The Association for the Study of Higher Education mourns the loss of Dr. Kelly A. Ward who died suddenly in an accident. Kelly was Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Recognition and Professor of Higher Education at Washington State University, where she previously served as Chair of the Department of Educational Administration, Sport Studies, and Educational/Counseling Psychology.
Kelly represented a balanced integration of work and life. She was an avid horse rider, a rodeo queen, a mom to three, a wife to Gene, an awesome dancer, a lover of shoes, an explorer, and a giver. She spent her life trying to teach people how important it is to have a life, to take risks, and to live in the moment. Kelly was just in Barcelona, Spain a week ago!
Kelly’s professional work related to her interest in faculty issues including integration of teaching, research, and service; work and family concerns for faculty; faculty career development; and faculty diversity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as well as her interests in the service role of higher education including faculty outreach and engagement. Throughout her career, Kelly maintained a very active research agenda with substantial contributions to literature, including several books, dozens of articles, and numerous chapters, conference papers, and keynote addresses. In 2012, She co-authored the highly acclaimed,
Academic Motherhood: Longitudinal Perspectives on Work and Family
(Rutgers University Press). Kelly’s contributions to the field of higher education were nothing short of amazing. Kelly earned a BA from the University of Montana (1986). She later earned a Master’s in Public Administration (1988) and a PhD in Higher Education (1995) from Pennsylvania State University.
Kelly was a highly regarded colleague and member of ASHE. For the past decade, Kelly served as co-editor of the ASHE Higher Education Report Series. She received the Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2017 along with ASHE monograph co-editor, Lisa Wolf-Wendel. This award is presented in “recognition of exceptional commitment to the Association for the Study of Higher Education and significant contribution to its success.” The two were recognized in a
video linked here
.
ASHE members will remember Kelly for her dedication to working in partnership with others in our community of scholars. A generous colleague and mentor, Kelly was purposeful in her inclusion of new scholars in her research and association service. She made particular contributions to mentoring new faculty in ASHE. She also presented sessions for the ASHE Council for the Advancement of Higher Education Programs (CAHEP) in her efforts to support and encourage new and more seasoned higher education faculty. In 2016, Kelly was honored with the CAHEP Barbara K. Townsend Lecture Award. Kelly had many close friends in the higher education research community. The ASHE Board and professional staff offer our condolences to Kelly’s family and friends, including those in the Association, at Washington State University, and in Kelly’s community.
