CAS President Laura Dean Honored as ACPA Diamond Honoree

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) is pleased to announce that CAS President Laura Dean has been selected as a 2014 Diamond Honoree for the ACPA Foundation. Laura has represented the American College Counseling Association on the CAS Board of Directors since 1997, served on the executive committee since 2003, and held the role of CAS President since 2011.

CAS Executive Director Marybeth Drechsler Sharp praised Dean's wisdom, experience, and strong record of service and distinction in teaching, research, and professional service, but also described her genuine and warm nature. In her nomination letter, Drechsler Sharp described Dean as “a smart but modest scholar and an inspiring leader with a determined, deliberative, and thoughtful approach to her work in student affairs.” Among many achievements during her CAS tenure, Dean served as CAS publications editor through two editions of the “blue book” and anchored the organization's leadership during its most significant period of transition and growth.

Dean joined the faculty at the University of Georgia in the College of Education's Department of Counseling and Human Development Services in 2006, serving as Associate Professor and Master's program coordinator in College Student Affairs Administration (CSAA). Prior to this appointment, Dean served as a senior student affairs officer for ten years. She received her Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1991.

The ACPA Foundation invites donations in honor of the Diamond Honorees to support its programs and efforts. Interested individuals can contribute to the foundation to honor Dean; to do so, visit the ACPA Foundation page at https://acpa.ejoinme.org/MyPages/Donation/tabid/412764/Default.aspx.

About CAS
CAS was established in 1979 to develop standards that enhance 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.

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