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• Ed.D. Educational Leadership, UC Irvine & CSU Long Beach
• MS College Student Personnel Administration, Central Missouri State University
• BA English, California State University, Long Beach

O’Brien, J., & Lopez, C. (2026). “What we’re allowed to say or do”: Constrained responsibility and the accountability gap in student affairs. Journal of College and Character. Advance online publication.

O’Brien, J. (2026). Moral positionality and polarization: Leadership across ideological divides. Journal of College and Character, 27(2),  151-160.

O’Brien, J. J., & Lynch, R. J. (2025). Between policy and principle: Understanding moral suffering in student affairs practitioners. Journal of College and Character, 26(3), 215-232.

O’Brien, J. J. (2025). Teaching ethics in student affairs professional preparation programs. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 62(5), 557-570.

O'Brien, J. J. (2025). Learning to thrive in political spaces: Student affairs educator preparation and practice for human flourishing. In J. DeVitis & P. A. Sasso (Eds.), Human flourishing in higher education (pp. 271-284). Information Age Publishing.

O’Brien, J. J. (2024). Ethical mindfulness in educational leadership. Developments, 21(2).

Quezada Barrera M, Reyes HL, Duran A, Castellanos J, O’Brien JJ. (2024). The role of grand/mothers’ ways of knowing in West Coast Latina students’ collegiate experiences. Education Sciences, 14(3):259.

O’Brien, J. J. (2020). Theoretical frameworks for ethical practice. In A. M. Hornak (Ed.), Ethical and legal issues in student affairs and higher education (pp. 8-30). Charles Thomas Publishing. 

Ortiz, A. M., O’Brien, J. J., & Carnaghi, J. E. (2021). Leading with and through others: Developing competencies in the work setting. In D. M. DeSawal, F. E. Ross III, & Associates (Eds.), Supervised practice: Connecting professional competency areas to professional development in student affairs (pp. 109-138). National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

O’Brien, J. J. (2018). Exploring intersections of the ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies. Journal of College Student Development, 59(3), 274-290.

O’Brien, J. J. (2017). A typology of moral positionality for educational leaders. Journal of College and Character, 18(4), 264-278.

O’Brien, J. J. (2016). Toward an ethic of becoming. About Campus, 21(1), 4-11.

O’Brien, J. J. (2016, Winter). Ethical Perspectives on the ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies. Developments 13(4), 39-43. ;

Ortiz, A. M., O’Brien, J. J., & Martinez, C. R. (2015). Developing a professional ethic. In M. A. Amey & L. Ressor, Beginning your journey. National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

O’Brien, J. J., & Cantiller, D. (2025, February). Ethics of possibility: Revisiting ACPA’s Principles & Standards. ACPA25 Annual Convention, Long Beach, CA. 

O’Brien, J. J. (2025, February). Decoding ethics: Higher education/student affairs graduate students’ interpretations of professional standards. Annual Conference on Higher Education Values, Identity, Belonging and Purpose [virtual]. 

O’Brien, J. J., & Lynch, J. L. (2024, March). From burnout to betrayal: Unpacking moral suffering among college student affairs professionals. NASPA Annual Conference, Seattle, WA. 

O’Brien, J. J. (2018, December). Balancing principles and perspectives in the wake of campus crises. NASPA Religious, Secular, & Spiritual Identities Conference, New Orleans, LA. 

Dr. O’Brien’s research program examines moral development, dispositional competencies, and leadership under conditions of political polarization, with findings disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, scholarly books, and national conferences.  Current research interests and projects include:

• Conducting a mixed-methods study that pilots and validates a self-assessment tool to help student affairs professionals identify their moral orientation, examine its influence on ethical decisions and role tensions, and generate narrative profiles through qualitative follow-up interviews.
• Leading a revision of ACPA’s Statement of Ethical Principles by synthesizing current scholarship and analyzing member insights gathered through nationwide surveys and focus groups, with the goal of producing a justice-oriented, practitioner-focused ethical code for today’s student affairs landscape.
• Research project on how postsecondary leaders navigate ideological polarization by mapping their moral orientations and decision pathways to illuminate patterns of leadership credibility, stakeholder trust, and ethical action in contested policy environments.

Jonathan J. O’Brien is a professor of educational leadership who teaches graduate courses in law and ethics, leadership and management, counseling the adult learner, research epistemologies, qualitative methodology, and professional development seminars, guiding master’s and doctoral students as they investigate complex educational issues.

Educational Leadership Doctorate

EDLD 720 - 721D Proseminars in Educational Leadership
EDLD 723 - Legal and Ethical Leadership: Implications for Policy and Practice in P-16 Educational Settings
EDLD 730 - Introduction to Educational Research, Epistemologies, Methodologies and Application
EDLD 731 - Qualitative Research Methods for Educational Leadership
EDLD 737A - Advanced Qualitative Research Methods
EDLD 737B - Advanced Quantitative Research Methods
EDLD 798 - Doctoral Dissertation

Student Development in Higher Education

SDHE 516 - Counseling the Adult
SDHE 538 - Student Development in Higher Education
SDHE 549 - Management of Student Development in Higher Education
SDHE 593 - Seminar in Professional Development in Counseling and Human Services

Dr. O’Brien draws on three decades of student affairs and academic leadership experience at public and private universities, which informs his consulting, program evaluation, and professional development workshops. At 91��Ƭ�� he serves on department, college, and university committees. He also contributes to professional associations in higher education and student affairs. Some examples include:

• Co-Director, President & Provost’s Leadership Fellows Program, Office of the President (2024–present)
• Chair, ACPA Ethics Task Force (2024-present)
• Secretary-Treasurer, Moral Development and Education SIG, AERA (2021-2024)
• Senator, College of Education, 91��Ƭ�� Academic Senate (Elected, 2020–2023)
• Board Member, ACPA Commission for Professional Preparation (2019-2021)
• Coordinator, Student Development in Higher Education M.S. program (2009–2016)
• Co-Chair, ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies Rubric Task Force (2015-2016)