Vincent Tinto, distinguished professor emertius of higher education in the School of Education, was selected as the recipient of the 2017 George D. Kuh Outstanding Contribution to Literature and/or Research Award by the NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession. NASPA provides high-quality professional development, advocacy, and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries, and 8 U.S. territories.
This award honors an individual who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to research and scholarship related to higher education. The honoree’s work should address important and substantial issues, and have had a significant or transformative effect on higher education and student affairs practice in a national or international context.
Professor Tinto has carried out research and written extensively on higher education, particularly on student success and the impact of learning communities on student growth and attainment. Tinto has served as a consultant to many federal and state agencies, independent research firms, foundations, and with two- and four-year institutions of higher education. He has also served on the editorial boards of several journals, organizations, and professional associations concerned with higher education.
Professor Tinto chaired the national panel responsible for awarding $5 million to establish the first national center for research on teaching and learning in higher education and served as associate director of the $6 million National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment funded by the U.S. Office of Education. His most recent book, Completing College, University of Chicago Press (2012), lays out a framework for institutional action to enhance student success, describing the range of programs that have been effective in enhancing student experience and achievement, and detailing the types of policies institutions should follow to successfully implement programs in ways that endure and scale-up over time.
Tinto and the other National Award winners will be honored in March at the 2017 NASPA Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX.