The Q-List:  A Faculty Fellows Research Agenda for the Profession

History of Student Affairs

As the current generation of institutional and professional association leaders approaches the latter stages of their careers in the student affairs field, it becomes a critical point of continuity to acknowledge, articulate, celebrate, and transfer their stories and record their history. Describing and appreciating the historical roots of the profession are important for framing and guiding its current trajectory. In the absence of such, student affairs risks losing its sense of purpose and direction. Exemplar questions might include:

1. What are the key events of the 20^th century that have shaped the course of student affairs in American higher education?
2. Who are the student affairs educators who have contributed significantly to the legacy of leadership in the field? Who has had critical impact on its understandings and practices? What has been the impact of their influence?
3. What is the historical genesis of the essential values and philosophical assumptions of the field?
4. What academic genealogies exist among student affairs preparation faculty and how have they shaped the principal teachings in the field?
5. What stories and accounts warrant preservation in the student affairs archives?