Data Research

R. THULASI KUMAR

*******@***.***

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Urban Affairs & Public Policy, Graduate College of Urban

Affairs

& Public Policy, University of Delaware, 1996. Research interests in policy analysis,

program

evaluation, public administration, energy and environmental policy, research design, and

statistical

methods.

Master of Engineering (M.E.) in Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Anna

University,

Madras, India, 1988. Studied transportation planning, computer applications, and

descriptive and

analytical statistics.

Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, S. V.

University,

Andhra Pradesh, India, 1986.

EXPERIENCE

DirectorJuly 2007-currentOffice of Institutional Research and Assessment, Missouri University of Science and

Technology

(Formerly known as the University of Missouri at Rolla), Rolla, MO

Provide institutional leadership in identifying critical decision support information

and develop

appropriate analytical procedures for decision-making and planning. Special planning and

decision support projects include price elasticity and enrollment projections, university

optimum

size analysis, budget reallocation modeling, faculty shortage/need analysis, and

competitive

positioning (peer) analysis.

Lead the campus academic assessment activities and monitor the compliance with state,

regional

and specialized national associations.

Develop and maintain the institutional research and assessment data warehouse for

accurate,

consistent and timely reporting of Missouri S&T data. Direct the campus data reporting to

external organizations and publications such as US News & World Report, NSF/NIH, Council

of Graduate Schools, Academic Analytics, American Society for Engineering Education, etc.

Lead and execute new research and decision support projects to enhance the University

lead

among the institutional peers both at the state and national level.

Develop and prepare regular reports on enrollment, retention and graduation rates,

faculty

productivity, departmental profile, unit cost and student financial aid. Assist the

campus

community in data and information research needs. Represent the university in state and

national

initiatives focused on accountability and assessment.

DirectorAugust 2000-June 2007

Office of Institutional Research, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA

Directed and managed the campus-wide strategic planning, institutional research and

assessment

related activities.

Directed and coordinated the preparation of annual and special reports to the Board of

Regents.

Responded to requests from external constituents for information as appropriate. Reports

included performance indicators, faculty activity, faculty tenure, unit cost, staff and

faculty

salaries, faculty bargaining, U.S. News and Peterson s guide.

Developed survey instruments, conducted surveys and research studies to support the

data needs

of student outcome assessments, UNI s Strategic Plan and the Board of Regents reports.

Surveys

include the campus climate (faculty and staff), graduating senior, graduate program,

freshman

experience, athletics, library/computer user satisfaction and NSSE.

Directed the development and organization of a widely accessible information system to

support

decision making at all levels. Identified data sources and inventoried data needs.

Statistical & Research Analyst III/Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) October 1997-August

2000

Interim DirectorApril 1999-September 1999Office of Institutional Research, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC

Coordinated, managed, and analyzed information from university databases to meet wide-

ranging needs, including accreditation, performance-based funding, quantitative

assessment,

benchmarking, and quality assurances. Completed annual institutional effectiveness

assessment

and performance-based funding reports.

Developed survey instruments, conducted surveys, and prepared analytical reports.

Surveys

included the student satisfaction, senior exit, faculty advisement, and faculty teaching

evaluation.

Completed Fact Book, Institutional Profile, and other statistical reports. Assisted the

Director in

the completion of IPEDS, CUPA, and CHE reports. Developed and maintained the

institutional

research and self-study web sites.

Taught doctoral level courses in research design and methodologies, and data analysis

for

program evaluation.

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Research FellowJune 1996-September 1997

Center for Applied Demography & Survey Research, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Co-taught graduate level course in Advanced Social Statistics/Public Management

Statistics

(emphasis on research design, regression analysis, linear modeling, and logit and probit

analysis).

Developed new proposals, identified funding agencies, and sought funding in the areas

of data

management, survey research, public-private partnerships, transportation, and geographic

information systems.

Developed contracts, provided technical assistance, research and other forms of aid and

outreach

education to non-profit organizations, state and local agencies, and national

organizations.

Prepared project reports and reviewed the work of others. Administrative responsibilities

included organizing seminars, office space planning and the development of World Wide Web

pages for the dissemination of research, public service, and educational programs of the

college.

Research Associate (20 hrs/week) September 1989-May 1996Graduate College of Urban Affairs & Public Policy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Provided research and technical consultation to non-profit, government, and

international

development agencies in the areas of comparative environmental policies, technological

literacy

and liberal arts, technology policy, transportation and land-use, and air pollution.

Emphasis on

policy, institutional, and regulatory dimensions of technological change.

Developed new proposals, identified funding agencies and sought funding in the areas of

sustainable development management, environmental protection, conservation, and renewable

resource development.

Research focus was on both developed and developing countries with an emphasis on the

United

States, South Asia, and South East Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea).

Assisted the Dean of the College of Urban Affairs & Public Policy in the day-to-day

operations

of the College.

LecturerFebruary 1988-January 1989Bharath Institute of Science & Technology, University of Madras, Madras, India

Taught water supply engineering, air pollution, sewage and solid waste disposal, and

transportation engineering courses to junior and senior year students. Independent

teaching

responsibilities included two 3-credit courses plus one 2-credit laboratory per semester

for

approximately 120 students.

Established the Institute s Environmental Science and Engineering Laboratory.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

SAS Programming, SAS Institute. Dallas, TX. October 2011.

Oracle BI Suite EE 10G (OBIEE): Create Reports and Dashboards, Oracle Corporation.

Belmont, CA. February 2011.

Achieving Strategic Excellence, Snowmass Institute. Aspen, CO. July 2005.

Data Mining Level

III:

Hands-On Application Workshop for Data Mining Practitioners. Las

Vegas, NV. April 2004.

