7948-D Wrenwood Blvd. Baton Rouge, LA 70809 January 11, 2016 To Whom It May Concern: It is an honor and privilege for me to write a letter in support of the nomination of Dr. Joe L. Saupe for the John Stecklein Distinguished Member Award of the Association for Institutional Research. I have known Dr. Saupe since the formation of the Association in 1965. Although we have had some philosophical differences about the role of institutional research in the operation of higher education institutions and in the election of officers in AIR we have remained not only professional colleagues, but also personal friends. Joe’s career began at Michigan State where he worked under the guidance of one of the true giants of institutional research, Paul M. Dressel. His colleague at Michigan State was another up and coming professional Stan Ikenberry. Joe has written extensively in the field of IR with papers published in professional journals. He has written monographs and chapters in various books dealing with higher education and institutional research. He has published works dealing with the nature and role of IR, the future of institutional research, and a memo to newcomers in the field. He has conducted numerous workshops, given untold number of papers, served on panels at AIR and other professional organizations, and consulted with many universities and had a three-year consulting assignment in Nigeria. Joe not only meets, but exceeds, the criteria for this award as shown on the AIR website. He has probably contributed more with his writings, publications, papers, oral presentations at the Forums, panels, workshops, etc., than any other AIR member either past or present. It is a mystery to me why Joe has not previously been named a Distinguished Member of AIR. His accomplishments professionally and his contributions to the field of institutional research and AIR are immeasurable. At my previous institution, LSU, Joe consulted with our president and executive staff concerning statewide coordination and/or governance of higher education. He was a mainstay in the Institutional Research Council of Eleven (the Big 10 institutions plus the University of Chicago) and served for two terms as its president. The IRCE was one of the early, if not the first, data and information sharing consortium in institutional research. Joe served on many committees and workgroups of various federal groups as well as those of AIR. Joe was president of AIR in 1968-69.

Like many of us “old timers” Joe also served on the faculty both at Michigan State and later at the University of Missouri rising to the rank of professor. He retired at Missouri with the title of Professor Emeritus. I can think of no one more fitting to receive the John Stecklein Distinguished Membership award of the Association for Institutional Research than Dr. Joe L. Saupe. Respectively submitted, /signed/ James W. Firnberg AIR President 1976-77 Distinguished Member AIR 1997 Professor Emeritus, Louisiana State University Chancellor Emeritus, LSU at Alexandria President Emeritus, Our Lady of the Lake College 7948-D Wrenwood Blvd. Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Phone: 225.216.7706 Mobile: 225.278.6329 Email: jfirnberg@lsu.edu Email2: jfirnberg1@cox.net

11 January 2016

Members, Selection CommitteeDistinguished Service AwardAIR

Dear Members:

I nominate Joe Saupe for selection for the Distinguished Service Award of the Associationfor Institutional Research.

Joe first attended NIRF in 1963. He was elected to become a member of the planningcommittee for 1964-65, which group planned the meeting at which AIR was formally organized asan Association. The following year he served on the executive committee of the Association. Thesepositions gave made him a key player in the formative years of the Association. His leadership rolewas further recognized when his peers elected him to serve in 1967-68 as vice president and thenpresident the following year for the Association.

Over the years he continued to give papers and participate on panels for the Forum. In fact,last year you could once again find him taking part on a panel to review the early years of AIR. Joecontributed to the thinking in the field with his writings on the history, role, and value of InstitutionalResearch..

Joe’s many friends and associates join me in making this recommendation to the membersof the Committee.

Sincerely,

s/ Jim Montgomery

Jim MontgomeryPresident, AIR 1966-67

Jan 14, 2016

Re: Dr. Joe Saupe Nomination Support

To Whom It May Concern:

It gives me great pleasure to provide this statement of support for Dr. Joe Saupe’s nomination consideration to receive AIR’s John Stecklein Distinguished Member Award. His resume is truly impressive and clearly documents his qualifications to receive this meritorious award. Rather than just reiterating his ample credentials, I wish to add my own perspective of the man and the lasting footprint he has left on me and the IR Profession while our paths have crossed over the past 60 years. I met Joe for the first time at the ’65 Stoney Brook Forum. At that time, I was one of only two Two-Year College IR practitioners in attendance and my presence was viewed with skepticism and scorn. To illustrate and I remember it clearly to this day, as I passed a small group conversation (none of whom I knew) between sessions, one was saying “That’s the guy from the Washington State community college”, and the response was “What the Hell is he doing here? Community colleges don’t need IR and he is probably too dumb to do it anyhow!!” In that environment, Joe Saupe was the only member of the AIR Executive Committee to come up and extend a genuine, non-judgmental welcome hand to me. We struck up a friendship that I value to this day.

