Owen Kent Grumbles Appointed Director of Institutional Research and Assessment

Owen Kent Grumbles, a senior administrator at Butler University the past 24 years, has been named director of institutional research and assessment.  Vice President and Academic Dean Adrienne Israel announced the appointment Sept. 4.

In his new role, Grumbles will collect, organize, interpret, analyze and communicate data about Guilford to the campus community and external agencies.  He will work with academic and administrative departments on data collection and analysis and the development of survey instruments.  In addition, he will advise senior administrators on institutional effectiveness and advise faculty on assessing student learning outcomes.

“Owen’s extensive background in institutional research and assessment will add strength to our efforts in this area at the college,” Israel said.  “The quality and availability of a wide range of data assists us in making important decisions every day.  Owen’s ability to not only collect but also analyze important data will be pivotal to our success.”

From 1997 until August 2009, Grumbles was senior director of institutional research and assessment at Butler, an independent comprehensive university of 4,400 students in Indianapolis, Ind.  He was director of institutional research and assessment from 1985-97.

Among his accomplishments at Butler were:  implementing a process for assessing student learning outcomes, initiating a plan for communicating assessment results, establishing protocols for the evaluation of department heads and senior administrators, establishing a system of student evaluation of teaching and creating a data warehouse for institutional research.

He is active in the Association for Institutional Research and was chair of the faculty issues track in 1997 and a member of the External Relations Committee from 2007-09.  He was president of the Indiana Association for Institutional Research in 1996 and treasurer from 1989-95.  He received the inaugural Distinguished Service Award from the association in 2001.

Grumbles earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Wake Forest University, a master of education degree in music education from Texas Christian University, a master of education degree in higher education administration from the University of Alaska and a doctorate of higher education administration from the University of Oklahoma.     

He succeeds Tom Coaxum, who accepted a senior administrative position at Livingstone College in the spring.

Sept. 7, 2009