Data Mining Level I: Strategy, Application and Best Practices for Predictive Analytics,

and Data

Mining Level II: Data Mining Process, Methods, Tools and Techniques. Orlando, FL. January

2003.

Data Policy Institute, AIR, NSF and NCES. Washington, DC. June 2002.

NCTLA Assessment Institute, Penn State University and ACT. Phoenix, AZ. March 2002.

Oracle Data Warehousing Fundamentals, Oracle Corporation. Bethesda, MD. March 2001.

MIS for Strategic Planning and Decision Making, and Developing Databases to Analyze

Students and Curricula. NCHEMS Management Services, Inc. Chicago, IL. October 2000.

SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE

Computer

Spreadsheets/Databases: Lotus, Excel, IBM SPSS 19, SAS 9.2 and MS Access.

Online and Scannable Surveys: Bubble publishing (Survey Systems Inc.) and Qualtrics

online

survey solutions.

Business Intelligence: OBIEE, Oracle Crystal Ball, Oracle Business Intelligence

Discoverer,

Solver, Business Objects (older version) and WebFOCUS (Information Builders).

Data Mining and Predictive Analytics: IBM SPSS Modeler, CART and MARS.

Data Warehousing: Oracle Data Warehousing.

Enterprise Resource Planning: Oracle/PeopleSoft.

Research & Analytical

Strong research and analytical skills in the multidisciplinary areas of public policy,

planning,

and administration. Specific skills include conducting in-depth field studies, and

interviewing

policy-makers, program directors, and ordinary citizens.

In-depth technical knowledge and field experience in developing survey instruments in

institutional research, planning and assessment related areas.

Human Relations & Flexibility

Experienced in teamwork, cooperation, and interaction with individuals of diverse

backgrounds

and outlooks.

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Grant Proposals

Experienced in writing successful grant proposals in diverse areas such as data

management,

survey research, and transportation.

ACADEMIC AWARDS & HONORS

University of Delaware Research Assistantship/Scholarship.1989-1996.

University of Delaware Research Grant for field studies in India.1992.

University First Rank (first in class-highest distinction), Anna University. Madras,

India.

1986-1988.

National Junior Research Fellowship/GATE, University Grants Commission, Government of

India.1986-1988.

State Topper in Junior College Mathematics. India.1982.

Junior College State Merit Scholarship, Government of Andhra Pradesh. India. 1981.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Association for Institutional Research (AIR).

PeopleSoft Higher Education User Group (HEUG).

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Special Interest Group on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (SIGKDD).

Association for Institutional Research in the Upper Midwest (AIRUM).

Mid-America Association for Institutional Research (Mid-AIR).

South Carolina Association of Institutional Research (SCAIR), 1997-2000.

South Carolina Higher Education Assessment (SCHEA), 1997-1999.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

Business Intelligence Issues Tracker for PeopleSoft, HEUG, 2011-12.

Member, PeopleSoft Reporting and Business Intelligence Product Advisory Group (RBIPAG),

Higher Education User Group, 2009-current.

Committee Member, AIR Forum Track 2: Assessing Student Learning and Program, 2009-11.

Committee Member, AIR Forum Track 6: The Practice of Institutional Research: Theory,

Techniques, Technologies, Tools, and Ethics, 2005-08.

Chair, AIR Forum Track 6, 2007.

Founder, Iowa Association for Institutional Research.

Member of Planning Committee, Iowa Higher Education Research Conference, 2006.

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Co-Chair, AIR Forum Track 6, 2006.

Executive Board and Founding Member, Consortium for Data Mining in Higher Education,

Since 2006.

SELECTED UNIVERSITY & PUBLIC SERVICE

President of Rotary Breakfast Club of Rolla, 2010-11.

Board Member, Rotary Breakfast Club of Rolla, 2009-Current.

Committee Member and Data Coordinator, S&T Higher Learning Committee Accreditation

Team, 2007-2009.

Chair, UNI Institutional Research Data Management Group (Business Intelligence

Competency

Center), 2006-07.

Member, Associate VP for Information Technology Services Search Committee, 2006-2007.

Member, International Programs Review Committee, 2006.

Member, Students Outcomes Assessment Committee, 2005-2007.

Member, Student Services Research Committee, 2003-2007.

Academic Affairs Council, 2005-2006.

Member, User Group Committee and Steering Committee, Modern Executive Management

Financial Information System (MEMFIS).

Ex Officio, UNI Accreditation Committee for Higher Learning Commission (NCA), 2000.

Ex Officio, SACS SCSU Accreditation Committee, 1999.

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SELECTED WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS OFFERED

An Introduction to Business Intelligence and Predictive Analytics in Higher Education,

Alliance,

Nashville, TN. 2012.

Gain More Insight with Business Analytics in Higher Education, IBM Global Online

Education

Conference 2011.

Clustering Techniques and Predictive Modeling Skills using Data Mining Application IBM

SPSS

Modeler and a Relational Student/Academic Database. AIR Annual Forum, 2007-2011 (Every

Year).

An Intensive Introduction to Data Mining in Institutional Research. AIR Annual Forum,

2009-2011

(Every Year).

Predictive Modeling and Student Segmentation in Institutional Research using Data Mining.

MidAIR, Kansas City, MO. November 8, 2006.

Hands-on Data Mining Applications Workshop for Institutional Research. Sponsored by AIR

and

SPSS, Sear Tower, Chicago, IL. August 4, 2006.

An Introduction to Data Mining for Institutional Research. A Web Seminar sponsored by AIR

and

SPSS, November 29, 2005.

Applied Strategies for Managing Student Lifecycles. A Web Seminar sponsored by AIR and

SPSS,

May 19, 2005.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS

Contact this candidate