Nationally renowned expert on student retention and success to speak at CSUSB

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- Vincent Tinto, a noted theorist and author in the field of higher education, particularly regarding student retention, will speak at Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Tinto, who is a Distinguished University Professor at Syracuse University and the former chair of the Higher Education Program, is the author of “Leaving College,” which lays out a theory and policy perspective of college student success considered the benchmark on which those issues are judged.

Tinto is also the author of “Completing College,” which proposes a framework for colleges and universities to help students succeed. It describes the various programs that have been effective in enhancing student success, and includes the types of policies institutions should follow to successfully implement programs that will endure.

“We are delighted to have someone of Dr. Tinto’s stature and expertise share his perspective with our campus community,” said CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales. “Vincent is recognized nationally for his work and research in promoting the idea that student retention is everyone’s job and how we can all contribute.”

Tinto will speak to senior administrators, department chairs, faculty senate leaders and directors of non-academic departments across the university during a morning leadership retreat.

From 11 a.m. to noon, Tinto will meet with students involved in peer advising and mentoring in the university’s Lower Commons Panorama Room. From 2-3:50 p.m., he will be in the university’s Upper Commons for a campus-wide discussion on retention and student success.

Tinto has been a consultant with a number of federal and state agencies, independent research firms, foundations and various two- and four-year colleges and universities on a broad range of higher education issues, including student success in higher education, particularly those in low-income and underserved areas.

Tinto serves on the editorial boards of several journals and with various organizations and professional associations affiliated with higher education. He also chaired the national panel responsible for awarding $5 million to establish the first national center for research on teaching and learning in higher education, and served as associate director of the $6 million National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning and Assessment funded by the U.S. Office of Education.

He also works with the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of  Colleges and Universities, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Council for Opportunity in Education, the Lumina Foundation for Education, the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, the Community College Survey of Student Engagement and the United Negro College Fund’s Institute for Capacity Building on issues pertaining to student success in higher education.

Tinto has also served as a consultant with the European Access Network and the Dutch Ministry of Education to develop programs to promote access to higher education for disadvantaged youth in Europe. His research, funded by grants from the Lumina Foundation for Education and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, focuses on the impact of learning communities on the academic achievements of under-prepared college students in urban two- and four-year colleges.

He has received numerous recognitions and awards. He was awarded the Council of Independent Colleges 2008 Academic Leadership Award, the National Institute for Staff Development International 2008 Leadership Award and was named Distinguished Fellow in the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations. He has some 50 notable publications, including books, research reports and journal articles and has lectured across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. From 1990 to 1996, he was associate director of the National Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment.

Tinto has a bachelor’s degree in physics and philosophy, a master’s degree in physics and mathematics from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute and a doctorate in education and sociology from the University of Chicago.

For more information on Tinto’s talks at Cal State San Bernardino, visit the “Open Forum for Dr. Vincent Tinto” website, or contact the university’s Office of Public Affairs at (909) 537-5007,  and visit news.csusb.edu.