, HESA faculty members throughout the decades have been actively involved and have played a pivotal role in virtually every national organization with an interest in higher education (e.g., AAC&U – American Association of Colleges & Universities, ACPA – American College Personal Association, ACUHO-I – Association of College and University Housing – International, AERA – American Educational Research Association, AIR – Association for Institutional Research, ASHE – Association for the Study of Higher Education, NASPA – National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, College Board) and have received many accolades and awards for their accomplishments and contributions. For example, HESA is the only SoE program as of this writing to have two faculty who have received Sonneborn Awards and two who are Chancellor’s or Provost Professors. Appendix B contains an illustrative list of significant national and campus awards given to HESA faculty. 

Hundreds of HESA master’s and doctoral graduates have gone on to excel in administrative work, teaching, research and other endeavors. It is not realistic to name them all and we have chosen to mention only an illustrative few who have made major contributions to an IU campus. We apologize to the many near and far who have made and continue to make their mark. 

Perhaps no one exemplifies the significant influence of what HESA aspires to be about than Charlie Nelms who earned both his CSPA master’s and HE doctorate from IU. In addition to the multiple college presidencies mentioned earlier, during his distinguished career he was the IU Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs and helped start or expand the 21st-Century Scholars Program, The Groups Program, and the Hudson Holland Scholars Program. He also was Vice President for Institutional Development and Student Affairs at IU East, and later Chancellor of IU East. Other close to home examples include Richard McKaig who served for many years as the senior student affairs officer at IUB. Doug Priest spent his entire career as a senior administrator in the IUB CFO’s office. Bruce Jacobs oversaw Residence Life, the Indiana Memorial Union, and the IU Auditorium series. Sacha Thieme has been a very effective Director of Admissions. Aimee Heeter is now the Vice Provost for Finance and Administration in the Office of the Bloomington Provost. Peggy Chambers served as the Chancellor of IU Northwest and Dr. Debbie Ford as the Chancellor of IU Southeast. Dr. Nadrea R. Njoku is currently the Assistant Vice President of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI) at The United Negro College Func (UNCF). Dr. Shaun Harper serves as a renowned Provost professor at The University of Southern California and founder of the USC Race and Equity Center. All of these outstanding professionals earned one or more HESA degrees. And there are so many more who deserve mention. Mea culpa.

Another marker of a graduate program’s quality and status is the number of graduates who are or have been faculty members. More than 60 HESA doctoral graduates are or have been faculty members. An unusually high number, which reflects their ability and productivity as well as the quality of their preparation and mentorship of the HESA faculty.

It is no surprise then, given the accomplishments of HESA graduates and faculty, the IU HESA doctoral program rose in the national rankings over the years and is firmly ensconced in the top ten, once ranked as high as fifth. 

The Higher Education Program has developed a diverse and captivating array of academic offerings to cater to various professional and career paths. Throughout the years, Higher Education Program has established different types: M.S. Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs, PhD in Higher Education, EdD in Higher Education, Online Certificate in Higher Education and Student Affairs, Undergraduate Certificate in Higher Education and Student Affairs, and the accelerated M.S.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Each of these programs listed are designed to provide comprehensive knowledge and skills relevant to enhance the field.

References

• Capshew, J.H. (2010). Indiana University as the “Mother of College Presidents”: Herman B Wells as inheritor, exemplar, and agent. Herman B Wells Distinguished Lecture of the Institute and Society for Advanced Study. Bloomington: Indiana University. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/iuswrrest/api/core/bitstreams/c1496500-2cd9-4f81-af3b-219dcd3fdfb2/content/
• Chalkboard - Indiana University School of Education Alumni Association. (2009). https://education.indiana.edu/alumni/alumni-magazine/PDF/Chalkboard-2009-Winter.pdf
• Coomes, M.D., Whitt, E.J., & Kuh, G.D. (1987). Kate Hevner Mueller: Woman for a changing world. Journal of Counseling and Development, 65, 407-415. [Reprinted in P. Heppner (Ed.) (1990), Pioneers in counseling and human development: Personal and professional perceptions. Washington, D.C.: American Association for Counseling and Development.]
• Kuh, G.D., & Coomes, M.D. (1986). Robert H. Shaffer: The quintessential "do gooder." Journal of Counseling and Development, 64, 614-623. [Reprinted in P. Heppner (Ed.) (1990), Pioneers in counseling and human development: Personal and professional perceptions. Washington, D.C.: American Association for Counseling and Development.]
• Hunter, D.E., & Kuh, G.D. (1989). Elizabeth A. Greenleaf: Having some fun getting the job done. Journal of Counseling and Development,67, 322-331. [Reprinted in P. Heppner (Ed.) (1990), Pioneers in counseling and human development: Personal and professional perceptions. Washington, D.C.: American Association for Counseling and Development.]
• Indiana University Bloomington. (n.d.). Awards and Recognition. School of Education.https://education.indiana.edu/students/graduates/program-specific/higher-education-and-student-affairs/awards-recognition.html
• Indiana University Bloomington. (n.d.). Senior Recognition Awards – Kate Hevner Mueller Award. School of Education.https://seniorawards.indiana.edu/awards/mueller.html
• Indiana University Indianapolis. (n.d.). We have Entered a Bold New Era. IUPUI Transition to IU Indianapolis. https://indianapolis.iu.edu/about/iupui-transition/#:~:text=When%20did%20IUPUI%20become%20IU,(IUPUI)%20into%20two%20institutions.
• IU News Room. (May 2011). Higher education graduate students in Thailand to help partner universities. Indiana University.  https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/18764.html
• Journal of the Student Personnel Association at Indiana University. (n.d.). About the Journal. IUScholarWorks Journals. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/jiuspa/about.
• Lieber, F.W. (2024). A disciplined mind and cultivated heart: Indiana University School of Education at 100. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University School of Education.
• O’Leary, D. (1982 Fall/Winter). Higher education and student affairs. Chalkboard, 8-9.
• Pinede, N.F.M. (2001, Fall/Winter). The higher education president. Chalkboard, 1-14. 
• Sandeen, A. (1982). Professional preparation programs in student personnel services in higher education: A national assessment of chief student affairs officers. NASPA Journal, 20, 51-58.

