Program History
The master’s program in Student Development Administration admitted its first students in 1992 and graduated its first class of students in 1994. The program celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2011-2012.
The program began as a collaborative effort between the Student Development Division and the School of Education. The program was proposed by the Vice President for Student Development, Dr. Jeremy Stringer, who worked with the faculty in Education to draft a program proposal that would meet faculty standards. Dr. Stringer became the program director in 1992 and continues in that role today.
The program had strong administrative support from the beginning, especially from the president, Fr. William J. Sullivan, S.J., and the dean of the School of Education, Dr. Margaret Haggerty.
Two other administrators from the Student Development Division played pivotal roles in developing the initial program, Dr. Dale Nienow and Dr. Nancy Gerou. Dr. Nienow drafted many of the initial course descriptions, taught in the program, and served as chair of the program’s advisory board. Dr. Gerou was instrumental in beginning graduate assistantships for the program, and served as the graduate assistantship coordinator until her retirement in 2010.
Since its inception, the program has educated hundreds of student affairs administrators in colleges and universities all over the United States and in several other countries.