Joe Cuseo holds a doctoral degree in Educational Psychology and Assessment from the University of Iowa and is Professor Emeritus of Psychology. For more than 25 years, he directed the first-year seminar—a core college-success course required of all incoming students. 

Currently, Joe serves as an educational advisor and consultant for AVID—a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the college access and success of underserved student populations. 

He’s a 14-time recipient of the “Faculty Member of the Year Award” on his home campus—a student-driven award based on effective teaching and academic advising, a recipient of the “Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award” from the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, and a recipient of the “Diamond Honoree Award” from the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) for contributions made to student development and the Student Affairs profession.  

Joe has authored articles and books on student learning and development, the most recent of which are: 

Thriving in College and Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success & Personal  Development

Humanity, Diversity, & The Liberal Arts: The Foundation of a College Education 

Peer-to-Peer Leadership: Transforming Student Culture.

He has delivered hundreds of campus workshops and conference presentations across North America, as well as Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. 

“To make substantive gains in student success and college completion, we need to rely less on the accretion or accumulation of discrete programs and piecemeal practices and rely more on pervasive processes—transferable principles that transcend the boundaries of specific programs—which can be 'de-contextualized' and applied campus-wide by all members of the college community.” -Joe Cuseo