I remember Joe’s “Memo to a Newcomer to the Field of Institutional Research” as an indispensable guideline on my shelf as I was learning IR on the fly. There were no IR training programs, especially for 2-year colleges, at that time. Over the years he followed that with two monographs “The Functions of Institutional Research” in 1981 and 1990. Those were Bibles when we didn’t have the network capabilities we have today. Beyond his written works, I could always count on his sage counsel and he was as near as the telephone (before email). Attending his Forum presentations/panels and our ex-parte conversations were an absolute must for me. He was in demand but always found time for our get-togethers. You were impressed by his insightful low-key but articulate grasp of higher education and IR’s role in providing decision-makers with empirical factual information to help them become anticipators rather than reactors.

He was a knowledgeable, articulate leader and on the leading edge in every sense of the word. For example, in 1973, Joe and four other leading research university IR professionals explored the idea of creating and exchanging information among Public AAU universities. From that beginning the AAUDE data exchange came into existence in 1974. Note: I had the privilege of serving as AAUDE National Coordinator in 1996. From Joe’s vision today institutional information sharing networks are now an indispensable part of doing business in higher education.

Joe and I have both seen and lived through dramatic changes in both higher education and the function/composition of IR over the past half century. As my own IR career evolved (I conducted IR at every type of public higher education institution from 2-year junior-community college to Doctoral I Research University) I sought Joe’s insights and was honored when he sought my own learning experiences so we could learn from each other. He listened more than lectured and I knew he genuinely valued my opinions and thoughts. Our Gestalt relationship was always colleague-peer and never superior-subordinate and greater than the sum of our two parts . There was never a time when I left our conversations without new insights and awareness that I could bring to my work. I grew and my own contributions to my employers and my IR profession were better over the years in large measure

because of what I learned from Joe. He was not the only one I learned from but I can say, without reservation, that he was my mentor even though he did not seek to or know that was how he was helping shape my career. He has always been a true professional role model but, equally, a man I am proud to call my friend to this day. I have no doubt he has similarly influenced many others in our profession.

He epitomizes what our profession and the John Stecklein Distinguished Medal should stand for—colleagues helping colleagues without reservation or precondition. He has led by example and one readily follows a man of such character. I urge strong favorable consideration be given to this public and official association recognition of Joe Saupe for all he has given with no thought of repayment during his lifetime IR career. I, for one, and we in the profession are all better for it.

Dr. Gary Rice, Retired 10551 Signal Ave NE Albuquerque NM 87122 Ph: (505) 508-3993

To: The Association for Institutional Research (AIR)

Re: Nomination of Joe Saupe for the John Stecklein Distinguished Member Award

From: William L. Tetlow, Ph.D., Past President 1981-82, Member since 1966

Date: 11 January 2016

All:

I have known and admired Joe Saupe from the time I met him at the Athens, GA 7th AIR forum in 1966. I was a Ph.D. student then and the Assistant Director of the newly formed IR office at Cornell University. I subsequently spent twenty years in almost every AIR official capacity often working with Joe. Thus I know him as an inspiring leader, professional, and advisor during my career.

In my twenty years oas an active IR practitioner I have known, worked with and admired 35 of the Past presidents of AIR and 25 of the awardees of the Stecklein award. Joe Saupe as the 4th President was one of four early Presidents, Montgomery, Saupe, Mason, and Suslow, who guided and influenced my professional career. Joe most definitely deserves to join that distinguished group of pioneers and I support his nomination!

The 1960’s were an era when data and surveys contributed to an institution’s capacity to meet the needs of their varied constituencies. The seminal study our office at Cornell conducted in 1969, influenced by Joe’s consistent AIR research and specialties, established that the performance of the newly admitted minority students was not statistically different from other comparable majority students.

