Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Starr Minthorn, professor and chair of the department of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Oklahoma Jeannie Rainbolt College of Education, has assumed the presidency of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), making her the first Indigenous person to lead the professional organization.
For the past year, Dr. Minthorn has served as president-elect of ASHE, a scholarly society dedicated to advancing research and policy in higher education. She will serve as president for a one-year term, followed by a third year as past-president.
A University of Oklahoma faculty member since 2023, Dr. Minthorn currently leads the university’s Tribal and Indigenous Education Initiatives. In this role, she works to strengthen Tribal partnerships, integrate Indigenous perspectives into academic programs, and support Native students throughout their educational journeys. She also provides professional development to faculty to deepen their understanding of Tribal communities.
Dr. Minthorn’s research centers on Indigenous leadership, Native American college students, and historically Native American fraternities and sororities. Before her current role, she taught at the University of Washington Tacoma, the University of New Mexico, Oklahoma State University, and Pawnee Nation College.
Dr. Minthorn is an enrolled citizen of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma and a descendant of the Umatilla, Nez Perce, Apache, and Assiniboine Nations. She earned her bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma and her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Oklahoma State University.