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Lohe Honored with JASPA Ignatian Medal

10/16/2020

Debra Rudder Lohe, Ph.D., interim vice president for student development at Saint Louis University, was recently recognized by the Jesuit Association of Student Personnel Administrators (JASPA) with the Ignatian Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Student Affairs Work. 

Debra Rudder Lohe, Ph.D.

Lohe is the first SLU staff member to be honored with this medal since its inception in 1997.

The Ignatian Medal is awarded to “recipients [who] may have successfully resolved particularly difficult problems or issues, have achieved recognition as a national expert in a particular area of knowledge, or have provided outstanding leadership at the campus or regional level.” The award is given annually to a professional staff member who embodies the above achievement in Jesuit student affairs work.

Since assuming leadership of the Division of Student Development in January 2020, Lohe has been noted for her selfless leadership and student-centered approach to the daily work, including the countless hours as a member of the University’s COVID Response Team, and as a tireless advocate for the student experience at the University.

Lohe is been serving in the interim role while the University has embarked on a national search for a new permanent vice president for student development. Due to a pause necessitated by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Lohe has extended her appointment through Dec. 31, 2020, when she will resume her regular appointment as director of the Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.

As director of the Reinert Center, Lohe determines vision and strategic direction for the center; oversees the creation of new programs and collaborations across the University; and manages the daily operations of the center and its staff. She has been the center’s director since July 2011.

Lohe received her doctorate in English and American literature from Washington University, where her scholarship focused on gendered authority and surrogacy in Victorian novels by women authors. She has developed numerous pedagogy workshops, including invited workshops at significant national meetings and for international audiences. Lohe is an alumna of the Ignatian Colleagues Program hosted by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.


Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University’s diverse community of scholars is SLU’s service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place.

Submitted by Jackie Weber.