The State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) is the national association of the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education. Founded in 1954, SHEEO serves its members as an advocate for state policy leadership, as a liaison between states and the federal government, as a vehicle for learning from and collaborating with peers, and as a source of information and analysis on educational and public policy issues. SHEEO seeks to advance public policies and educational practices to achieve more widespread access and successful participation in higher education, more new discoveries through research, and more applications of knowledge that improve the quality of human lives. This document, written to commemorate the 60th Anniversary, and presented at the 61st Annual meeting of SHEEO provides an abbreviated history of the organization. It begins with a discussion of the influence of John Dale Russell who convened the first meeting of the association in 1954 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and provides details of his career. The history continues from the first years of the association, 1954-1958, to the expansion of the profession in 1959-1968. The years between 1969-1984 are described as the maturing of the association. 1984-2000 were the years in which the scope and capabilities of the association expanded. In the more recent past, the years between 2000-2014 brought with them dramatic changes in the economic and political environment that played an important role in shaping the association's development and services. State higher education leaders face the next 20 years with a goal, but no road map, and there is an "argument in the car about which direction to take." The challenges of state policy leadership in higher education are different and perhaps more difficult than those faced in the past. More than ever before, SHEEO sees an urgency to sustain and nurture the community of public policy leaders in higher education. Appended are: (1) Professional History of John Dale Russell;(2) 1954 Meeting Agenda; (3) Notable SHEEO Alumni, Staff and Policy Leaders; (4) SHEEO Chairs and Presidents Since 1975; (5) History of Leadership in SHEEP Agencies; and (6) Staff Who Have Served SHEEO. [This document was written in collaboration with James R. Mingle.]