A. Stephen Higgins, Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at Ball State University, died on January 31, 2023 at the age of 89.
Dr. Higgins was born in August of 1933 in Boston, Massachusetts, the only child of Raymond and Elizabeth Higgins. When his father was recalled into the Navy in early 1941 as an aircraft carrier navigator, his mother moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia, PA with young Stephen. Commander Raymond Higgins was killed in a kamikaze attack on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin ("Big Ben") in 1945 near Okinawa.
Steve graduated from South Philadelphia Catholic High School in 1951, where he earned varsity letters in track and field and was a member of the bowling team that defeated all 19 private and public schools to win the city championship in 1951.
After attending U.S. Navy and Marine Corps training schools in Cherry Point, NC; Jacksonville and Pensacola, FL; Memphis, TN and Twenty-Nine Palms, CA, Steve was assigned to Marine Air Group 3 in Korea as a combat air crewman from 1952-1954. He received several Korean War decorations including the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star for heroic action in combat.
He then attended the Pennsylvania State University, majoring in the Liberal Arts and extra-curricular activities and graduated in 1958. He was inducted into the Lion's Paw Leadership Society for significant achievement in student government and student activities. His continuous contact and friendship with many Penn State administrators shaped his future career choices.
Steve was accepted for doctoral studies in University Management at Columbia University in New York City and graduated in 1966. While studying at Columbia, he was involved in administering Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation programs, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program and was one of the first administrators of Peace Corps training programs in 1962. He was awarded the Dodge prize for his dissertation on the quantity and quality of doctoral programs in America.
He continued his research interests in graduate education as an administrator and professor at Oklahoma State University and New York University before arriving at Ball State University as a Professor of Higher Education in 1975. He retired in 1999.
A number of his friends and colleagues will remember Steve for his wit and wisdom, his passion for research and teaching, and for his irreverent sense of humor. In his articles and national conference presentations on doctoral production (and overproduction!) in institutions of American higher education, he often referred to the major leagues, the minor leagues, and academic Siberia and suggested that the latter group of institutions be paid not to produce doctorates. He gave an all-university faculty lecture at Ball State titled "The Wonderful World of Graduate Education."
While at Ball State, he also developed a strong interest in student achievement and student financial aid. He published a number of scholarly, factual articles and chaired a number of sessions at national conferences on the relationship between achievement and financial aid. He was a great believer in no-need financial awards and wrote extensively on academic champions, merit scholarships, and the importance of addressing the financial needs of our best and brightest students. He also testified before Congressional committees in Washington, D.C. on government and private support of scholarships. In summary, Steve believed that financial aid should be awarded on the quality of student performance in the classroom and not solely on the basis of family income.
He was an active member in a number of professional organizations, including the American Association for Higher Education, the Council of Graduate Schools, the American Association of University Professors, and the American Education Research Association. Even after retirement, Steve continued as a consultant to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the U.S. Office of Education and the British Ministry of Education.
He was extremely proud of his four children, Stephen, Salt Lake City, UT; Colonel Joanne (Steven) McPherson (USAF retired), Hill City, SD; Judith Ertelt, Fishers, IN; and Jacqueline (Edward) Steffes, Woodstock, IL. He has six grandchildren, Parker and Harrison Higgins, Katherine and Connor McPherson, Sarah Ertelt, and Andrew Steffes.
He leaves behind a number of friends and colleagues, particularly those who that flew radio-controlled airplanes with him at the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie and at Woodring Field in Parker City.
His last will and testament suggested that his friends take an East Coast vacation and visit with Dr. Higgins on Cape Cod.
There will be no services or calling hours, per Steve's request and cremation will take place.
Burial will take place at the family gravesite in the Orleans,MA cemetery, as Steve can trace his roots back to the Mayflower. Steve once commented…
The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory is in charge of arrangements
Dr. Higgins was born in August of 1933 in Boston, Massachusetts, the only child of Raymond and Elizabeth Higgins. When his father was recalled into the Navy in early 1941 as an aircraft carrier navigator, his mother moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia, PA with young Stephen. Commander Raymond Higgins was killed in a kamikaze attack on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin ("Big Ben") in 1945 near Okinawa.
Steve graduated from South Philadelphia Catholic High School in 1951, where he earned varsity letters in track and field and was a member of the bowling team that defeated all 19 private and public schools to win the city championship in 1951.
After attending U.S. Navy and Marine Corps training schools in Cherry Point, NC; Jacksonville and Pensacola, FL; Memphis, TN and Twenty-Nine Palms, CA, Steve was assigned to Marine Air Group 3 in Korea as a combat air crewman from 1952-1954. He received several Korean War decorations including the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star for heroic action in combat.
He then attended the Pennsylvania State University, majoring in the Liberal Arts and extra-curricular activities and graduated in 1958. He was inducted into the Lion's Paw Leadership Society for significant achievement in student government and student activities. His continuous contact and friendship with many Penn State administrators shaped his future career choices.
