Select Page
John Schuh(Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University)

John Schuh(Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University)

The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) this week honored University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumnus John Schuh ’69, of Ames, Iowa, with its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication and scholarship to the student affairs profession.

Schuh is the director of the Emerging Leaders Academy at Iowa State University, where he also serves as a distinguished professor emeritus. Previously at Iowa State, he served as a department chair for more than six years and director of the School of Education for 18 months.

In nominating Schuh for the award, Susan Komives, ACPA past president and professor emerita of the University of Maryland said: “Dr. Schuh’s achievements excel in the quality, depth and duration of his commitments to research and scholarship in the field, service to professional associations, along with substantial administrative practice and leadership.”

The UWO history major, went on to pursue a master’s degree in counseling and a doctorate in higher education, both from Arizona State University.

“I believe I received a very good liberal arts education at UW Oshkosh, with a very heavy emphasis on reading and writing,” Schuh said. “The faculty who taught the courses I took, especially in the history department, emphasized critical thinking and presenting an argument, both in writing and orally. This approach and the level of rigor that was interwoven in my coursework prepared me exceptionally well for graduate school and then for my activities as an editor and author.”

In a career that spanned more than 45 years, Schuh held administrative and faculty assignments at Wichita State University, Indiana University (Bloomington) and Arizona State University. Schuh served more than 20 years as a reserve officer in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps.

Schuh is the author, coauthor or editor of more than 275 publications, including 33 books and monographs, 80 book chapters and more than 110 articles.

He received a Fulbright Award to study higher education in Germany in 1994, was named to the Fulbright Specialists Program in 2008 and had a Fulbright specialists’ assignment in South Africa in 2012.

“The thread of my career about which I take the greatest satisfaction is that I have been able to help students, whether as a professor or as a student affairs educator,” he said. “I think I’ve been able to make a difference in their lives and that is very gratifying.”

Schuh and his wife, Linda, recently established the John and Linda Schuh History Department Endowed Scholarship for College of Letters and Science students majoring in history and showing great promise and potential in the field of history as demonstrated by such factors as participating in undergraduate research, study abroad or organizations like Phi Alpha Theta.

“My wife and I are so fortunate to help, even in a small way, students defray the costs that they must manage,” he said. “My experience at UW Oshkosh provided an excellent foundation for my graduate work and my career, so this is my way of thanking the University for the experiences that it made available to me.”

Besides an interest in increasing his philanthropic efforts, Schuh plans to spend more time traveling and visiting family members when he retires this spring.

Learn more: