Sean Gehrke joined the Office of Educational Assessment (OEA) as the Director in July, 2018, bringing more than 15 years of experience as an administrator, researcher, and leader in higher education. He provides leadership for the various functions of OEA, engages and collaborates on select research and assessment projects, and contributes guidance and support to the campus community for assessing the University’s achievement of its educational outcomes. His training as an educational researcher and work in institutional research and student affairs instilled in him a commitment to effective research and assessment to inform educational practice.
Sean has published in top-tier education journals, including American Educational Research Journal, The Journal of Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, and Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, and presented nationally on various topics, including faculty engagement with STEM education reform efforts, evolving faculty roles in higher education, outcomes-based assessment, and college student development. He possesses expertise in advanced quantitative methods, survey research, and outcomes-based assessment, with complementary training in mixed methods research and social network analysis. He earned his Ph.D. in urban education policy from the University of Southern California, his M.Ed. in counseling and personnel services from the University of Maryland College Park, and his B.A. in psychology from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon.