Prominent National Leader in Research on Student Success to Speak at UK March 20

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 9, 2017) — With undergraduate student success being one of the objectives of the University of Kentucky Strategic Plan, an important national leader in the area of postsecondary student success, George D. Kuh, will visit UK and make a presentation Monday, March 20. The presentation, which is open to the public, will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Woodward Hall in the Gatton College of Business and Economics Building, with an audience-led question and answer session from 3:30-4 p.m.

Kuh is the founding director and co-principal investigator of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment and the founding director of the widely used National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). He has written extensively about student engagement, assessment, institutional improvement and college and university cultures. His two latest books are "Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter" (2005, 2010) and "Piecing Together the Student Success Puzzle: Research, Propositions, and Recommendations" (2007).

Kuh is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois and the Chancellor's Professor Emeritus at Indiana University, where he received IU's prestigious Tracy Sonneborn Award for a distinguished career of teaching and research. Kuh received the bachelor's degree from Luther College, his master's from St. Cloud State University, and a doctorate from the University of Iowa. He has received 10 honorary degrees and has been a consultant to more than 375 colleges, universities and educational agencies in the United States and abroad. 

Katherine McCormick, professor in interdisciplinary early childhood education in UK's College of Education, holder of the James W. and Diane V. Stuckert Service-Learning Professorship, and chair of University Senate Council, invited Kuh to speak at UK.

"Dr. Kuh has been at the forefront of learning assessment and student success in higher education, and UK has implemented a number of the high-impact practices identified in his research," McCormick said. "We are excited to hear his thoughts as they relate to our work at UK to promote student success. I hope UK employees involved in student engagement will take advantage of this opportunity to hear him speak."

Kuh's presentation is sponsored by several UK units: Academic Excellence; Service-Learning and Civic Engagement; Academic Enrichment; Student Organizations and Activities; Community Engagement; Faculty Advancement; Center for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching; and Kentucky Campus Compact.