After an intensive national search, the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities is pleased to share that the Executive Director Search Committee has selected Dr. Jennifer R. Keup as its next Executive Director.
Since 2008, Jennifer has served as Executive Director of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition based at the University of South Carolina. She’s led the organization’s operational, strategic, and scholarly activities in pursuit of its mission to support and advance student learning and transitions into and through higher education.
Under her leadership, the National Resource Center has provided opportunities for the exchange of practical and scholarly information, as well as the discussion of trends and issues in the field through the convening of conferences and professional development events while producing a flurry of publications and pursuing an original research agenda.
During her tenure, Jennifer has also worked to spearhead the Center’s national and international collaboration and partnerships, thought leadership, advancement of publication and professional development outlets, grant acquisition, service development and delivery, and expansion of channels for resource sharing and communication, including online and social media. She also serves as an affiliate faculty member in educational leadership and policies in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina.
Prior to coming to the Center, Jennifer held positions as the Director of the Student Affairs Information and Research Office at UCLA and the Director of Follow-up Surveys for the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at the Higher Education Research Institute. Jennifer is a proud three-time alum of UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master's and Ph.D. in higher education and organizational change.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Keup to USU. Together, we’ll continue to empower our member institutions and drive positive change in urban higher education.