McClellan, G. S. & Marquez Kiyama, J. (2023). The handbook of student affairs administration (5th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
The first edition of the Handbook for Student Affairs Administration (HSAA), often referred to by folks in student affairs as the Blue Book, was edited by Margaret J. Barr (Peggy to her many colleagues and friends) and published in 1993 by Jossey Bass. Thirty years later, the 5th edition of HSAA was published in 2023, with the two of us serving as co-editors. We are grateful to have benefitted in our work as editors from the examples set by Peggy Barr, Mary Desler, and Jeremy Stringer who also served in the role for HSAA over it its lifetime. Over the course of four decades, HSAA has become one of the leading texts used in graduate preparation programs and as a desk reference for scholar and practitioners in student affairs.
The two co-authors have their own histories with HSAA. Judy was introduced to the text during her graduate studies, has taught with the text as a graduate faculty member, and is a co-author and co-editor for the 5th edition. George has been involved in one or more roles in the creation of every edition of HSAA and has used the book in teaching as well. In this article, we will share an overview of the history of HSAA5, talk about how the book comes together, and discuss some trends we have observed in the book over time.
HSAA by the Numbers: An Overview
HSAA began and continues a cooperative effort of four groups – the contributing authors, the editors or co-editors, NASPA as professional association sponsor, and Jossey Bass (Wiley) as publisher. There have been five editions of HSAA over 30 years with new editions typically appearing every seven years (1993, 2000, 2009, 2016, and 2023). The exception to the seven-year rule was the third edition, and the additional time reflected the changing of the editorial guard as Peggy Barr stepped away from serving as editor or co-editor. Some broadly descriptive statistics for each of the five editions are presented in Table 1 below:
Table 1
HSAA by the Numbers
| Edition | Editor(s) | Chapters | Pages |
| 1st | Margaret Barr | 36 | 581 |
| 2nd | Margaret Barr and Mary Desler | 33 | 696 |
| 3rd | George McClellan and Jeremy Stringer | 32 | 707 |
| 4th | George McClellan and Jeremy Stringer | 32 | 715 |
| 5th | George McClellan and Judy Marquez Kiyama | 29 | 668 |
It is interesting to note the number of chapters has steadily declined over the years, but the number of pages has grown to about 700 where it has leveled off (there was a mid-production change in the fifth edition that resulted in dropping a chapter which meant that edition came in a bit under the typically page count). Those changes reflect two factors. First, the editorial team has tried to provide contributing authors with more room in their chapters to share information. Second, despite wanting to provide more freedom for the authors, there are practical limits on the length of a book when it comes to the actual printing and binding.
Contributing Authors
The greatest strength of HSAA over the years has been the amazing group of authors who have generously given of their time, talents, and energy to develop chapters to contribute. There have been 164 contributing authors over the course of the five editions of HSAA, and they are listed in Table 2
Table 2
HSAA Contributing Authors
| First | Last | First | Last | First | Last |
| Sharrika | Adams | Donald | Gehring | Dale | Nienow |
| Josie | Ahlquist | Sean | Gehrke | Elizabeth | Nuss |
| David | Ambler | Janice | Gerda | Cecilia | Orphan |
| Rosalind | Andreas | Harold | Goldsmith | Anna | Ortiz |
| Victor | Arcelus | Stephanie | Gordon | Kenneth | Osfield |
| Jan | Arminio | Kevin | Guidry | Symphony | Oxendine |
| John | Baier | Shaun | Harper | Lori | Patton |
| Margaret | Barr | Matthew | Hartley | W. John | Pembroke |
| Susan | Batchelor | Ignacio | Hernandez | Brent | Perozzi |
