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Open forums planned for associate vice provost for academic outcomes assessment candidates

April 24, 2013
Sherrill Morris and Chris Parker

Sherrill Morris and Chris Parker

The two candidates who are interviewing for the position of associate vice provost for academic outcomes assessment at NIU will hold open forums Monday, May 6, and Tuesday, May 7, for the campus community.

Sherrill Morris will talk and take questions from 9 to 10 a.m. Monday, May 6, in Altgeld Hall 203. Chris Parker will talk and take questions from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 7, in Altgeld Hall 225.

The associate vice provost for academic outcomes assessment provides expertise and leadership in the implementation of the assessment program within NIU’s Division of Academic Affairs.

Through a combination of centrally administered, department- and program-based and collaborative initiatives within the division, the associate vice provost for academic outcomes assessment ensures that the university can demonstrate the attainment of learning outcomes and the quality of its programs and services to internal and external constituencies.

The associate vice provost for academic outcomes assessment reports to the vice provost for academic planning and development.

The Office of Assessment Services coordinates the annual Assessment Expo.

The Office of Assessment Services coordinates the annual Assessment Expo.

Morris holds a Ph.D. in speech-language pathology from the University of Kansas and came to NIU in 2003 after teaching for several years at Rockhurst University. She is tenured in the School of Allied Health and Communication Disorders.

As a faculty member, Morris was the area coordinator for speech-language pathology and served on the University Coordinating Council, Graduate Council, University Assessment Panel and the Committee on Advanced Programs for Certification in Education. She was co-chair of the Improvement Dimension of the Foundations of Excellence Task Force.

For the last 10 months, she has been the acting associate vice provost for academic outcomes assessment. She also serves as an ex-officio member of the University Assessment Panel and General Education Committee, is involved in the program review process and serves on the Higher Learning Commission oversight team.

Parker is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, where he has served as the director of graduate studies. He  currently is coordinator of the social and industrial/organizational psychology area and vice chair of NIU’s Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects research.

He received his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Rice University and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He regularly teaches graduate courses in advanced statistics as well as training and organizational development, which provide a strong foundation for conducting academic outcomes assessments.

Following the space shuttle Columbia accident, he provided external evaluations of the class and simulation training designed to improve the decision-making and risk management skills of the Space Shuttle Mission Management Team. Prior to coming to NIU, he worked as an organization development specialist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

For more information on the open forums, call (815) 753-8378 or email ccradduck@niu.edu.