Appendix A

HESA Tenure Track Faculty, 1950 through the present

• Kate Hevner Mueller*
• Robert Shaffer*
• Elizabeth Greenleaf*
• Raymond (Ray) Gibson*
• August Eberle*
• Ray Butler*
• William Day
• Phillip Chamberlain*
• George Kuh
• Nancy Evans
• John Bean
• Don Hossler
• Michael Parsons
• Guadalupe Anaya
• Deborah Carter
• Andrea Walton
• John Thelin
• Herman Blake
• Frances (Fran) Stage
• Trudy Banta
• Edward (Ed) St. John
• Nancy Chism
• Charlie Nelms
• Vasti Torres
• Mary Howard Hamilton
• Gerardo Gonzalez
• Thomas Nelson Laird
• Vic Borden
• Gary Pike
• Megan Palmer
• Robin Hughes
• Alex McCormick
• Lori Patton Davis
• Lucy LePeau
• Samuel Museus
• Oscar Patrón
• Gerardo Gonzalez
• Cindy Ann Kilgo
• Maurice Shirley
• Leonard Taylor
• Lemuel Watson

Clinical Faculty

• Danielle DeSawal

Appendix B

HESA Faculty Awards and Recognitions

• Trudy W. Banta Lifetime Achievement in Assessment Award
• Howard Bowen Distinguished Career Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education
• President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, Indiana University
• President’s Medal for Academic Excellence, Indiana University
• Robert Zemsky Medal for Innovation in Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania
• Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Iowa
• Claremont Graduate University Alumni Hall of Fame
• Distinguished Alumni Award, California Lutheran University
• Distinguished Service Award, National Association of Women Deans, Administrators and Counselors (multiple)
• American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers Centennial Award for Excellence
• College Board Distinguished Service Award
• Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education, American College Personnel Association
• Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service, Council of Independent Colleges
• Distinguished Alumni Award, St. Cloud State University
• Exemplary Research Award, American Educational Research Association Division J
• Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
• Lifetime Achievement Award, American College Personnel Association
• Virginia B. Smith Innovative Leadership Award, National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education and Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
• Sidney Suslow Scholar Award, Association for Institutional Research (multiple)
• John Stecklein Distinguished Member Award, Association for Institutional Research
• Tracy Sonneborn Award for Distinguished Teaching and Research, Indiana University (multiple)
• Academic Leadership Award, Council of Independent Colleges
• Research Achievement Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education
• Early Career Award, Association for the Study of Higher Education
• Teaching Excellence Recognition Awards, Indiana University (multiple)
• Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award, IU School of Education
• Graduate & Professional Student Government Faculty Mentor Award, Indiana University
• Robert H. Shaffer Award for Academic Excellence as a Graduate Faculty Member (multiple)
• National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
• Contribution to Literature and Research, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (multiple)
• Contribution to Knowledge, American College Personnel Association (multiple)
• Distinguished Visiting Professor, Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia)
• Double World Class Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Tsinghua University
• Distinguished Fellow, National Society for Experiential Education
• Senior Scholar Diplomates, American College Personnel Association (multiple)
• Diamond Honoree, American College Personnel Association (multiple)
• Ward G. Biddle Visionary Award, Indiana University – Bloomington
• President, American College Personnel Association (multiple)
• President, Association for the Study of Higher Education (multiple)
• Emerging Scholar, American College Personnel Association (multiple)
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund Alumni Hall of Fame
• Fulbright Specialist (multiple)
• Professional Achievement Alumni Award, The University of Georgie College of Education
• Fifteen honorary degrees 

Editorial Activities

• Journal of College Student Development
• Review of Higher Education
• Higher EducationEnrollment Management Review
• International Journal of Educational Advancement

IU HESA Alumni Who Have or Held Full-Time Faculty Positions(includes doctoral graduates only)

The institution listed is the faculty’s current or latest professoriate position. Their positions entail Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Professor, Full Professor, and Trustee Professor. The listed professionals are in no particular order.

