ISSUED: 2 December 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Dr. Jason Best, associate vice president for Institutional Effectiveness and professor of astronomy and astrophysics, recently served as the invited moderator for the Society of College and University Planning (SCUP) Community Conversation In This Together, the culminating event of the organization’s Fall 2025 Conversation series. SCUP is a worldwide community of professionals whose mission is to foster inclusive, integrated planning to advance colleges and universities.
“Given the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity within the modern higher education landscape, university and college planning professionals are at the forefront of successfully addressing challenges that their institutions currently face and preparing their institutions for challenges on the horizon,” noted Best. “I was honored to facilitate this SCUP community event, in which colleagues across the country shared their practical and demonstrably successful accomplishments related to strategic alignment of university initiatives and sustainable integrated planning.”
Best has contributed to numerous institutional, statewide, and national planning initiatives. He co-chaired the development of Shepherd University’s current strategic plan, Transforming Our Future 2023-2028, and co-developed the plan’s Tactical Implementation Framework. He has also served on multiple steering committees supporting Shepherd’s institutional and programmatic accreditation efforts.
Recently, Best served on the statewide executive committee overseeing the development of West Virginia’s new science and technology strategic plan and co-chaired the working group focused on advancing institutional policy, practice, and quality assurance for microcredentials in the state. He also participated in several statewide planning task forces, committees, and conference panels for program review, assessment, and curricular development.
Nationally, Best served by invitation on a National Science Foundation quadrennial Committee of Visitors, a group of external experts charged with assessing the quality and integrity of divisional program operations. As a member of the Higher Learning Commission Peer Corps, he collaborates with accreditation teams to assess institutions’ compliance with accreditation requirements, with a focus on continuous improvement and institutional effectiveness.
During his time at Shepherd University, Best has been named an American Council of Education Fellow; served on the Council on Undergraduate Research’s Task Force on Integrating Research into the Curriculum and on the National Advisory Committee for the PRAXIS Earth and Space Sciences Examination; held an extended term as president of the West Virginia Academy of Science; and completed four terms as a member of the Shepherd University Board of Governors. He currently serves as an officer and executive committee member of the Shepherd University Foundation.
For more information about the Society of College and University Planning, visit: https://www.scup.org.
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