CAS Board of Directors Member Luke Jensen Recognized at University of Maryland

Luke Jensen, board member for the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), was selected as a recipient of the President's Distinguished Service Award at the University of Maryland (UMD) for his work in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equity Center. Jensen has represented the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals on the CAS Board of Directors since 2002.

I am deeply honored to receive this award,” Jensen said. “I share it with the many people who have worked tirelessly to make the University of Maryland a more welcoming place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.” Jensen will be recognized at UMD's 29th Annual Faculty and Staff Convocation on October 9, 2012.

“Luke has played an important role as a member of the CAS Board of Directors,” explained Laura Dean, CAS president. One of the responsibilities of Directors is to voice the perspective of their functional area and educate others on the Board about it. “Through Luke's long-term commitment and involvement, CAS has not only published significant updates to the standards for LGBT programs and services, but has ensured that LGBT issues receive consideration across other areas, as well,” President Dean elaborated. “The work of CAS, and the insight of individual Directors, have benefited directly from Luke's presence.”

Jensen holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from New York University. He spent a decade as Associate Director of the Center for Studies in Nineteenth-century Music at UMD before becoming Coordinator of LGBT Equity, then later, Director of the LGBT Equity Center.

Through his roles at UMD, Jensen helped establish the President's Commission on LGBT Issues, the LGBT Scholarship Fund and the LGBT Studies Program, as well as the center he heads. In addition to his positions at UMD and with CAS, Jensen has served as a member of the National Advisory Committee for Expanding the Circle: Creating an Inclusive Environment in Higher Education for LGBTQ Students and Studies, an annual conference of the California Institute of Integral Studies. Within the University System of Maryland, he has chaired the LGBT Issues Committee of the Diversity Network, and has assisted other campuses as they build their infrastructure to support LGBT people.

About CAS

CAS was established in 1979 to develop standards that promote college student learning and promote self-assessment for institutional effectiveness. Composed of 39 collaborating professional associations representing over 100,000 professionals in higher education, CAS has developed standards and guidelines for 43 diverse areas of the college student experiences.

The eighth edition of the book, CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education, was released in August 2012. The book of standards is the defining source of professional standards for many of the services provided to students in higher education. Along with the book, CAS also released an updated CD of all 43 functional area self-assessment guides (SAGs). The SAGs provide institutions of higher education with strategies for assessing program and service effectiveness based on the evidence a self-study team gathers and evaluates. Information about CAS and its efforts over its more than three decades can be found at https://www.cas.edu.