Steve was accepted for doctoral studies in University Management at Columbia University in New York City and graduated in 1966. While studying at Columbia, he was involved in administering Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation programs, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program and was one of the first administrators of Peace Corps training programs in 1962. He was awarded the Dodge prize for his dissertation on the quantity and quality of doctoral programs in America.
He continued his research interests in graduate education as an administrator and professor at Oklahoma State University and New York University before arriving at Ball State University as a Professor of Higher Education in 1975. He retired in 1999.
A number of his friends and colleagues will remember Steve for his wit and wisdom, his passion for research and teaching, and for his irreverent sense of humor. In his articles and national conference presentations on doctoral production (and overproduction!) in institutions of American higher education, he often referred to the major leagues, the minor leagues, and academic Siberia and suggested that the latter group of institutions be paid not to produce doctorates. He gave an all-university faculty lecture at Ball State titled "The Wonderful World of Graduate Education."
While at Ball State, he also developed a strong interest in student achievement and student financial aid. He published a number of scholarly, factual articles and chaired a number of sessions at national conferences on the relationship between achievement and financial aid. He was a great believer in no-need financial awards and wrote extensively on academic champions, merit scholarships, and the importance of addressing the financial needs of our best and brightest students. He also testified before Congressional committees in Washington, D.C. on government and private support of scholarships. In summary, Steve believed that financial aid should be awarded on the quality of student performance in the classroom and not solely on the basis of family income.
He was an active member in a number of professional organizations, including the American Association for Higher Education, the Council of Graduate Schools, the American Association of University Professors, and the American Education Research Association. Even after retirement, Steve continued as a consultant to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the U.S. Office of Education and the British Ministry of Education.
He was extremely proud of his four children, Stephen, Salt Lake City, UT; Colonel Joanne (Steven) McPherson (USAF retired), Hill City, SD; Judith Ertelt, Fishers, IN; and Jacqueline (Edward) Steffes, Woodstock, IL. He has six grandchildren, Parker and Harrison Higgins, Katherine and Connor McPherson, Sarah Ertelt, and Andrew Steffes.
He leaves behind a number of friends and colleagues, particularly those who that flew radio-controlled airplanes with him at the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie and at Woodring Field in Parker City.
His last will and testament suggested that his friends take an East Coast vacation and visit with Dr. Higgins on Cape Cod.
There will be no services or calling hours, per Steve's request and cremation will take place.
Burial will take place at the family gravesite in the Orleans,MA cemetery, as Steve can trace his roots back to the Mayflower. Steve once commented…
The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory is in charge of arrangements
A. Stephen Higgins, Professor Emeritus of Higher Education at Ball State University, died on January 31, 2023 at the age of 89.
Dr. Higgins was born in August of 1933 in Boston, Massachusetts, the only child of Raymond and Elizabeth Higgins. When his father was recalled into the Navy in early 1941 as an aircraft carrier navigator, his mother moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia, PA with young Stephen. Commander Raymond Higgins was killed in a kamikaze attack on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin ("Big Ben") in 1945 near Okinawa.
Steve graduated from South Philadelphia Catholic High School in 1951, where he earned varsity letters in track and field and was a member of the bowling team that defeated all 19 private and public schools to win the city championship in 1951.
After attending U.S. Navy and Marine Corps training schools in Cherry Point, NC; Jacksonville and Pensacola, FL; Memphis, TN and Twenty-Nine Palms, CA, Steve was assigned to Marine Air Group 3 in Korea as a combat air crewman from 1952-1954. He received several Korean War decorations including the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star for heroic action in combat.
He then attended the Pennsylvania State University, majoring in the Liberal Arts and extra-curricular activities and graduated in 1958. He was inducted into the Lion's Paw Leadership Society for significant achievement in student government and student activities. His continuous contact and friendship with many Penn State administrators shaped his future career choices.
Steve was accepted for doctoral studies in University Management at Columbia University in New York City and graduated in 1966. While studying at Columbia, he was involved in administering Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation programs, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program and was one of the first administrators of Peace Corps training programs in 1962. He was awarded the Dodge prize for his dissertation on the quantity and quality of doctoral programs in America.
He continued his research interests in graduate education as an administrator and professor at Oklahoma State University and New York University before arriving at Ball State University as a Professor of Higher Education in 1975. He retired in 1999.
A number of his friends and colleagues will remember Steve for his wit and wisdom, his passion for research and teaching, and for his irreverent sense of humor. In his articles and national conference presentations on doctoral production (and overproduction!) in institutions of American higher education, he often referred to the major leagues, the minor leagues, and academic Siberia and suggested that the latter group of institutions be paid not to produce doctorates. He gave an all-university faculty lecture at Ball State titled "The Wonderful World of Graduate Education."
While at Ball State, he also developed a strong interest in student achievement and student financial aid. He published a number of scholarly, factual articles and chaired a number of sessions at national conferences on the relationship between achievement and financial aid. He was a great believer in no-need financial awards and wrote extensively on academic champions, merit scholarships, and the importance of addressing the financial needs of our best and brightest students. He also testified before Congressional committees in Washington, D.C. on government and private support of scholarships. In summary, Steve believed that financial aid should be awarded on the quality of student performance in the classroom and not solely on the basis of family income.
