George D. Kuh

George Kuh is Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at Indiana University (IU). George founded IU’s Center for Postsecondary Research and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and related instruments for law students, beginning college students, and faculty. He also was the founding director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) as well as the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), the first-ever in-depth look at the factors that help or hinder the careers of graduates of arts-intensive training high schools and postsecondary institutions. At Indiana University, he served as chairperson of the department of educational leadership and policy studies (1982 – 84), associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Education (1985 – 88), and associate dean of the faculties for the Bloomington campus (1997 – 2000). 

George has more than 400 publications and made several hundred presentations on topics related to institutional improvement, college student engagement, assessment strategies, and campus cultures. His recent books include Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education (2015), Ensuring Quality and Taking High-Impact Practices to Scale (2013), High Impact Practices (2008), Piecing Together the Student Success Puzzle (2007), and Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter (2005, 2010). He has been a consultant to about 400 institutions of higher education and educational agencies in the United States and abroad. A past-president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), he served on the National Leadership Council for the Association of American Colleges and Universities multi-year ​“Liberal Education and America’s Promise” initiative. In 2013, The Chronicle of Higher Education described George as a ​“towering figure” who ​“really launched the field of assessment of institutional quality.”

His contributions have been recognized with awards from various groups including the American Educational Research Association, Association for Institutional Research, ASHE, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, Council of Independent Colleges, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and National Center on Public Policy in Higher Education. NASPA named its award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature and Research after him in 2011. In addition, he received the Robert Zemsky Medal for Innovation in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania, the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Iowa, and the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Educational Leadership Award for Teaching from St. Cloud State University. Indiana University recognized him with several Teaching Excellence Recognition Awards, the Tracy Sonneborn Award for a distinguished record of scholarship and teaching, and in 2014 the President’s Medal for Academic Excellence, the highest honor the Indiana University president can bestow. 

George earned the B.A. from Luther College, M.S. from St. Cloud State University, and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa and has received eleven honorary degrees.