The American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Foundation has named Rachel Beech, associate vice president of Enrollment Management at Cal State San Bernardino, a 2021 ACPA Diamond Honoree for her contributions to ACPA, student affairs and higher education.

“It is incredibly humbling to be recognized as an ACPA Diamond Honoree,” said Beech, who is one of 16 honorees for 2021. “Being named by my colleagues as someone whose commitment to students and the profession deserves being celebrated is a privilege.”

All 16 of the 2021 honorees will be recognized at the ACPA Annual Convention Virtual Experience from March 1-17, 2021.

The ACPA Foundation established the Diamond Honoree Program in 1999, which recognizes colleagues who have made outstanding contributions to ACPA, student affairs and services, and higher education. Persons nominated for consideration are former leaders of the profession, supervisors, teachers or anyone who has had a continued and significant influence on the quality of college students’ experience. 

Diamond Honorees are “championed” by dedicated individuals who recognize their specific contributions and choose to raise funds in honor of each Diamond Honoree’s outstanding and sustained commitment to higher education through student affairs and student development. Those funds are then utilized to help sustain the ACPA Foundation in its support of the research, scholarship and programs that advance the field as a whole.

“I am thankful for the support of my champion in this process, Dr. Brent Turner of Northwestern University, and to the ACPA Foundation for my selection to the 2021 Diamond Honoree Class,” Beech said.

She appreciates the fact that being a Diamond Honoree is an opportunity to give back to the ACPA as an organization.

“ACPA is my professional development home, a place that has poured into me and helped me to become the leader I am today,” she said. “This honor gives back to the association by raising funds to support the professional development of others in student affairs and student support and allows the association to continue to thrive as a resource to higher education.”

Beech’s nearly 20-year career in higher education has centered on the structures of student transition and community building. She sees her work in enrollment management as critical to student access and degree attainment, positioning her to remove administrative barriers in order to establish a strong foundation for student engagement and success on campus. Prior to working at CSUSB, Beech held leadership roles in orientation, admissions, and student engagement at the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

Beech serves as director of membership development on the Governing Board for ACPA. She has held roles on convention planning teams and is a past chair of the commission for Admissions, Orientation, and the First Year Experience.

Beech earned her Doctor of Education in higher and postsecondary education in 2011 from Arizona State University. Her dissertation focused on support of staff in their professional transitions within student affairs. She holds an M.Ed. from the same program at ASU and Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and anthropology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The ACPA Foundation exists to provide philanthropic support for the initiatives of ACPA College Student Educators International that generate and disseminate research and scholarship about college students and further the professional development of student affairs and student service professionals.

To view all of the 2021 ACPA Diamond Honorees or to donate, visit the ACPA Foundation website.