He was an active member in a number of professional organizations, including the American Association for Higher Education, the Council of Graduate Schools, the American Association of University Professors, and the American Education Research Association. Even after retirement, Steve continued as a consultant to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the U.S. Office of Education and the British Ministry of Education.
He was extremely proud of his four children, Stephen, Salt Lake City, UT; Colonel Joanne (Steven) McPherson (USAF retired), Hill City, SD; Judith Ertelt, Fishers, IN; and Jacqueline (Edward) Steffes, Woodstock, IL. He has six grandchildren, Parker and Harrison Higgins, Katherine and Connor McPherson, Sarah Ertelt, and Andrew Steffes.
He leaves behind a number of friends and colleagues, particularly those who that flew radio-controlled airplanes with him at the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie and at Woodring Field in Parker City.
His last will and testament suggested that his friends take an East Coast vacation and visit with Dr. Higgins on Cape Cod.
There will be no services or calling hours, per Steve's request and cremation will take place.
Burial will take place at the family gravesite in the Orleans,MA cemetery, as Steve can trace his roots back to the Mayflower. Steve once commented…
The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory is in charge of arrangements
Dr. Higgins was born in August of 1933 in Boston, Massachusetts, the only child of Raymond and Elizabeth Higgins. When his father was recalled into the Navy in early 1941 as an aircraft carrier navigator, his mother moved back to her hometown of Philadelphia, PA with young Stephen. Commander Raymond Higgins was killed in a kamikaze attack on the aircraft carrier USS Franklin ("Big Ben") in 1945 near Okinawa.
Steve graduated from South Philadelphia Catholic High School in 1951, where he earned varsity letters in track and field and was a member of the bowling team that defeated all 19 private and public schools to win the city championship in 1951.
After attending U.S. Navy and Marine Corps training schools in Cherry Point, NC; Jacksonville and Pensacola, FL; Memphis, TN and Twenty-Nine Palms, CA, Steve was assigned to Marine Air Group 3 in Korea as a combat air crewman from 1952-1954. He received several Korean War decorations including the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star for heroic action in combat.
He then attended the Pennsylvania State University, majoring in the Liberal Arts and extra-curricular activities and graduated in 1958. He was inducted into the Lion's Paw Leadership Society for significant achievement in student government and student activities. His continuous contact and friendship with many Penn State administrators shaped his future career choices.
Steve was accepted for doctoral studies in University Management at Columbia University in New York City and graduated in 1966. While studying at Columbia, he was involved in administering Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation programs, a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) program and was one of the first administrators of Peace Corps training programs in 1962. He was awarded the Dodge prize for his dissertation on the quantity and quality of doctoral programs in America.
He continued his research interests in graduate education as an administrator and professor at Oklahoma State University and New York University before arriving at Ball State University as a Professor of Higher Education in 1975. He retired in 1999.
A number of his friends and colleagues will remember Steve for his wit and wisdom, his passion for research and teaching, and for his irreverent sense of humor. In his articles and national conference presentations on doctoral production (and overproduction!) in institutions of American higher education, he often referred to the major leagues, the minor leagues, and academic Siberia and suggested that the latter group of institutions be paid not to produce doctorates. He gave an all-university faculty lecture at Ball State titled "The Wonderful World of Graduate Education."
While at Ball State, he also developed a strong interest in student achievement and student financial aid. He published a number of scholarly, factual articles and chaired a number of sessions at national conferences on the relationship between achievement and financial aid. He was a great believer in no-need financial awards and wrote extensively on academic champions, merit scholarships, and the importance of addressing the financial needs of our best and brightest students. He also testified before Congressional committees in Washington, D.C. on government and private support of scholarships. In summary, Steve believed that financial aid should be awarded on the quality of student performance in the classroom and not solely on the basis of family income.
He was an active member in a number of professional organizations, including the American Association for Higher Education, the Council of Graduate Schools, the American Association of University Professors, and the American Education Research Association. Even after retirement, Steve continued as a consultant to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the U.S. Office of Education and the British Ministry of Education.
He was extremely proud of his four children, Stephen, Salt Lake City, UT; Colonel Joanne (Steven) McPherson (USAF retired), Hill City, SD; Judith Ertelt, Fishers, IN; and Jacqueline (Edward) Steffes, Woodstock, IL. He has six grandchildren, Parker and Harrison Higgins, Katherine and Connor McPherson, Sarah Ertelt, and Andrew Steffes.
He leaves behind a number of friends and colleagues, particularly those who that flew radio-controlled airplanes with him at the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie and at Woodring Field in Parker City.
His last will and testament suggested that his friends take an East Coast vacation and visit with Dr. Higgins on Cape Cod.
There will be no services or calling hours, per Steve's request and cremation will take place.
Burial will take place at the family gravesite in the Orleans,MA cemetery, as Steve can trace his roots back to the Mayflower. Steve once commented…
The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory is in charge of arrangements
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