ALAIR
Spring 2019 Newsletter
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
It’s hard to believe that just two months ago we came together in Lake Guntersville to attend the 2019 Annual ALAIR Conference. The Conference Chair, Vice President Wendy Broyles, did a fantastic job of creating networking opportunities where members could share ideas and best practices.
It was great to reconnect with eight past ALAIR presidents while welcoming four new members to the conference. The various job responsibilities of our group of attendees reaffirms how the ALAIR organization has continued to change over the past few decades. Institutional effectiveness, planning, assessment, and research are the umbrellas of our field, but it doesn’t stop there. Administrators want data visualization to share focused messages to a wide audience. Statistical modeling and other tools are needed to make informed decisions as institutions compete for students in this healthy economy. Sharing knowledge is critical to our field. It is my sincere hope that you will be able to attend the AIR Forum this month, SACSCOC in July, or the SAIR conference in late September and bring back ideas to implement in your office and share at the next ALAIR conference in 2020.
I hope your summer is filled with great personal and professional opportunities!
Julianna Proctor
ALAIR President 2018-19
2019 ALAIR CONFERENCE RECAP
The 33rd annual ALAIR Conference was held March 6-8 at Lake Guntersville State Park, where our conference theme was Reaching New Heights. Early arrivals enjoyed a casual welcome reception in the Hickory Lounge that Wednesday evening. Eleven of us took part in a pre-conference team building guided hike on Thursday morning. Following a brief welcome, the conference officially kicked off with the Park Naturalist’s overview of the Alabama State Parks, which included a few unexpected visitors, a friendly yellow snake named Cotton and the park’s eagle mascot, Gunter. One member noted that this year’s conference was “a good mix of learning, networking, and entertainment opportunities.”
Learning was certainly part of the ALAIR 2019 recipe for success. 54 conference attendees represented ten two-year institutions (12 attendees) and 14 four-year institutions (37 attendees), as well as three representatives from two system offices and the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). Two vendor representatives are included in the total number of 2019 conference attendees. Many thanks to SAS for being our gold sponsor this year! Thanks are also due to Percontor for being this year’s silver sponsor. These sponsorships are greatly appreciated!
While learning is a vital component for a professional conference, I must confess that networking and entertainment were my primary focus areas in coordinating ALAIR 2019. This year’s conference included a photo/video scavenger hunt supported by a mobile application, and photos downloaded from the app have helped round out the folder of “Conference 2019 Photos” posted on our website (https://alair.org). We had three winners of the scavenger hunt: Ashley Washington, of Judson College, won first place; Mattie Hudson, of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, won second place; and Anran Xing, of The University of Alabama, won third place. Great job, ladies! Also, thank you to everyone else who participated!
This year’s Thursday night special event was a barbecue at the lakeside beach pavilion. The event began around sunset, included cornhole and s’mores around the firepit, and ended with a little karaoke. I am extremely grateful to those volunteers who helped set up and clean up for the special event!
Quality expert John R. Dew provided the keynote address at our annual business luncheon on Friday. Results of the conference evaluation showed that respondents valued Dr. Dew’s expertise and the focus of his topic. Perhaps some of Dr. Dew’s insights will return to mind as we continue our pursuit of new heights.
Quite a few members stayed for a post-conference IPEDS workshop co-hosted with the Association for Institutional Research (AIR). We would like to thank AIR for providing this learning opportunity at the Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge for our ALAIR members.
Stephen R. Covey said, “The key to life is not accumulation. It’s contribution.” Take every opportunity to learn and grow, but let’s also be dedicated to pouring back into our colleagues through ALAIR. I wholeheartedly agree with the member who said that he or she “would love to see a little more ‘meat’ to the conference break-out sessions…it would be really nice to have a lot more participation and hearty presentations.” ALAIR is a supportive environment in which to test our ideas and build our work-sharing abilities, but ALAIR is only going to be as good as we make it together. This is a team effort beyond the organization’s executive committee. I challenge each member to take ownership of ALAIR. Now is NOT too early to begin thinking about what sessions we can offer at ALAIR 2020. If you’d like to a be a conference host institution or if you’re interested in serving on the ALAIR Board, please contact one of our Board members.
Thank you for making ALAIR 2019 successful!
Wendy Broyles
ALAIR Vice President/Conference Chair 2018-19
2019 ALAIR BUSINESS MEETING RECAP
Additional conference photos can be found on the ALAIR website: https://alair.org/conference/2019-alair-conf-images/.
ALAIR MEMBER NEWS
WELCOME!
Debbie McCollough has joined Enterprise State Community College part-time as the Institutional Planning Coordinator. Debbie retired last year after many years at Wallace Community College in Dothan, AL as Director of Planning and Quality.
Jeffrey Guenther joined Athens State University as the Director of Institutional Research and Assessment Services in September 2018. Prior to coming to ATSU, he worked as an assessment coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for six years.
Kristy Cole has joined The University of Alabama Office of Institutional Effectiveness team as the Academic Improvement Coordinator.
Linda Graves joins the Institutional Research & Assessment staff at the University of Alabama in Huntsville as Assistant Director of Reporting & Programming. Linda comes to UAH from Calhoun Community College, where she served as ERP Systems Analyst.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Dr. Carmen Jones has been promoted to the Assistant Director of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness at The University of Alabama.