| Gregory | Blimling | Michael | Hevel | Cheryl | Presley |
| Marilee | Bresciani Ludvik | Daniel | Hill | Fredrick | Preston |
| Margaret | Bridwell | Joan | Hirt | Jerry | Price |
| Stanley | Kinder | Mary | Howard-Hamilton | Blandina | Ramirez |
| Robert | Brown | Andy | Howe | Enrique | Ramos |
| Diane | Podolske | Neal | Hutchens | Jessica | Ranero-Ramirez |
| William | Bryan | Randy | Hyman | James | Rhatigan |
| Richard | Mullendore | Michael | Jackson | Tony | Ribera |
| E.T. “Joe” | Buchanan | Barbara | Jacoby | Claire | Robbins |
| Cassandra | Butcher | Adrianna | Kezar | Darby | Roberts |
| Ed | Cabellon | Angie | Kim | James | Rund |
| Harry | Canon | Stanley | Kinder | C. Arthur | Sandeen |
| Stan | Carpenter | Jillian | Kinzie | Elena | Sandoval-Lucero |
| Kelly | Carter | Susan | Komives | Marianna | Savoca |
| Cepeda | Cepeda | Amanda | Kraus | John | Schuh |
| Cynthia | Cherrey | Kevin | Kruger | James | Scott |
| Joan | Claar | George | Kuh | Winston | Shindell |
| Linda | Clement | Linda | Kuk | Laura | Sponsler |
| Felecia | Commodore | Jason | Laker | Sarah | Steinkamp |
| Jann | Contento | Jim | Larimore | Richard | Stimpson |
| Michael | Coomes | Beverly | Ledbetter | Terrell | Strayhorn |
| Anita | Crawley | Christine | LeGore | Jeremy | Stringer |
| Krissy | Creager | John | Levin | Amanda | Tachine |
| Don | Creamer | Peter | Likins | Deborah | Taub |
| Pamela | Crosby | Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu | Lipe | Saundra | Taylor |
| Michael | Cuyjet | T.J. | Logan | Leonard | Taylor, Jr. |
| Jon | Dalton | John Wesley | Lowery | Patricia Smith | Terrell |
| Zebulun | Davenport | James | Lyons | Vincent | Tinto |
| Tracy | Davis | Peter | Magolda | Michele | Tyson |
| Tiffany | Davis | Sherry | Mallory | Lee | Upcraft |
| Mary | Desler | Judy | Marquez Kiyama | Aurélio | Valente |
| Amy Wells | Dolan | George | McClellan | Lori | Varlotta |
| Marsha | Duncan | Gillian | McKnight-Tutein | Kristan | Venegas |
| John | Dunkle | Jason | Meriwether | Mark | von Destinon |
| Antonio | Duran | Juan | Mestas | Stephanie | Waterman |
| David | Eberhardt | Marlene | Ross | Sue | Weitz |
| Shannon | Ellis | Thomas | Miller | Lori | White |
| Cathy McHugh | Engstrom | Donald | Mills | Elizabeth | Whitt |
| Ernest | Ern | Keith | Miser | Christine | Wilkinson |
| T. Dary | Erwin | Larry | Moneta | Penelope | Wills |
| Nancy | Evans | Paul | Moore | David | Wolf |
| Robert | Fenske | Leila | Moore | Dudley | Woodard, Jr. |
| Frank | Fernandez | Michele | Murray | Varaxy | Yi |
| Michael | Freeman | Sam | Museus | Eugene | Zdziarski |
| Jane | Fried | Robert | Nash | Qianhui | Zhang |
| Joy Gaston | Gayles | Kelly Anne | Nelson* |
A review of this list of amazing practitioner scholars and academics will reflect a diversity of lived and professional experiences. Contributors have generously shared their time and perspectives which have informed and challenged readers for all these years. Most authors have contributed once or twice and some three times. There are a few authors who have been a part of numerous chapters and editions. Not surprisingly, Peggy Barr is at the top of that list with her nine chapters. Following closely behind are George McClellan and John Schuh with six chapters, and Jeremy Stringer has contributed five chapters, and Susan Komives, Elizabeth Nuss, Lee Upcraft, and Doug Woodard have each added four chapters.
Much of the success of HSAA over the years is a reflection of the incredible expertise of these authors. Their blending of foundational and contemporary knowledge rooted in both practice and scholarship has shaped the book into an established go-to resource. Content
A natural follow on question is what is discussed in all those chapters and words? We reviewed all of the chapters and identified a set of 23 topic areas addressed in HSAA. Those topic areas and the editions in which there were chapters addressing them are listed in Table 3.
