Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Starr Minthorn, professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Oklahoma, has been named president-elect of the Association for the Study of Higher Education. A member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, she is the first Indigenous person to serve in the role in the national organization’s history.
Dr. Minthorn is chair of the department of educational leadership and policy studies in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma. Her research interests include Indigenous leadership, Native American college students, and historically Native American fraternities and sororities.
Prior to her current role, Dr. Minthorn served as an associate professor, director of the educational leadership doctoral program, and director of Indigenous Education Initiatives at the University of Washington, Tacoma. Earlier in her career, she was an associate professor of educational leadership and Native American studies at the University of New Mexico and coordinator of Native affairs at Oklahoma State University
Dr. Minthron is a three-time graduate of the University of Oklahoma, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in human relations, and a master’s degree in adult and higher education. She holds a Ph.D. in educational leadership with concentrations in higher education and public policy from Oklahoma State University.