Emily Wilkins, Graduate Assistant for Auburn University’s Office of Assessment & Strategic Planning in Student Affairs, is graduating this May with her Administration of Higher Education Ph.D. Emily is a familiar face to ALAIR with her conference attendance, as well as her presentations. Awesome job, Emily!
Sylvia Correa, the Director of Institutional Research and Assessment Services, retired in June 2018 after working at Athens State University for twelve years.
Wendy Broyles, Director of Assessment & Compliance in Troy University's Office of Institutional Research, Planning & Effectiveness, graduated this May. She completed her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Liberty University, and she says her family is proud but mostly relieved.
2019 BEST PRESENTATION
The 2019 ALAIR Conference program included 12 scheduled concurrent sessions, not counting two special topics/open discussions. An electronic copy of this year’s conference program is posted on our website at https://alair.org/forms/2019_ALAIR_Conference_Program.pdf. We are proud to announce that “Insights to Action: Changes to Course Evaluations from a Needs Assessment” presented by Ginny Cockerill (pictured to the left) of The University of Alabama in Huntsville was voted as Best Presentation for 2019. Ginny will receive a $300 stipend after presenting this session at the AIR Forum or SAIR Conference. Congratulations, Ginny, and thank you for your valuable contributions to ALAIR 2019!
Sam Lowther Travel Grant
The Sam Lowther Travel Grant provides a $300 stipend for travel to the Annual SAIR Conference or the Annual AIR Forum. The grant honors the memory of our colleague Sam Lowther (pictured to the right), late Senior Analyst at Auburn University, who recognized the importance of professional organization participation in pursuit of individual and institutional excellence.
Mattie Hudson (pictured to the left), Institutional Researcher at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, has been awarded the 2019 Sam Lowther Travel Grant. Mattie looks forward to attending the SAIR Conference this fall in Greenville, South Carolina. Please join me in congratulating Mattie! Be sure to speak if you bump into her in Greenville September 28-October 1. Mattie will receive her $300 stipend after completing her travel.
Sutton Leadership Award
The Joseph T. Sutton Leadership Award was created to recognize Alabamians who have demonstrated leadership and outstanding accomplishment in the field of institutional research and related fields. Named for Dr. Joseph Sutton (pictured to the right), the award should be a meaningful recognition of individuals who have provided exemplary service and leadership and who have actively supported and enhanced the goals of ALAIR. Details regarding the award’s eligibility criteria, selection process, and past recipients are posted at https://alair.org/resources/suttonawards/.
No nominations were received this year for a Sutton Award recipient. Please consider your colleagues for future nomination both inside and outside of the organization, as this award is meant to recognize leadership, accomplishment, and innovation related to institutional research and improvement of higher education across the State of Alabama.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
2019 AIR FORUM
WHEN: Tuesday, May 28- Friday, May 31, 2019
WHERE: Colorado Convention Center- Denver, CO
DETAILS: The AIR Forum, the Association's annual conference, is the world’s largest gathering of higher education professionals working in institutional research, assessment, planning, and related post-secondary education fields. This four-day conference includes more than 300 presentations by colleagues representing all sectors of higher education and an Exhibit Hall featuring the latest tools and resources to support data use for decision making. For more information, visit the AIR website.
SAIR 2019 CONFERENCE
WHERE: Hyatt Regency Greenville- Greenville, South Carolina
DETAILS: The Southern Association for Institutional Research (SAIR) is dedicated to the advancement of research leading to improved understanding, planning, and operation of institutions of post-secondary education. SAIR provides a forum for the dissemination of information and interchange of ideas on problems of common interest in the field of institutional research. In addition, SAIR promotes the continued professional development of individuals engaging in institutional research and fosters the unity and cooperation among persons having interests and activities related to research.
SACSCOC 2019 Institute on Quality Enhancement and Accreditation
WHERE: Hilton Anatole- Dallas, Texas
DETAILS: Visit http://sacscoc.org/institute.asp for more information.
Additional SACSCOC workshops
2018-2019 ALAIR LEADERSHIP:
PRESIDENT: Julianna Proctor- The University of Alabama
VICE-PRESIDENT/CONFERENCE CHAIR: Wendy Broyles- Troy University
PAST-PRESIDENT: Kelly Birchfield- Alabama Community College System
SECRETARY: Hayley Johnson- University of West Alabama
TREASURER: Mandy Lanier- Wallace Community College
MEMBER-AT-LARGE: Ginny Cockerill- University of Alabama Huntsville
MEMBER-AT-LARGE: Melissa Rice- Snead State Community College
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Somer Givens- Troy University
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Jessica Merklin- University of South Alabama
2019-2020 alair leadership:
PRESIDENT: Wendy Broyles- Troy University
VICE-PRESIDENT/CONFERENCE CHAIR: Lesley Shotts- J.F. Drake State Community College
PAST-PRESIDENT: Julianna Proctor- The University of Alabama
SECRETARY: Hayley Johnson- University of West Alabama
TREASURER: Nareiko Stephens- Jefferson State Community College
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Jessica Carroll- Wallace Selma Community College
NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Andrew Davis- Enterprise State Community College