Patrick T. Terenzini, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist, CSHE
Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, EPS

Dr. Terenzini is co-author (with Ernest T. Pascarella) of How College Affects Students (Jossey-Bass, 1991, 2005), the two-volume synthesis of more than 30 years of research on the impacts of the college experience on students. The 1991 volume was selected as “one of the 100 most important and influential books about US colleges and universities published in the 20th century.” Dr. Terenzini has also published more than 100 articles in refereed journals and made more than 150 presentations at scholarly and professional conferences.

Terenzini's research examines the effects of college on student learning and development, persistence and educational attainment, and the college experience and outcomes for low-income and first-generation students. He and colleagues have also done extensive research on learning among undergraduate engineering students. He is a former editor-in-chief of New Directions for Institutional Research, associate editor of Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, and editorial board member for The Review of Higher Education. Dr. Terenzini has been a consulting editor for Research in Higher Education for more than twenty years.

He has received the research awards of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the Association for Institutional Research, the American College Personnel Association, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and the student personnel associations of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. He is a three-time winner of the Forum Best Paper Award from the Association for Institutional Research. His research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, the Spencer Foundation, and the College Board.

Most recently, Terenzini (with A. F. Cabrera, C. L. Colbeck, J. M. Parente, and S. A. Bjorklund) received the William Elgin Wickenden Award from the American Society for Engineering Education for the best paper published in the Journal of Engineering Education in 2001. He is also a past president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

In his 35 years in higher education, Terenzini has been a teacher, researcher, and administrator. He holds an A. B. in English from Dartmouth College, an M.A.T. in English education from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in higher education from Syracuse University . Before coming to Penn State, Terenzini held administrative and/or teaching positions at Dean College (MA), Syracuse University, the State University of New York at Albany, and the University of Georgia .

Fincher, C. L., Keller, G., Bogue, E. G., & Thelin, J. (2001). 100 Classic Books About Higher Education. Bloomington, IN : Phi Delta Kappa International.

ptt2@psu.edu

Recent and Most Cited Publications and Presentations

Terenzini Vitae

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