Ken Guan earned his doctorate in the Higher Education at Indiana University Bloomington. His advisor is Dr. Victor Borden. Ken was a graduate of the IU Graduate Certificate for Institutional Research program.

Employment background

Ken Guan was an international student for 19 years. Before coming to Indiana, he studied and worked in England, Scotland, New York, Hawaii, Vermont, Texas, and Kansas. 

Ken has been actively involved in several global student affairs related organizations. Currently, he is the national co-chair elect of NASPA International Education Knowlege Community, previously he chaired the committee through NASPA to give the Best Practices Awards in International Education to universities internationally. He was also the chair for Convention Programs for the Commission of Global Dimension for Student Development (CGDSD), which has been recognized at the ACPA Awards as the Overall Distinguished Commission.

He has held over 20,000 hours of professional experiences in higher education in the United States, including in the fields of international education, residential life, instructional consulting, judicial affairs, disabilities services, health and wellness, career services, student recreation, international education, student media production, last but not least, research on learning analytics for student success. 

The various populations Ken has worked with include domestic and international students, faculty and staff, returning veterans, student group leaders, honors students, and students who were at-risk academically.

Ken designed a curriculum for undergraduate international students related to their retention and graduation.   He has taught intercultural academic and co-curricular courses, including Training for Organization, Wellness, Academics, Responsibility, and Discipline (TOWARD), which is the first of its kind being offered at the university; the American Culture and Lifestyle Class, which is offered to undergraduate international students as part of their graduation requirement; a co-taught class, Orientation to the American Higher Education System, which was a class of 100 students each semester. These courses were based on student development theories. For some, Ken also incorporated holistic opportunities for students which they would not have experienced otherwise, such as cultural dating differences, financial planning, community service, university Greek house tours, student senate auditing, outdoor recreation, travel planning, and time management skills.

Ken has committed to promoting intercultural understanding at the very early stage of his professional career. He initiated the first week-long United Nations Association Film Festival for the entire state while he was a graduate assistant at the University of Vermont. He has also volunteered to work with the Office of International Education at the time designing and leading extra-curricular activities for international students to have a better study abroad experience.

Interests and career aspirations

Ken's doctoral dissertation is focused on institutional efforts that foster a culturally engaging campus environment to better support international student as well as the domestic student. Outside of the academic and professional career, he has various interests such as aviation, triathlon. He is also certified as a Lifeguarding Instructor and SCUBA Dive Master. In addition, he has performed in professional opera houses in France and the United States as an emerging young artist.