Department of Counseling, Family Therapy and Higher Education

Dr. Dena Kniess is an associate professor and program director of the M.A. in student affairs administration in the Department of Counseling, Family Therapy, and Higher Education at Appalachian State University.

She received her Ph.D. in educational leadership - higher education from Clemson University, an M.A. degree in college student personnel from Slippery Rock University (Pennsylvania) and a B.S. in English-writing from Slippery Rock University.

Dr. Kniess' research foci include assessment in higher education, college student access and success, faculty development, and multicultural issues in higher education.

She is a member of numerous professional organizations including American College Personnel Association - International (ACPA); Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE); National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA); and Southern Association of College Student Affairs (SACSA). For SACSA, she's held the leadership role of Vice President of Research and Scholarship. Additionally she has served as secretary for NASPA Faculty Council. 

In 2023, she received the Excellence in Teaching Award-NASPA. She has also received the Hilda F. Owens Contribution to Knowledge Award - SCCPA (2021) and Joe Buck Service Award - SACSA (2018).

Dr. Kniess spent 11 years working as a student affairs administrator in residence life and student transition programs.

Connect with Dr. Kniess on LinkedIn. 

Selected Publications

• Kniess, D., & French, A. (2023). “They just popped up”: A comparative case analysis of student affairs graduate programs usage of the ACPA/NASPA competencies. College Student Affairs Journal, 41(1), 1-13.
• Kniess, D., & Jones, S. (2023). A little bit of everything ends up being so much: The costs of involvement. About Campus, 28(1), 4-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/10864822231169224
• Kniess, D., & Walker-Donnelly, K. (2022). Advanced qualitative assessment. New Directions for Student Services, 2022(178–179), 149–161. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20436
• Kniess, D. R., Walker-Donnelly, K., & Cawthon, T. (Eds.) (2019). Managing career transitions across the lifespan for the student affairs practitioner. New Directions for Student Services, 2019(166). https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20275

Click here for Dr. Kniess's CV.