About Me

My name is Jonathan (Jon) Turk, and I am an Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Community College Leadership in the School of Education at Iowa State University (ISU). I began this role in Spring 2025 after three and a half years as an assistant professor at Saint Louis University and seven years working in federal higher education policy in Washington, DC. My research and teaching focus on community colleges, student success and completion, higher education finance and policy, and research methods.

Though Iowa is home, I’ve lived in multiple states throughout the Midwest, South, and Mid-Atlantic regions. I am a third-generation graduate of Iowa State University, where I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. While at ISU, I participated in several clubs and activities, including being an active member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. During my senior year, I served as student body president, which was when I first became interested in the study of higher education.

While completing my master’s degree in educational research, I worked as an academic advisor at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). This was a truly rewarding and formative experience. I witnessed firsthand the transformative power of community colleges and knew I wanted to dedicate my career to supporting the students, faculty, and staff who attend and lead these institutions.

After earning my master’s degree, I moved to Athens, Georgia, where I earned my Ph.D. from the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. I was extremely fortunate to find the Institute, where I worked alongside supportive faculty and student colleagues for four years. During this time, I deepened my expertise in quantitative research methods and state and federal education policy, focusing on issues affecting community colleges and their students.

While completing my dissertation, I moved to Washington, DC, to join the research team at the American Council on Education (ACE). Initially, I accepted an eight-month graduate fellowship, intending to return to Georgia to complete my degree and then enter the faculty job market. However, halfway through the fellowship, ACE offered me a permanent position conducting research on federal higher education policy and institutional practice.

This opportunity led to a transformative period in my career and personal life. I met Sara, a brilliant woman who later became my wife, and decided to set aside my goal of becoming a faculty member temporarily. I worked full-time in DC, completed my dissertation from afar, and rose to the position of Director of Research at ACE.

After seven rewarding years at ACE, I accepted the opportunity to join the faculty in the School of Education at Saint Louis University (SLU) in Fall 2021. After a little more than three years at SLU, I returned to Iowa State University in Spring 2025 to continue my research and teaching in my home state.

When Sara and I aren’t working, we spend our time at home with our beautiful identical twins, William and Henry. Once upon a time, I enjoyed cooking, exploring new restaurants, traveling, hiking, camping, cycling, and watching movies (especially horror and science fiction). These days, most of my time is devoted to William, Henry, and our rescue tortie cat, Ripley (named after Ellen Ripley from Alien).