Rishi Sriram, Ph.D.

Dr. Rishi Sriram (Rish-ee Sree-Rom) serves as Associate Professor of Higher Education & Student Affairs, Graduate Program Director for the Department of Educational Leadership, and Residential College Faculty Steward of Brooks Residential College–a living-learning community of approximately 400 students, at Baylor University.

Dr. Sriram spent eight years as a higher education and student affairs administrator before beginning his current role as a faculty member. As Assistant Dean for Student Learning & Engagement, he played a primary role in the development of residential colleges and living-learning programs at Baylor, as well as the establishment of a faculty-in-residence program. His administrative work won him a NASPA Excellence Award (Gold Honoree) and a Promising Practices Award from the NASPA Student Affairs Partnering with Academic Affairs Knowledge Community. At Baylor, he was selected to serve on the Provost's Diversity Committee, the President's Advisory Council on Diversity, and as Chair of the Faculty-in-Residence Council. Nationally, he served on the executive team of the newly formed Residential College Society. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Azusa Pacific University in southern California.

Dr. Sriram's research interests include the development of talent, student affairs professional practice, and college student retention, engagement, achievement, and learning. His work has been published in respected journals such as the Journal of College Student Development, the Review of Higher Education, the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, and the Journal of College Student Retention. His work has also appeared in popular venues such as US News & World Report, Scientific American, and Edutopia. He currently serves as Editor of the Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition. In 2023, Dr. Sriram was named a Senior Scholar by ACPA–College Student Educators International.

Dr. Sriram speaks at conferences or consults with colleges across the United States on issues pertaining to student affairs administration, college student success, living-learning initiatives, and talent/success. His first book, Student Affairs by the Numbers (Stylus Publishing), helps student affairs professionals understand and use quantitative research and statistics in their work. He is currently working on a book about the development of talent.

Degrees

Ph.D. in Higher Education
2010 | Azusa Pacific University

Master's in Higher Education & Student Affairs
2003 | Baylor University

Bachelor of Arts
2001 | Baylor University

Research Interests

The Study of Talent

I am interested in talent from a research perspective: how we define talent, where it comes from, and what we can do to help others develop their own talent.

Academic Affairs & Student Affairs Collaborations

I am interested in how divisions of academic affairs and student affairs can collaborate to foster a more transformational educational experience for college students. Examples of such partnerships include living-learning programs, residential colleges, and faculty-in-residence.

The Practice of Student Affairs

I am interested in how college administrators (particularly student affairs professionals) become scholar-practitioners in order to foster better student outcomes.

College Student Success

I am interested in how higher education policies, places, people, and programs influence college student retention, engagement, achievement, and learning.