About ASHE
The Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) is a scholarly association based in the United States, dedicated to higher education as a field of study. There are over 2,000 members of the association, of whom about 40% are full-time graduate students undertaking master’s or doctoral degrees in a range of areas including education and other social sciences. About half of ASHE members are university faculty, mostly in academic programs that focus on some aspect of higher education, such as administration, leadership, or policy. ASHE members also include researchers working in non-university settings, including government, think-tanks, and advocacy organizations. Two to three percent of ASHE members are from outside the United States.
ASHE was incorporated in 1976 in Washington, DC, USA. It emerged from another association, the now-defunct American Association for Higher Education (AAHE). ASHE is managed by a full-time executive director and governed by a board of directors elected by the membership. As of 2019, there are four councils: the Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs (CAHEP), Council for Ethnic Participation (CEP), Council for International Higher Education (CIHE), and Council for Public Policy in Higher Education (CPPHE). Standing committees lead activities related to fundraising and philanthropy, publications, awards, position taking, and nominations for elected officers. Presidential commissions, ad hoc committees, and self-formed groups of mutual interests (e.g., athletics, philanthropy, LGBTQ research, studies of liberal arts colleges) exist in a range of formats in- and outside the official governance structure.
The annual conference provides opportunities for higher education scholars to present their research. Conference content is peer-reviewed. About half of the proposals are accepted each year. Authors are then invited to present their work as stand-alone papers, roundtable papers, or posters, or in self-designed paper and symposium sessions. An annual conference program committee is formed each year and other committees are appointed on an ad hoc basis.
ASHE supports researchers through dissemination of research in publications and its annual conference. ASHE owns the academic journal Review of Higher Education, which is published by Johns Hopkins University Press in four issues per annual volume. ASHE has overseen several publications designed to advance the study of higher education. With changes to scholarly communication and the ability to access publications electronically, some of these formats were discontinued. The ASHE Reader Series consisted of edited topical volumes (e.g., governance, organizations, diversity, history) that brought together important existing single publications (journal articles, book chapters) for use in graduate courses in higher education.
Before these materials were available electronically the ASHE Readers provided convenient sources for instructors and students. The ASHE-ERIC Monograph Series, later the ASHE Monograph Series, was an annual volume of two-to-four issues, treated as topical monographs, synthesizing important areas of knowledge.
ASHE also engages in supporting members’ professional development by offering opportunities for ongoing learning. Activities include workshops at the annual conference, synchronous online webinars on research topics or methods, and asynchronous learning through social media and archived material. Some councils offer mentoring programs for early- or mid-career scholars, and periodically ASHE partners with a foundation to sponsor seminars or symposia related to specific topics or research methods.
Majority of this section originally published as: Renn, K. A. (forthcoming). Association for the Study of Higher Education. In P. Nuno Texeira & J-C Shin (Eds.), Encyclopedia of international higher education systems and institutions. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer
The initial ASHE Board of Directors was comprised of ten individuals:
- Mary Corcoran, University of Minnesota
- Kathryn Moore, Cornell University
- Allan O. Pfnister, University of Denver
- Steven G. Olswang, University of Washington
- H. Bradley Sagen, University of Iowa
- Mary Kinnane, Boston College
- Patricia Wilson, University of Washington
- C. Robert Pace, University of California at Los Angeles
- Kenneth P. Mortimer, Pennsylvania State University
- ​William D. Carr, Alabama Commission on Higher Education
| Year & Conference Location | Year in Review |
| 2024 Minneapolis, MN |
Conference Theme: I Am A Scholar Virtual Conference Day: Nov. 7
President: Jeni Hart
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| 2023 Minneapolis, MN |
Conference Theme: Higher Ed Research: Purposes, Politics, & Practices Virtual Conference Day: Nov. 2
President: Ana M. Martínez-Alemán
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| 2022 Las Vegas, NV |
Conference Theme: Humanizing Higher Education General Conference: Nov. 16 - Nov. 19
President: Joy Gaston Gayles
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| 2021 San Juan, PR |
Conference Theme: Spanning & Unsettling the Borders of Higher Education General Conference: Nov. 3 - Nov. 6
President: Darin M.L. Stewart
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| 2020 Virtual |
Conference Theme: Advancing Full Participation General Conference: Nov. 9 - Nov. 21
President: KerryAnn O'Meara
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| 2019 Portland, OR |
Conference Theme: The Will to Reimagine the Study of Higher Education General Conference: Nov. 13 - Nov. 16
President: Kristen A. Renn
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| 2018 Tampa, FL |
Conference Theme: Envisioning the Woke Academy: Past, Present, and Future General Conference: Nov. 14 - Nov. 17 President: Lori Patton Davis
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| 2017 Houston, TX |
Conference Theme: Power to the People General Conference: Nov. 8 - Nov. 11 President: Shaun R. Harper
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| 2016 Columbus, OH |
Conference Theme: Higher Education and the Public Good General Conference: Nov. 8 - Nov. 11 President: Scott Thomas
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| Year/Location | Year in Review |
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2015 |
Conference Conference Theme: Inequality and Higher Education General Conference: Nov. 4 - Nov. 7 President: Laura W. Perna
