SDSU Student Affairs

James R. Kitchen is the Vice President for Student Affairs. He provides leadership for the 17 departments within the Division as well as the Assistant Deans for Student Affairs in each of the university's colleges, and for the Associated Students. He is dedicated to student educational excellence, leadership, global citizenship, and community service.

Dr. Kitchen received his B.S. in Physical Education and his M.S. in Education from Eastern Illinois University. He received his degree in Higher Education Administration at Northern Arizona University and went on to hold leadership positions at St. Cloud State University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Kansas before coming to San Diego State.

As an innovator in student learning, Dr. Kitchen collaborated with the Division of Academic Affairs and the College of Education to create the master's degree in Educational Leadership with a specialization in Student Affairs in Postsecondary Education. The program has expanded from an initial enrollment of seven students to 50. In addition, Dr. Kitchen collaborated with Academic Affairs to facilitate the undergraduate minor and the Master's degree in Leadership, with emphasis on Student Affairs.

One of Dr. Kitchen's most prominent and highly successful programs is the Office of New Student and Parent Programs. This department has been very instrumental in developing the New Student and Parent Orientations, as well as launching New Student and Family Convocation, two of Student Affairs' flagship programs with tremendous divisional and institutional impact. They have received regional and national attention and are considered best-practice models that can be replicated by other large, urban institutions.

In addition to his many other commitments on campus, Dr. Kitchen is an adjunct professor in the College of Education and is devoted to continuing to teach a graduate seminar class on "Critical Issues in Leadership and Student Affairs" to second-year masters' students.

He has held numerous leadership positions in the nation's premier organization for Student Affairs professionals, NASPA. In addition to serving on many committees, commissions and accreditation teams, he has contributed to the development of the NASPA African American Knowledge Community. In fact, he was awarded NASPA's highest award, Pillars of the Profession, in 2007 and won the 2006 Black History Month Local Hero Award, sponsored by Union Bank of California and KPBS.

Dr. Kitchen is very active in the San Diego community, and he is a dedicated parent and husband who relishes spending time with his granddaughters, his extended family and friends.