• Kathleen Boyle – University of St. Thomas
• Katie Branch – University of Rhode Island
• Catherine Clark – Appalachian State University
• Darnell Cole – University of Southern California
• Michael Coomes – Bowling Green State University
• Robert DeBard – Bowling Green State University
• Danielle DeSawal - Indiana University - Bloomington
• Megan Moore Gardner – University of Akron
• Marybeth Gasman – Rutgers University – New Brunswick
• Deb Gentry - University of Toledo
• Florence A. Hamrick – Rutgers University – New Brunswick
• Shaun R. Harper – University of Southern California
• Robert Hendrickson – Pennsylvania State University
• Ebelia Hernández - Rutgers University - New Brunswick
• Kandace Hinton – Indiana State University
• Shouping Hu – Florida State University
• Deborah Hunter – University of Vermont
• Kimberly Kline – SUNY Buffalo State University
• John Kuykendall – University of Indianapolis
• Yvonna S. Lincoln – Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) University
• Peter Magolda* – Miami University
• Kathleen Manning – University of Vermont
• Michelle L. McClure – Marquette University
• Thomas Miller – University of South Florida
• Lori D. Patton Davis – University of California, Los Angeles
• Joshua Powers – Indiana State University
• Douglas Priest – Indiana University Bloomington
• Robert Schwartz – Florida State University
• Mahauganee Shaw – Miami University
• Michael Siegel – Suffolk University
• Eugene (Gene) Tempel – Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
• Jörg Vianden – University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse
• Lemuel Watson – Indiana University - Bloomington
• Elizabeth J. Whitt – University of California, Merced
• Jillian Kinzie – Indiana University - Bloomington
• Patrick Love – New York University
• Michael Parsons – University of South Carolina Beaufort
• Louis Stamatakos* - Michigan State University
• Don Mikesell* - Ball State University
• Michael Rosato – Howard Payne University
• Jeremy T. Snipes – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
• Cameron Harris - George Mason University
• Reggie Blockett – Auburn University
• Brian McGowan - American University
• Nick Hillman – University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Rachelle Winkle-Wagner - University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Jacob Gross - University of Louisville
• Gabriel Serna* – Michigan State University
• (John) Mark Bateman* – Samford University
• Jane Jensen - University of Kentucky
• John Zilvinskis - Binghamton University SUNY
• Karyn Raybourn - Grand Valley State University
• Olga Ryablakova Shonia - Franklin University
• Jin Chen - Beijing Normal University
• Jason DeSousa – Howard University
• David Ortiz – University of Texas at San Antoinio
• Ted Ingram – Bronx Community College CUNY
• Eddie Cole – University of California, Los Angeles
• Richardo (Ric) Montelongo – Sam Houston State University
• Jihye Kwon – University of Southern California
• Dajanae Palmer – University of Missouri-Columbia
• David Hòa Khoa Nyugen – Indiana University Indianapolis
• Amy Ribera – Indiana University School of Medicine
• Brian Bridges – George Washington University
• Matthew Holley – Indiana University School of Medicine
• Genevieve Shaker – Indiana University Indianapolis
• John D. Welty – California State University, Fresno
• Keith Miser* - University of Vermont/Colorado State University/University of Hawaii at Hilo
• Samantha Silberstein - University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Sarah Hurtado - University of Denver
• Sacha Sharp – Indiana University School of Medicine
• Jacqueline Mac – University of Northern Ilinois
• Desiree Zerquera - University of San Francisco
• Tomika Ferguson - Virginia Commonwealth University
• Berenice Sanchez - Idaho State University
• Stacy Jacob – Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
• Jeannine Kransow – Azusa Pacific University
• Paula Reynolds – University of Redlands
• Glenda Droogsma Musoba – Texas Agricultural & Mechanical University
• Megan Palmer – Indiana University/Indiana University School of Medicine
• Jessica Harris - University of California, Los Angeles
• Krista Longtin - Indiana University School of Medicine
• Michael Schwarz - Las Positas College
• Rong “Lotus” Wang, Xi’an Jiaotong - Liverpool University
• LaWanda Ward - Pennsylvania State University
• Kim Fatten - Morehead State University
• Bradley Sage - Indiana University - Bloomington
• Richard Ash - Indiana University – Bloomington
• Camille Kandiko Howson - Imperial College London
• Debra Brace – University of Toledo
• John Howe – University of South Dakota
• Jesse Perez Mendez – Texas Tech University 

*Faculty members who are deceased.