John Wesley Lowery, Ph.D.

Dr. John Wesley Lowery is a professor and graduate coordinator for the Student Affairs in Higher Education Program and Assistant Department Chair for the Student Affairs, Student Success, and Disability Access at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. At IUP, John has been actively involved in university governance including serving on the APSCUF Meet and Discuss Team and as faculty liaison to IUP’s Council of Trustees. He previously served on the faculty at Oklahoma State University and coordinated the college student affairs program and higher education programs and at the University of South Carolina where he taught in and coordinated the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) Program. He earned his doctorate at Bowling Green State University in Higher Education Administration. While at BGSU, John served in a variety of roles including Editorial Assistant for About Campus and Visiting Instructor for BGSU’s College Student Personnel Program. Before beginning his doctoral work in 1996, he was Director of Residence Life at Adrian College in Michigan and University Judicial Administrator at Washington University in St. Louis.

John is a frequent speaker and author on topics related to student affairs and higher education, particularly legislative issues (including Clery, FERPA, & Title IX) and student conduct on which he is widely regarding as a leading expert. He also serves as the NASPA Historian and is a regular presenter on the history of NASPA and the student affairs profession.

John has also served as an affiliated consultant with the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM) since 2009. Founded in 2000, NCHERM is a law and consulting firm dedicated to best practices for campus health and safety. NCHERM emphasizes best practices for policy, training, and educational programming as proactive risk management. NCHERM specializes in advancing culture change strategies and problem-solving for the challenging wellness, compliance, and liability issues colleges and universities face today.

John is very active in professional associations. He currently serves as NASPA Historian and served on NASPA’s 100th Anniversary Committee and the 2019 Conference Leadership Team. He served as ASJA’s CAS Director for five years. He served as Board of Directors for both NASPA (2002-2004) and ASJA (1996-1999). He has previously chaired the ASJA’s Legislative Issues and Resolutions Committees as well as co-chairing the Interassociation Task Force on the National Baseline Study on Campus Sexual Assault. John also previously served on the Core Council on Outreach and Advocacy for the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and on the directorate body of Commission 15: Campus Judicial Affairs and Legal Issues of ACPA.

John has a Masters degree in student personnel services from the University of South Carolina and his undergraduate degree in religious studies is from the University of Virginia. He is a frequent speaker and author on topics related to student affairs and higher education, particularly legislative issues and student judicial affairs. In recent years, John has presented at numerous national and regional conferences including, the American College Personnel Association, the Association for Student Judicial Affairs, Donald D. Gehring Academy for Student Conduct Administration, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and the Southern Association for College Student Affairs.

John served on the Board of Contributors for About Campus for a decade. In 2005, he co-edited a special issue of the NASPA Journal on legal issues and judicial affairs. In addition, John has served as a Contributing Editor for the Journal of College and Character, a Department Editor for About Campus, on the Editorial Board of the NASPA Journal, as a reviewer for the College Student Affairs Journal and Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity Advisors, and as Associate Editor of Synthesis: Law and Policy in Higher Education. He is the author numerous articles and book chapters.

Over his career, John has been honored by several professional organizations. In 2025, John was one of the inaugural recipients of the Legacy of Excellence Award presented by the Raymond H. Goldstone ASCA Foundation, 2025.In 2022, he received the George D. Kuh Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature and/or Research Award from NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education as well as the Donald D. Gehring Award from the Association for Student Conduct Administration. He received the 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Literature and/or Research Award from NASPA Region II. In 2020, he was recognized by the NASPA Foundation as a Pillar of the Profession for “demonstrated sustained, lifetime professional distinction in the field of student affairs.” In 2014, John was recognized as an ACPA Diamond Honoree for outstanding and sustained contributions to higher education and to student affairs. He has twice received the Tracy R. Teele Memorial Award from ACPA’s Commission for Student Conduct and Legal Issues for “outstanding contributions to the area of judicial affairs and legal issues” in 2014 and 2005. In 2009, the Standing Committee for Graduate Students and New Professionals of ACPA Recognized Dr. Lowery as the Outstanding Mention to Graduate Students. In 2007, he was recognized by the Higher Education Administration doctoral program at Bowling Green State University as the alumnus of year in “recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession through teaching, research, and service.” At the 2007 Association for Student Judicial Affairs Conference, he received the D. Parker Young Award for “outstanding ongoing scholarly research contributions to the fields of higher education and student judicial affairs.” The University of South Carolina Student Personnel Association recognized his contributions in the classroom awarding him the Faculty Member of the Year Award in 2001, 2004, and 2006. He was invited to participate as a fellow in the 2003 Higher Education Law Roundtable sponsored by the University of Houston School of Law’s Institute on Higher Education Law and Governance (IHELG). In 2002, he was selected to participate in the American College Personnel Association’s Emerging Scholar Program. At the Association for Student Judicial Affairs’ 2001 conference, he received the association’s Distinguished Service Award for “exceptional service over time to ASJA.” In April 2000, he received the President’s Award Distinguished Service as a graduate student from Bowling Green State University. In 1999, John received the Student Contribution to the Higher Education Profession Award from the Department of Higher Education and Student Affairs at BGSU and received the Outstanding Doctoral Student Award from the Standing Committee for Graduate Students and New Professional of ACPA. In 1997, he was the Graduate Student Case Study Competition sponsored ASJA. In 1996, he received an Annuit Coeptis Award for Emerging Professionals from ACPA and received the Outstanding Research in Judicial Affairs & Legal Issues Award from Commission XV: Campus Judicial Affairs & Legal Issues of ACPA. In 1993, he received the Outstanding New Professional in Judicial Affairs Award from ASJA. While a student at the University of South Carolina, John received the Dr. Gerald L. Saddlemire Outstanding Graduate Student Award from ACPA and South Carolina College Personnel Association’s Achievement Award.