Table 3
HSAA Topic Areas
| Topic | Editions | Topic | Editions | Topic | Editions |
| Academic Affairs Partnerships | 2,3,4,5 | Crisis Management | 1,2,3,4,5 | Professional Associations | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Accountability | 3,4,5 | Ethics | 1,2,3,4,5 | Professional Development | 1,2,3,4 |
| Assessment | 1,2,3,4,5 | History | 2,3,4,5 | Professional Standards | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Budget & Fiscal Management | 1,2,3,4,5 | Institutional Governance | 1,2,3 | Staff | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Campus Environments | 1,2,3,4,5 | Institutional Mission | 1,2,3,4,5 | Students | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Community Partnerships (Internal/External) | 1,2,3,4,5 | Law | 1,2,3,4,5 | Technology | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Conclusion/Looking Ahead | 1,2,3,4,5 | Organizational Models | 1,2,3,4,5 | Theories | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Conflict Management | 1,2,3,4 | Political Decision Making | 1,2,3,4,5 |
Almost all of these 23 topics appear in every edition of HSAA. They track fairly closely to the competencies identified by ACPA and NASPA as essential for professionals in student affairs (2015). While the topics are relatively constant, it is interesting to note the change in framing and language over time. Recent examples include the emerging emphasis on learning and on critical perspectives including equity and social justice.
The contents of HSAA can be further categorized in nine broad subject areas. Those nine and the proportion of the total chapters they represent is shown in Figure 1. It should be noted chapters often include information that cross the boundaries of these nine categories. The data shown in the table reflect the primary emphasis of the chapter as reflected in its title and its placements within the broad section structure of HSAA.
Figure 1
HSAA Content Category Proportions
Three Years in the Making
Having shared an overview of the history of HSAA, we thought it might be interesting to share how it is that an edition comes together. It typically begins with the editor(s) for HSAA developing a proposal for the next edition. That proposal reflects feedback on the previous edition from readers and other constituents as well as the thoughts of the editor(s) on what content might need to be refreshed, deleted, or added. Each edition is a blend of some topics that are considered essential for HSAA to serve its role in the field (e.g., law, theory, or ethics) and other topics that may rotate in and out over time (e.g., intercollegiate athletics, disabled students, or health). The proposal will describe each of the proposed chapters noting updates, deletions, or additions as well as potential authors. Once the proposal is drafted it is shared with NASPA leadership to get their feedback and to solicit suggestions for possible authors. Finally, once the proposal is revised by the editor(s) based on the collective feedback then it is presented to Jossey Bass (Wiley). Their editorial team also shares thoughts on content and potential authors, and those suggestions may also be incorporated into the final proposal which is then either accepted or rejected by the publisher. This first phase of the development of an edition takes about six months.
Once the proposal is accepted, the editor(s) begin contacting potential authors for each chapter. The goal is to secure authors who represent a diversity of personal and professional experiences, have the skills to pull together a quality chapter, and who are willing to invest themselves in the project. Securing commitments from the contributing author(s) and getting them under contract takes another six months.
The third stage of development begins with the contributing author(s) developing outlines or rough first drafts for their chapters. These are reviewed by the editor(s) with comments shared with the author(s) who then develops a full first draft of the chapter. The full drafts are reviewed by the editor(s), and the author(s) are asked to consider revisions based on those comments. The first draft chapter is then submitted. All of this requires about a year.
The fourth stage is pulling all the chapter drafts into a manuscript draft and sending that off to the publisher. Their editorial team sends it out to peer reviewers and does their own review. The collective comments from peers and the publishing team are shared with the editor(s) and through them to the author(s). Another round of revisions are made which results in a final chapter draft. This takes another four months.
