Sheila Edwards Lange (Ph.D. ’06), the newly minted interim vice president for minority and affairs/vice provost for diversity, has an extensive administrative background but recognizes there is often a disconnect between research and practice when it comes to higher education administration. To bridge this gap, Edwards Lange came to the College of Education to learn how to be a better researcher.
Now, in her new role as interim vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity, Edwards Lange and her colleagues link evidence-based claims to the development and maintenance of the various programs, centers and services that are housed within the Office of Minority Affairs (OMA). As Edwards Lange continues to apply “outcomes-based assessment” -- a new way of measuring programmatic success by identifiable outcomes through evidence -- OMA effectively identifies and delivers products matched with the needs of its constituents: underrepresented UW students.
A first generation college student who truly identifies with the students OMA serves, Edwards Lange believes the College of Education Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program provided her with all the knowledge and experience she had hoped for. And armed with this knowledge and experience, Edwards Lange and the OMA office have the rewarding task of providing underrepresented UW students with opportunities to excel.