Yonai to head new Office of Institutional Research and Assessment

Yonai to head new Office of Institutional Research and AssessmentJanuary 31, 2006Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

Vice Chancellor and Provost Deborah A. Freund has announced the creation of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA). Barbara (Bobbi) A. Yonai, currently director of the Center for the Support of Teaching and Learning (CSTL), has been named director of the new office. Because OIRA will provide critical support to the University as it prepares for the Middle States accreditation process, the new office initially will report to Associate Provost Sandy Hurd, who is coordinating the Middle States process.

“The need for a centralized unit dedicated to institutional research is overwhelming,” says Freund. “Creating this new office under Bobbi’s direction will ensure we have accurate and up-to-date data not just for Middle States, but for countless other data-driven assessment demands.”

As director of OIRA, Yonai and her staff will focus on providing research services to the University, primarily in support of assessment requirements and other data-driven, outcome-based needs. Yonai has worked at CSTL since 1985; in addition to her administrative and supervisory responsibilities within the center, she has implemented projects related to attrition and retention (including the reporting of the University-wide and school and college yearly statistics and student retention research studies), program evaluations, assessment related to courses and curriculum, institutional research, teaching improvement and research on teaching.

The creation of the OIRA is accompanied by the restructuring of CSTL, yielding three distinct groups. CSTL will continue as a streamlined unit dedicated exclusively to faculty development and support, and will report to AssociateProvost Kal Alston. The third unit, Video Productions, will report to Chief Information Officer Paul Gandel.

While the general responsibilities of the new office have been identified, a University-wide steering committee and working group have been established to help OIRA develop a comprehensive mission statement, operational design and implementation plan.