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2014 |
Conference Conference Theme: Weaving Scholarship and Policy Making General Conference: Nov. 19 - Nov. 22 President: Caroline S. Turner
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2013 |
General Conference: Nov. 13 - Nov. 16 President: Lisa Wolf-Wendel
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2012 |
Conference Conference Theme: Freedom to Learn General Conference: Nov. 15 - Nov. 18 President: Anna Neumann
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2011 |
Conference Conference Theme: Higher Education: Meeting the Challenge of a Changing Future General Conference: Nov. 16 - Nov. 19 President: Linda Serra Hagedorn
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2010 |
Conference Conference Theme: Higher Education Scholarship and Public Policy: What is the Optimal Alignment? General Conference: Nov. 17 - Nov. 20 President: William Zumeta
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| Year/Location | Year in Review |
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| 2009 Vancouver, BC, Canada |
Conference Conference Theme: Advancing the Next Generation of Higher Education Scholarship and Scholars General Conference: Nov. 4 - Nov. 7 President: Jeffrey Milem
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| 2008 Jacksonville, FL |
Conference Conference Theme: Research and Practice: Embracing Connections General Conference: Nov. 5 - Nov. 8 President: Linda Eisenmann
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| 2007 Louisville, KY |
Conference Conference Theme: Informing the Public Agenda: The Role and Relevance of Research General Conference: Nov. 6 - Nov. 9 President: Linda Johnsrud
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| 2006 Anaheim, CA |
Conference Conference Theme: Borderlands | Borderlines in Higher Education General Conference: Nov. 2 - Nov. 4 President: Estela Mara Bensimon
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| 2005 Philadelphia, PA |
Conference Conference Theme: The Social Responsibility of Higher Education General Conference: Nov. 17 - Nov. 19 President: Sylvia Hurtado
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| 2004 Kansas City, MO |
Conference Conference Theme: The Spirit of Brown v. Board of Education: 50 Years Later General Conference: Nov. 3 - Nov. 6 President: Gary Rhoades
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| 2003 Portland, OR |
General Conference: Nov. 12 - Nov. 16 President: John M. Braxton
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| 2002 Sacramento, CA |
General Conference: Nov. 21 - Nov. 24 President: William G. Tierney
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| 2001 Richmond, VA |
General Conference: Nov. 15 - Nov. 18 President: Ann E. Austin
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| 2000 Sacramento, CA |
25th Annual Conference General Conference: Nov. 16 - Nov. 19 President: John Thelin
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| Year/Location | Year in Review |
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| 1999 San Antonio, TX |
Conference: November 18 - November 21 President: Laura Rendon
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| 1998 Miami, FL |
Conference: November 5 - November 8 President: Yvonna Lincoln
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| 1997 Albuquerque, NM |
Conference: November 6 - November 9 President: George Kuh
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| 1996 Memphis, TN |
Conference: October 31 - November 3 President: Sheila Slaughter
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| 1995 Orlando, FL |
Conference: November 2 - November 5 President: Patrick Terenzini
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| 1994 Tucson, AZ |
Conference: November 10 - November 13 President: Elaine El-Khawas
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| 1993 Pittsburgh, PA |
Conference: November 4 - November 7 President: Michael T. Nettles
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| 1992 Minneapolis, MN |
Conference: October 29 - November 1 President: Shirley M. Clark
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| 1991 Boston, MA |
Conference: October 31 - November 3 President: Judith Dozier Hackman
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| 1990 Portland, OR |
Conference: November 11 - November 4 President: Ernest T. Pascarella
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| Year/Location | Year in Review |
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| 1989 Atlanta, GA |
Conference: November 2 - November 5 President: Ellen Earle Chaffee
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| 1988 St. Louis, MO |
Conference: November 3 - November 6 President: Clifton Conrad
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| 1987 Baltimore, MD |
Conference: November 21 - November 24 President: David W. Leslie
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| 1986 San Antonio, TX |
Conference: February 20 - February 23 President: Robert Birnbaum
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| 1985 Chicago, IL |
Conference: March 14 - March 15 President: Joan S. Stark ASHE Office:
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| 1984 Chicago, IL |
Conference: March 12 - March 14 President: Kathryn M. Moore
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| 1983 Washington, DC |
Conference: March 25 - March 26 President: Marvin W. Peterson
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| 1982 Washington, DC |
Conference: March 2 - March 3 President: Joseph F. Kauffman
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| 1981 Washington, DC |
Conference: March 3 - March 4 President: Howard R. Bowen ASHE Office:
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| 1980 Washington, DC |
Conference: March 4 - March 5 President: Burton R. Clark ASHE Office:
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| Year/Location | Year in Review |
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| 1979 Washington, DC |
Conference: April 18 - April 19 President: Robert O. Berdahl
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| 1978 Chicago, IL |
Conference: March 18 - March 19 President: Kenneth P. Mortimer ASHE Office:
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| 1977 Chicago, IL |
Conference: March 19 - March 21 President: C. Robert Pace
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