Dr. J. Worth Pickering is the Director of University Assessment at Old Dominion University (ODU) where he has worked for more than 20 years. Prior to his appointment as Director, he worked in Institutional Research and Assessment, Student Services Research, and the Counseling Center as a career counselor. He has also taught graduate courses in career development and student development as well as research and assessment at ODU. After earning a BA in psychology at Guilford College, Worth earned his M.Ed. and Ed.D. degrees in counseling at UNC-Greensboro with emphases in student development and career development along with significant work in educational research.

Worth's primary research interests are in the areas of assessing first year (FY) initiatives and assessing FY students. He began the tracking programs for academic performance, retention, and graduation rates at ODU. Based on that work, he collaborated with Jim Calliotte to create the Transition to College Inventory (TCI) that is used to identify and treat at-risk FY students before they experience academic difficulty. In addition, Worth has been involved in the assessment of learning communities since their beginning and is consulting with the new University College on assessing its initiatives. Worth participated on the leadership team for ODU's Foundations of Excellence project and was responsible for all of the data collections.

Beyond the assessment of FY experiences, Worth provides leadership to the ODU assessment program. As part of that work, he and a team of colleagues offer a variety of workshops designed to assist faculty and administrators new to assessment build their assessment toolbox. He has also conducted assessment toolbox workshops at ACPA, the Virginia Assessment Group (VAG), SACS, and several other institutions. A current interest in this area is learning and applying conflict resolution and change theories to creating a culture of evidence among faculty and administrators on campus.

Worth views his work in assessment as an opportunity to combine knowledge, skills, and interests in counseling and student development with those in research and assessment to enhance student learning and student success.