Kathleen M. Morley is a Fellow for the Policy Center on the First Year of College. Kathy joined the Center in 2005 and served as Associate Director until assuming the position of University Director of Assessment at Long Island University in April 2008. In addition to the direct advisory support Kathy provided institutions participating in Foundations of Excellence, she served as the primary contact for training and support on using the Foundations of Excellence Faculty/Staff and First-Year Student Surveys.
Kathleen M. Morley began her educational pursuits at Lafayette College receiving a B.A. with honors in Anthropology and Sociology in 1988. She studied with Dr. Peter Rossi, a prominent applied social scientist, and others in the Social and Demographic Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, completing her Ph.D. in Sociology in 2000 with a qualitative study on the social and academic integration of academically and racially/ethnically diverse first-year students at UMass-Amherst, publishing results in the Journal of College Student Retention.
Dr. Morley has had twelve years of institutional research experience at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was responsible for institutional reporting (e.g., the Common Data Set, IPEDS reporting, and reports to the Board of Higher Education), tracking key indicators for the University’s Performance Measurement System, producing peer analyses and special studies (e.g., an analysis of National Research Council reputational vs. productivity measures for the Provost), and communicating data and analysis through factbooks, factsheets, publications such as the Admissions and Enrollment Highlights, and presentations, including presentations to the Council of Deans, professional association audiences, and a delegation of Ukrainian educators.
Dr. Morley then moved on to serve as Assistant to the Provost for Institutional Research at Franklin Pierce College in NH. In addition to building an institutional research operation, Dr. Morley has served as a Senior Staff member, the NEASC Accreditation Agency Liaison, and Chair of the First-Year Foundations Task Force. She was instrumental in campus-wide reviews, such as Academic Prioritization and Administrative Review, assessment of first-year pilot programs, and Senior Staff retention retreats.
To contact Kathy, please email her at morley@fyfoundations.org.
