Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
College of Human Sciences
Established in 1997 to recognize alumni of the college for remarkable early career achievements

Kevin P. Saunders

PhD Educational Leadership ’04
Ames, Iowa

Described as an individual with “a deep knowledge of the field of higher education, outstanding research and evaluations skills, and excellent communications skills,” Kevin Saunders has quickly emerged as an outstanding young leader in the Office of the Provost at Iowa State University, where he is coordinator of continuous academic program improvement.

In addition to experience gained at St. Olaf College and Drake University, Saunders has worked with the faculty, staff, and students of Iowa State in multiple capacities. Since 2005, Saunders has taken great initiative with many academic programs. As a result of his efforts, he has played major roles in the Higher Learning Commission self-study and university reaccreditation visit, the academic program review for all academic programs at Iowa State, and information gathering for the current National Research Council doctoral program ranking project.

With a high level of professional engagement with the programs and students at Iowa State, Saunders is also active in making his work known to others through publishing and presentation. He was awarded the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators’ 2004 Melvene D. Hardee Dissertation of the Year Award and has received numerous accolades for his research efforts and service to others.