George Kuh received a B.A. from Luther College (1968), a M.S. from St. Cloud State University (1971), and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa (1975). He joined the Indiana University (IU) School of Education in 1976.

His research focuses on assessing undergraduate student learning and personal development, campus cultures, and the institutional conditions that foster student learning. He directs IU’s Center for Postsecondary Research and is founding director of the widely used National Survey of Student Engagement and related surveys for faculty and law school students as well as the College Student Experiences Questionnaire project. He currently directs two major multi-year funded projects, the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), which is co-located at IU and the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, and the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP).

Among his 300+ publications are 23 books and monographs including High-Impact Practices (2008), Piecing Together the Student Success Puzzle (2007), Student Success in College (2005), Student Learning Outside the Classroom (1994), Involving Colleges (1991), and The Invisible Tapestry: Culture in American Colleges and Universities (1988). A past president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), George was honored with the association's prestigious Research Achievement Award. His work has also been recognized with numerous other awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Contribution to Knowledge Award from the American College Personnel Association, the Outstanding Contribution to Higher Education Award, the Contribution to Literature and Research Award, and the Shaffer Award for Academic Excellence as a Graduate Faculty Member from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, the Sidney Suslow Research Award from the Association of Institutional Research, the Splete Award for Outstanding Service and the Academic Leadership Award from the Council of Independent Colleges, the Virginia B. Smith Innovative Leadership Award jointly presented by the National Center on Higher Education and Public Policy and Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, and the Distinguished Alumni Award and the Educational Leadership Award from St. Cloud State University. In 2001 he received Indiana University's Tracy Sonneborn Award for distinguished research and teaching. He holds honorary degrees from Luther College, Millikin University, Washington and Jefferson College, and Winthrop University.