John R. Thelin is an American professor of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

and

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

in the United States. He taught at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

starting in 1966. He is currently a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Early life and awards

Thelin received his bachelor's in history from Brown University and his master's and PhD from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. While at Brown University, he was on the varsity wrestling team. In 2011, he was given the Outstanding Research Achievement Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). He served as the president of ASHE from 1999 to 2000. In 2023, Thelin was honored with the University of Kentucky Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement. He is a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, a prestigious honor society.

Works

*''A History of American Higher Education'' *''Going to College in the Sixties''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thelin, John Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Brown University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Kentucky faculty American historians of education