Graduate Students

My name is Vincent Schiavone, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Research, Measurement & Statistics program. My bachelor's degree is in political science and my master's degree is in higher education, but I chose to pursue a Ph.D. in Research, Measurement & Statistics so that I could enhance my skills in statistics and quantitative research, in order to prepare me for a wide range of work in college administration, program evaluation, and nonprofit management. After completing my coursework, I obtained a position as a Quality Data Analyst at a social service and mental health organization called OhioGuidestone. I found that the Research, Measurement & Statistics program prepared me well for my job of examining the impacts of OhioGuidestone's various programs on clients, including gains in latent variables such as maladaptive functioning, parenting risk, resiliency, social support, and nurturing. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at vschiavo@kent.edu.

My name is Kelli Ryan and I'm a Ph.D. student and research assistant in the Research, Measurement & Statistics program. Through my program's assistantship, I have been able to participate in a variety of research projects which have helped me develop a diverse skill set. My background is in linguistics and language teaching, and my current research interests are in assessment and teacher preparation. The program has provided me with a solid foundation of knowledge and skills in measurement, evaluation, research methodology, and statistics. I have been able to complete a competitive internship at The Center for Assessment, as well as present research at both the annual American Educational Research Association conference and the National Council on Measurement in Education conference.

My name is Randy Rair. I am the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Youngstown. We have 28 Catholic Schools covering grades PK-12 in six Northeast Ohio Counties. Previously, I was a classroom teacher and building administrator in both public and private schools in Youngstown; Silver Spring, Maryland; and Marietta, Ohio. I am working on my Ph.D. in Research, Measurement & Statistics because I want to challenge myself beyond educational leadership. The program at Kent State has been fantastic and allowed me to keep a work, school, life balance. My research interests include testing environments and school choice. Please feel free to contact me at rrair@kent.edu to discuss my experiences, particularly if you plan to be employed full time.

My name is Linda Julian and I am Ph.D. student in the Research, Measurement & Statistics Program. I hold a bachelor's degree in Psychology, a master's degree in Sociology, a master of education degree in Adult Learning and Development, and a Juris Doctorate degree. After spending 20+ years practicing law, I wanted to use my real world knowledge in the field of juvenile justice and child welfare to conduct research and teach at a college level and knew that a PhD. was necessary. My decision to enroll in Kent State’s Research, Measurement & Statistics program was based on my desire to learn how to conduct high-quality research that could be used to inform policy and practice. The program has surpassed my expectations and provided me with a wealth of knowledge on research methodology, as well as basic and high-level statistical analysis techniques. If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact me at ljulian@kent.edu.

My name is Hassan Alhaythami and I was born and grew up in Saudi Arabia. I earned my bachelor's degree in Mathematics Education from Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah. Afterward, I worked as a math teacher in the Ministry of the Education for one year. Then, I moved to Umm Al-Qura University as an assistant teacher in the Education Department at Al-Gunfudah University College. I received my M.Ed. in Measurement and Evaluation in spring 2016 from Kent State. Currently, I am pursuing a PhD degree in Measurement and Evaluation. My current research interests are in exploring the rule of Social Network Sites in the education. I am having a great time at Kent State. The staff and faculty members are very helpful and supportive.

My name is Joanna Dickert and I'm a Ph.D. student in the Department of Research, Measurement & Statistics. Through the alignment of a student-centered process with an evidence-based approach to making, I'm interested in exploring how assessment and evaluation can optimize student learning, particularly in experiential learning programs. With a M.S.Ed. in Professional Studies as well as a B.S.B.A. in Marketing and a B.A. in Spanish from Duquesne University, I currently serve as the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Research and National Scholarships and Interim Director of the Office of Community Standards and Integrity at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. I have taught introductory management courses at Duquesne's A.J. Palumbo School of Business Administration, as well as a course on social responsibility at Carnegie Mellon's campuses in Pittsburgh and Qatar.

My name is Ilker Soyturk and I received my bachelor's degree in Mathematics Education in Turkey and I earned my master's degree in Research, Measurement & Statistics program and I am a doctoral student in the same department now. The program is designed to provide a great future career for its graduate students with an experience-based approach. To support students, all faculty members do not only share their professional knowledge, experiences, and feedbacks with students in the class, but they also have great effort out of school to guide and motivate students for their professional development. I believe gaining my doctoral degree will provide me to equip myself with necessary education and experiences, and to become a measurement expert in the field. If you have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to contact me at isoyturk@kent.edu.

My name is Natalie Wolanin and I am a master's student in Research, Measurement & Statistics. I am a 100% online student taking courses from my home in Maryland. I currently work full-time at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in the Program Evaluation Unit, Office of Shared Accountability, where I have worked for over 15 years. In my role as a support specialist to the program evaluation specialists, I have been involved in the design, data collection, analysis and report writing for many local district-wide evaluations and research studies. I have a bachelor's degree in Marketing from Penn State University. I enrolled in this program so that I could get a master’s degree which would allow me to formally advance to the next level at my job and was hoping that I could also expand my skills in educational research. The online format fits my needs, as did the ability to take a couple courses per semester while working full time.

My name is Riza Memis and I’m a PhD student. I earned my bachelor's degree in Mathematics Education and my master’s degree in Measurement and Statistics. The variety of courses offered by Research, Measurement & Statistics program help me to improve my research understanding and skills both in quantitative and qualitative manner. In addition to the courses, the support and guidance of faculty allow students to conduct individual studies in their research areas which is a preliminary step of being an independent researcher. I’m more interested in the measurement part of the program and I am trying to improve my knowledge of Item Response Theory. I believe that the supportive environment of the program will allow me to be a proficient psychometrician. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at rmemis@kent.edu.