Dr. Jon Kilpinen

Dr. Jon Kilpinen is an academic administrator with a deep commitment to high-quality higher education, particularly through a combination of liberal and professional studies and strong faculty-student engagement. He received his bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University and his master’s and doctoral degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. He has served as a faculty member at both Valparaiso University and Black Hills State University and holds the rank of Professor.

Dr. Kilpinen has extensive administrative experience. After serving six years as a department chair, he was appointed Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Valparaiso University in 2006 and served in that role through 2022. During his work at Valparaiso University, he directed or co-directed three campus building projects: Kallay-Christopher Hall, the Arts and Sciences Building, and the Center for the Sciences: Chemistry and Biochemistry. He also chaired the University’s Budget Review Committee from 2009-2022, advocating for academic interests in the annual budget process. In 2022, Dr. Kilpinen assumed the role of Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Black Hills State University, holding that position until early 2025. In this role, he was worked with key university partners, including the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, and The Indian University of North America at Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer, South Dakota. He also worked closely with the faculty to reorganize the University’s academic structure, completed in Fall 2023.

As an academic geographer, Dr. Kilpinen conducts research on geographic topics involving American culture, politics, and environmental history, with an emphasis on the western states. His co-authored book, The Mountain West: Interpreting the Folk Landscape, won the Pioneer America Society’s Fred B. Kniffen Book Award in 1997 for the best book published annually in the field of American material cultural studies. His articles include “Land Speculation and the Case of Greer County, Texas” in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly and the “The Supreme Court’s Role in Choctaw and Chickasaw Dispossession” in the Geographical Review. An accomplished teacher, his favorite courses include The Geography of Ethnic Groups in the United States and American Environmental History.