Dan Bureau, Ph.D.
On October 8, 2020, the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) announced individual award recipients. Dan Bureau, Ph.D., is to receive the Dr. Robert H. Shaffer Award.
Among other awards recognizing outstanding contributions made by AFA members and colleagues, the Dr. Robert H. Shaffer Award is considered the highest award presented to a campus professional.
The award has traditionally been presented to an individual in the field of higher education who has demonstrated a long-term commitment to fraternities and sororities. It honors individuals that have “demonstrated a commitment to fostering positive change on college campuses through the advisement of the fraternity/sorority community, building partnerships in higher education and the interfraternal community, had positive and lasting impact on both campuses of employment and the profession of fraternity/sorority advising, and mentoring new and seasoned professionals” (afa1976.org).
AFA highlighted Brother Bureau’s contributions to the fraternal industry with the following statement:
For more than 20 years, Dr. Dan Bureau has been engaged in the fraternal industry. His resume details his extensive commitment to fraternities and sororities through his career path and volunteer work.
Dr. Bureau has served as the AFA representative for the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) since 2008, and he currently serves as CAS president. Beyond defining and refining industry standards over the last 12 years for a number of areas of higher education, including Fraternity and Sorority Advising Programs (FSAP), Dr. Bureau has spent years conducting campus reviews to help professionals improve their operations through assessment and alignment with industry standards.
Dr. Bureau is a past AFA president and has won many AFA awards. He also has an extensive list of presentations and publications where he has shared his knowledge to advance the profession.
In response to Bureau's recognition, Phi Kappa Theta Executive Vice President Robert Riggs, CAE, shared, "On behalf of the entire Fraternity, we share our congratulations to Brother Bureau for receiving AFA’s Dr. Robert H. Shaffer Award. His commitment to students has been an inspiration for us all. We are so grateful to have Brother Bureau continue his leadership on our Fraternity Board."
On Facebook Brother Bureau wrote, “I've had a hard time putting into coherent words what being recognized by AFA in this way means to me. To win one of the most prestigious awards of the Association, a professional home for me for 24 years, is something for which I feel honored and humbled. I'm touched that people have reached out and let me know the influence I had on them and that of course is an opportunity for me to express the impact so many people have had on me.”
Earlier this year, Bureau was recognized by The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Educational Leadership Foundation as a 2020 Diamond Honoree. Bureau will be presented with the Dr. Robert H. Shaffer Award during a virtual AFA Annual Meeting in early December.
Bureau and other AFA members invite friends and colleagues to donate to the AFA Foundation which will be used to advance the work of AFA through scholarships, grants, and funding for educational initiatives.
To make an In Honor Of gift, click here. Then, select “In Honor Of” and add Dan Bureau in the comment box before submitting the donation. The AFA Foundation plans to share the list of donors with the award recipients following the 2020 Virtual AFA Annual Meeting.
To learn more about AFA and this year’s individual award winners, visit afa1976.org.
More About Brother Bureau
Dan Bureau, Ph.D., joined Phi Kappa Theta at the University of New Hampshire. He has worked in higher education for over 20 years and currently serves as Associate Vice President for Student Academic Success at the University of Memphis. He is also the current President for the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). He served as the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors President in 2004 and has held roles in ACPA and NASPA.
His areas of focus have included fraternity and sorority life, leadership programs, student affairs assessment, and first-generation college students. He has served at the University of New Mexico, University of Illinois, Indiana University, and the University of Memphis. He has presented at several association conferences and has authored peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and many other publications. He is the co-editor and contributor to Leading Assessment for Student Success: Ten Tenets That Change Culture and Practice in Student Affairs. Dan enjoys spending time with his family, playing tennis, and staying fit.
“I’m touched that people have reached out and let me know the influence I had on them and that of course is an opportunity for me to express the impact so many people have had on me.”