In summation, Joe helped influence me to focus on organizational self-study that would lead to the pragmatic imperative of IR to improve the institution. I can think of no one who more aptly deserves to join the ranks of the 35 existing awardees.

Sincerely,

Bill

William L. Tetlow, Jr.

AIR Past President 1981-82

qINDIANA UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF HDUCATIONIUPUI

January 18, 2016

Mardy T. Eimers, PhDVice Provost for Institutional Research &

Quality ImprovementUniversity of MissouriColumbia, Missouri 65211

Dear Mardy,

It is my pleasure to write this letter of support for Joe L. Saupe's nomination for the John Stecklein DistinguishedMember Award. From my perspective Joe Saupe embodies the criteria for the Stecklein Distinguished MemberAward. Joe has served the Association for Institutional research, and the field of institutional research, for morethan 40 years as a member of the planning committee for the National Institutional Research Forum in 1964-1965;a member of the executive committee of AIR in 1965T 1966; Vice President, President, and Past President of AIR1967-1970; track committee chair/reviewer for the AIR Forum 1988-1989 and 1999-2000; and presented at the AIRForum 1969 to 2012.

In addition to his contributions to AIR, Joe Saupe has been an active contributor to the literature on highereducation and institutional research` Joe' s CV lists fifteen refereed publications dealing with topics related to highereducation and institutional research, four book chapters,12 monographs and research reports,18 competitivepapers presented at professional meetings, and 5 other publications. Saupe's article on double expectancynomographs is ground breaking, and his 2001 paper on predicting first-year grades received the Charles F. EltonBest Paper Award from AIR.

Joe Saupe has also made significant contributions to higher education policy discussions. He has served as amember of advisory commissions for the Missouri Commission on Higher Education, the National Center forHigher Education Management Systems qucHEMS), and the National Center for Education Statistics OJCES). Joefu*s dr;so seINed a;s aL conisul+rna editor fon Research in Higher Edof cation a;nd Cha Journal Of Educational Research.

From my admittedly biased perspective, some of Joe Saupe's greatest contributions have come as a mentor andcolleague to graduate students and younger professionals in higher education and institutional research. Joe haspublished with graduate students and other young professionals, and provided advice and encouragement toyounger colleagues. I personally can say that Joe Saupe was a positive influence on my career at the University ofMissouri. In fact, it is unlikely that I would have become the director of Student Life Studies at MU without hisadvice, encouragement, and support. To this day, Joe continues to offer advice and encouragement to other IRprofessionals. He has my highest recommendation for the Distinguished Member Award.

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Association for Institutional Research Nomination for Distinguished Member I am pleased to write in support of the nomination of Joe L Saupe as a distinguished member of the Association. Dr. Saupe began his institutional research career 65 years ago in 1950 as a research assistant in the Bureau of Educational Research, University of Illinois. He was active in the very early planning that lead to the formation of the Association for Institutional Research. He remains active today with a presentation at the 2015 forum in Denver. I know of no one else who can claim such a legacy. Personally I have known Joe for 45 years; from the time he served as our fourth President, 1968-69. He is always completely approachable and friendly to everybody. I have always thought of him as one of the intellectual founders of the field of institutional research and of the Association. As one reviews his resume it is evident that Joe was involved early on and continuously in key areas of IR from space utilization, to cost studies, to issues around measurement, data definitions and evaluation. He wrote with James R Montgomery one of the association’s most important publications” The Nature and Role of Institutional Research” and later his seminal “Functions of Institutional Research” in 1980, which he revised a decade later. He has contributed, indeed, excelled as professor, presenter, author, editor, and consultant across the range of higher education endeavors and over an amazing span of time. It is with a good deal of enthusiasm that I encourage the Association to award the long overdue status of Distinguished Member on Dr. Joe l. Saupe. Dr. Bernie Sheehan, Past President, Distinguished Member

To: Mardy T. Eimers

From: Donald J. Reichard

Subject: Distinguished Member Nomination for Joe Saupe

I write in support of the nomination of Joe Saupe for AIR’s Distinguished Member Award. I have not been in close contact with Joe since 1967-68 when I was a Graduate Assistant and Joe was the Associate Director of the Office of Institutional Research at Michigan State University, then directed by Paul Dressel. However, I have long admired Joe and his significant long-standing contributions to our profession.

