Dr. Robert D. Reason is professor of higher education and student affairs in the School of Education (SOE) at Iowa State University. He currently serves as the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs in the College of Human Science. He previously served Associate Director of the SOE for Research and Administration. Prior to joining the faculty at Iowa State in 2011, Dr. Reason was on the faculty at Penn State University, where he was also a senior scientist in the Center for the Study of Higher Education. Dr. Reason has a Ph.D. in higher education from Iowa State University. He holds degrees from Minnesota State University, Mankato and Grinnell College.

Dr. Reason studies how college and university policies, the campus climate, and students’ experiences in college interact to influence student outcomes. Much of his research as focused on student learning outcomes during the first-year of college. He has written a widely used text with Kristen Renn, titled College Students in the United States: Characteristics, Experiences, and Outcomes, the second edition of which will be published in 2021.