The fifth and final stage is production. The editor(s) send the publisher a final draft of the full manuscript, and they hand it off to professional copyeditors who scour the text. Their comments come back to the editor(s) who can usually handle most of the revisions, but sometimes the author(s) will be asked to respond. Once copyediting revisions have been made the manuscript goes back to the publisher to be prepared for printing. There is one final chance to review for the editor(s) before the book goes to print and eventually is made available to readers. This fifth stage takes another six to eight months.
Each edition takes about three years from the initial proposal development to being published. Of course, time and higher education do not stand still during these three years. One of the great challenges for the editor(s) is trying to get all the last minute happenings into the book before it has to go to print.
Trends, Reflections, and Projections
We have already identified three trends in the history of HSAA’s structure – the number of chapters has decreased; the average length of chapters has increased; and the number of pages has increased (though is now likely to remain stable). There are a few other trends we think are important to highlight. We also mentioned the welcome emergence of the perspectives of student affairs practice as teaching and learning and based in equity and social justice.
Sales of HSAA have continued to be strong, though there have been some notable developments. One is the adoption of the book in international markets as countries around the world adapt and adopt student affairs professional practice as part of their higher education systems. Another development is the shift to ebooks. While printed copies continue to be a significant majority of the sales, the audiences for HSAA are increasingly inclined to purchase electronic copies of the text.
It has become increasingly common for HSAA chapters to be co-authored. This reflects the belief of recent editors to draw more voices and perspectives into HSAA both to strengthen the value of the content and to offer greater opportunities for emerging scholars and practitioner scholars to be published in the book. The author pairings have typically been suggested by the editor(s) and readily accepted by the author(s).
A related trend we want to highlight in this article is the growing challenge of identifying practitioner scholars to serve as contributing authors. This may because practitioners interested in sharing their experiences, insights, and knowledge are increasingly inclined to do so via social media. That is great in some ways as it provides more opportunities for people to quickly contribute to the public professional conversation on a broad array to topics, but it does make it more difficult to identify potential authors for book chapters. Another possible explanation is that practitioners find themselves stretched increasingly thin as staff levels on many campus stagnate or decrease even as complexities and demands related to supporting students increase. That couples with reward structures that may not recognize and value scholarship as an important element of professional practice.
The final trend we want to address in this article is the importance of change. Each of the five editions of HSAA has spoken in numerous ways to changes taking place in student affairs professional practice, student demographics, student lives, and higher education and broader social contexts. The fifth edition provided perhaps the most vivid example of change in the student affairs context as it was developed during the COVID 19 pandemic. Both editors and authors wrestled with the impact of that global health crisis on their personal lives, professional practice, and scholarly endeavors. Given the importance of higher education in society and student affairs in higher education, it seems likely that change will be a part of HSAA for all the years it is a part of the professional literature of student affairs.
Conclusion
As we celebrate the release of HSAA5 and the thirty-year history of HSAA, it is time to look ahead the publication of HSAA6 and to the future of HSAA. The keys to continuing to make a meaningful contribution to the profession through the book will include recognizing and reaffirming that which is timeless about our work, identifying and highlighting what is changing and how our practice and scholarship should be revised to address these changes, and celebrating what is good about student affairs while pointing toward what can and ought to be improved.
References
ACPA and NASPA. (2015). Professional competency areas for student affairs educators.
About the Authors:
George S. McClellan (he/him/his) Dr. George S. McClellan is a professor of Higher Education at the University of Mississippi. Prior to joining students and colleagues there, he served students for 40 years in a variety of student affairs professional positions including service as senior student affairs officer at two institutions. Dr. McClellan is (co)author or (co)editor for numerous publications and a recipient of the Annuit Coeptis Senior Scholar Award from ACPA, the Pillar of the Profession Award from the NASPA Foundation, and the George D. Kuh Award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature/Research Award from NASPA
Judy Marquez Kiyama (she/her/hers) Dr. Judy Marquez Kiyama is a professor in the Center for the Study of Higher Education, Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice, at the University of Arizona. Dr. Kiyama is a community-engaged scholar with nearly 25 years’ experience in research, practice, and administration. Her most recent administrative role as the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development offered the opportunity to implement efforts that furthered the aims of the University of Arizona to excel in its Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation.