Meet Dr. TJ
Professor. Artist. Consultant.
I believe that scholars, educators, and higher education leaders do their best work when they have the support, guidance, and community needed to thrive. Yet too often, talented people are expected to navigate doctoral education, academic careers, leadership roles, publishing, teaching, and promotion largely on their own.
Throughout my career, I have been committed to helping people find clarity, confidence, and success in higher education. Whether mentoring students, supporting faculty members, leading academic programs, or serving in administrative roles, I have found the greatest joy in helping others achieve goals they once thought were beyond reach.
Experiences across multiple dimensions of higher education shape my perspective. I completed my doctorate in three years, earned tenure ahead of schedule, and have spent nearly two decades serving in key roles across student affairs and academic affairs at research-intensive institutions. Along the way, I have worked with students, faculty, staff, and executives at every stage of their professional journeys.
Over time, I realized that the mentorship and support I was providing within my own institutions could benefit a much broader community. Today, I partner with doctoral students, faculty members, academic leaders, and organizations seeking to strengthen their research, writing, teaching, leadership, student services, and professional impact. My work is grounded in the belief that success and well-being are not competing goals and that meaningful, values-driven careers are possible even within complex institutional environments.
Whether through coaching, consulting, speaking, or professional development, my goal is simple: to help people flourish while making a meaningful difference in higher education and the communities they serve.
05
Art and Performance
I have performed nationally as a soloist and as part of an ensemble. In 2016, I gained national attention as part of an impromptu performance with Rihanna during her ANTI World Tour. In 2025, I released my debut album, Never Imagined, the official soundtrack of the the 'Things We Imagined' documentary, currently streaming on all platforms. I have had the opportunity to perform most recently at Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville
04
Lectures and Workshops
I work with partners to strengthen their training programs in work skills, leadership development, policy development, student support, and team building. Ultimately, I help create more inclusive, dynamic, and effective environments in which we live, work, and play. I also deliver memorable, engaging talks about my research and work. Past clients have included Santa Clara University, University of Rhode Island, Ball State University, University of California San Diego, University at Buffalo, University of Arizona, and more.
03
Consulting
I am a proven and trusted consultant for many organizations, where I provide a humanizing approach to helping organizations solve their most pressing problems. Past clients have included Davidson College, Indiana University, and DePauw University. I can provide consulting expertise on a variety of topics and issues, perform assessments and evaluations, lead program reviews, facilitate workshops, and provide coaching.
02
Teaching
My teaching record is distinguished by consistently high student course ratings that exceed 4.5 on a 5-point scale. I have designed and taught 13 different courses during my career. I have been called upon to discuss my curriculum innovations at ACPA and NASPA, and I have delivered workshops annually on teaching pedagogy. I also won 2 teaching excellence awards from my university and ACPA.
01
Research
I have published 3 books, 29 peer-reviewed articles, 12 book chapters, 6 pieces of public scholarship, edited 3 monographs, delivered 98 presentations, and successfully advised 18 master’s and 4 doctoral students to graduation. I won the Outstanding Book Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education for one of my books, the first of its kind centering college student sex workers in the student affairs conversation.
AT A GLANCE
Key Accomplishments
Scholarly Excellence & Artistic Innovation
Dr. Terah J. Stewart is a leading voice in higher education, bridging the gap between rigorous academic inquiry and the human experience. With nearly two decades of experience across student and academic affairs, his work centers on fostering success and well-being within complex institutional environments.
Terah J. Stewart, PhD (he/him) is graduate faculty member and an associate professor of higher education and student affairs at Iowa State University. He is also a faculty affiliate with Women and Gender Studies. His research and writing focus on people, populations, and ideas that are hypermarginalized and/or those who have have stigmatized identities including: college students engaged in sex work and erotic labor, fat students on campus/fatphobia and sizeism in postsecondary contexts, and identity-based student activism. He also engages conceptual and empirical work on antiblackness in non-black communities of color. His work centers critical disruptive onto-epistemological frameworks and theories to destabilize dominant ways of knowing and being; including Black/endarkened feminist, womanist, and afropessimist perspectives.
As an artist, TerahJay is a singer, songwriter, and vocal arranger whose voice carries both power and purpose. Blending pop, R&B, soul, and Broadway flair, he first caught viral attention in 2016 after impressing Rihanna with his commanding vocals. His debut single Never Imagined —featured in the documentary Things We Imagined—marks the start of an EP that bridges art and academia. Through every lyric and vocal expression he aims to create music that uplifts, heals, and remind us why we love music with a message.
Dr. Stewart has notable practitioner and administrative experience in higher education and student affairs. Prior to his full-time faculty work he served as the Assistant Director for Intercultural Programming and Strategic Initaitivews of the Student Life Multicultural Center, Program Manager for the Office of the Vice President for Student LIfe which included management of the campus-wide No Place for Hate Initiative, Graduate Student Support, and support of the Bias Assessment and Response Team all at the Ohio State University. He also has extensive experiences in University Housing at OSU and the University of Georgia where he managed assessment and evaluation for the department.
Dr. Stewart’s scholarship has often been referred to as cutting-edge and groundbreaking work. He was named a 2023 Emerging Scholar by ACPA College Student Educators International and a 2024 Diverse Issues in Higer Education Emerging Scholar. He has received the Nevitt Sanford Award and the Burns B. Crookston Award both for reserach endeavors from ACPA’s Commission for Faculty and Gradaute Programs. In 2023 he was awarded Outstanding Book for his unparalleled text Sex Work on Campus by the Association for the Study of Higher Education. He has also been recognized for his demonstrated teaching as the recipient of two teaching excellence awards in 2022 from Iowa State University College of Human Sciences and the Commission for Faculty and Graduate Programs respectively. His recognition for teaching is also evident within his scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). He served as special issue editor of the Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, and published two teaching briefs for National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Iowa State.
His research and writing has appeared in Action Research, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Departures in Critical Qualitative Research and the Journal of College Student Development. Dr. Stewart is the co-author of Identity-Based Student Activism: Power and Oppression on College Campuses (2020, Routledge) and Fat on Campus (Myers Education Press, 2025); and author of Sex Work on Campus (2022, Routledge) and Sex Work on Campus Stories (2026, 433 Prospect Place).
