Alexander W. Astin (May 30, 1932 – May 18, 2022) was the Allan M. Cartter Distinguished Professor of Higher Education and Organizational Change, at the University of California, Los Angeles.
He has authored 23 books and more than 300 other publications in the field of higher education, and has been a recipient of awards for outstanding research from more than a dozen national associations and professional societies.
He has also been elected to membership in the National Academy of Education (NAEd), a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and a recipient of eleven honorary degrees.
In 1985 readers of Change magazine selected Astin as the person "most admired for creative, insightful thinking" in the field of higher education.
After retiring from active teaching in 2002, they coauthored a major national study on spirituality in higher education, which became available in book form in 2011.