In the last few years, my admiration has been heightened by the realization that when I was privileged to write the opening chapter on ”The History of Institutional Research “ for the 2012 edition of The Handbook of Institutional Research edited by Rich Howard, Gerry McLaughlin; and Bill Knight, the four references cited for Joe’s works were exceeded by only one other individual. The years in which these items were published were 1967, 1970, 1990, and 2005. Talk about long-standing contributions and commitments to the field!! A brief elaboration on these items and their significance may be helpful.

Under the sub-heading of Interpreting and Providing Examples of IR to IR Practitioners, Joe’s 1967 publication Memo to a Newcomer in the Field of Institutional Research provided advice to those charged with setting up Offices of Institutional Research. The publication suggested a range of higher education associations, journals, and centers for the study of higher education, as well as a brief bibliography on institutional research which could serve as a valuable resource to newcomers to the field.

Under the sub-heading of Interpreting IR to the Broader Higher Education Community, Joe teamed in 1970 with Jim Montgomery to produce a monograph entitled The Nature of and Role of Institutional Research: Memo to a College or University. Among others, questions addressed of interest to a wider audience included “What is Institutional research?“; “How pure can institutional research be?”; and “How should institutional research be organized?”

A third item authored by Joe and published by AIR in 1990 was entitled The Functions of Institutional Research (2nd ed.) also served to interpret institutional research to the broader higher education community. It provides an update to an earlier document also developed by Saupe in 1981.

A fourth item authored by Saupe presented at a 2005 MIDAIR meeting entitled “How Old is Institutional Research and How Did It Develop?” serves to further illustrate Joe’s long term perspective and influence on our field. This service began in the Office of Evaluation Services at Michigan State in 1956, tenure as AIR’s fourth President in 1968-69 (before AIR had a central office), and now extends to sixty years.

I am pleased to support Joe’s receipt of the Distinguished Member Award wholeheartedly.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/ADA INSTITUTION

January 19, 2016 To whom it may concern: I cannot think of a more deserving individual than Joe Saupe as the next recipient of the John Stecklein Distinguished Member Award. I started my career in institutional research at the University of Missouri (MU) as a graduate student in 2003. One of my first assignments was to read “The Functions of Institutional Research (2nd ed.)” that Joe wrote in 1990. It opened my eyes to the impact this profession could have on the institutions that serve students. This manuscript also shaped my understanding of my role as an institutional researcher and what skills I needed to provide more useful information to administrators and institutional stakeholders. As I rose through the ranks and became responsible for overseeing the work of graduate students, I continued to utilize this piece as a starting point to delve into exactly what institutional researchers do with my graduate students. It was a momentous occasion to hear Joe speak at the 2005 Mid-America Association for Institutional Research to celebrate our 25th Anniversary and to hear about the history of IR from one of the founding members of the Association for Institutional Research. Throughout my work at MU, I have come across multiple projects that included models originally developed by Joe. To be honest, at first it was a little intimidating to be working on these projects. I really hoped that I wouldn’t screw anything up that Joe had done. At the same time, it was very comforting to know that Joe had touched the project and provided similar results. I always enjoyed reading the memos that Joe had sent to a Provost or Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management. He had a way of describing a fairly complicated analysis in a very concise and understandable manner. Joe Saupe set a good example of how to turn data into actionable information. Even after retirement, Joe has continued to collaborate with colleagues. Realizing that all estimates and models can be evaluated and refined, he has continued to look at ways to improve his work. I feel so lucky that every now and then I would hear his voice as he walked down the hall to meet with someone, knowing that Joe was one of the original institutional researchers. As I learn more and more about what the future holds with data science and big data, it is comforting to know that many of the ideas laid out in many of Joe’s seminal works still ring true and contain a road map of how to move forward. For that, I am extremely grateful. I sincerely and whole-heartedly support Joe Saupe as the recipient of the John Stecklein Distinguished Member Award. Sincerely, Kathy Schmidtke Felts Associate Director of Institutional Research University of Missouri

Institutional Research & Quality Improvement University of Missouri

721 Lewis Hall Columbia, MO 65211-4320 PHONE (573) 882-4077 FAX (573) 884-5545