Practitioner Profile
Gayle Fink, University System of Maryland (gfink@usmd.edu)
In this feature, we summarize the results of an "electronic interview" with an individual institutional research practitioner. The goal is to foster broader knowledge and appreciation of the diverse membership of AIR, and of the different institutional contexts and activities in which we are engaged.
This month, Gayle interviewed Jacki Stirn, a consultant for IR-related projects (jstirn@yahoo.com).
E-AIR: Jacki, you are a consultant who focuses on IR related projects. Can you tell me how you arrived at this point?
Jacki: Like a lot of things that happen with institutional research, it was somewhat accidental. After getting an MPA from Penn State, I first worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington. I started in IR at Penn State in 1978 and later moved to Colorado as a trailing spouse. I've held a number of IR positions in Colorado: at the University of Colorado, the Colorado Commission for Higher Education, with development data and research at Regis University, with WICHE, and at the Community College of Denver. About four and a half years ago, I decided to retire. I still attended the AIR Forum that year because I had committed to make a presentation and there were a couple of opportunities mentioned to me that eventually turned into consulting work.
E-AIR: Can you describe the variety of projects you have consulted on?
Jacki: I’m a data facilitator for six community colleges participating in Achieving the Dream. I have colleges in each round of participation and the colleges in the first round will be finished the original implementation grant next summer. I have done some writing and some data analysis and reporting for a variety of organizations. I continue to serve as an external grant evaluator for another community college. I’m also an IPEDS trainer and have been since the beginning of time – well not really, but since the beginning of the web-based system.
E-AIR: Why did you choose consulting instead of continuing at an institution?
Jacki: The original choice of retirement was somewhat due to a slight case of burnout. I had a long commute and a fairly stressful project that I had completed. Once I started consulting, I liked the flexibility and control over my workload. When I visit my Achieving the Dream colleges, I do get a little pull toward the campus but overall, I estimate I work about half time and I would like to keep it to that or less at this point in my life.
E-AIR: What are some of the benefits and challenges of being a consultant?
Jacki: The benefits are being able to choose the work. I’m also enjoying the variety of people and colleges with whom I work. I do travel a lot and the beginning of my consulting time fit with our youngest heading off to college, which also made the timing work for me. Occasionally a work trip will take me close enough to family to be able to fit in a visit. There’s very much a risk versus reward balance. The pay is somewhat better but that is balanced by the lack of benefits. I'm fortunate to be covered by family health insurance through my husband. Another challenge is that there can be a significant lag before payment appears in my mailbox.
E-AIR: What are some things you like to do in your “spare” time?
Jacki: Living in Colorado gives me 300 sunny days a year and I try to make the most of them. In the winter, I downhill ski. Skiing also gives me an opportunity to see our older son who lives in Steamboat Springs. I spent a weekend last spring in a learn-to-row workshop and then a couple of days a week this summer in a coached rowing program(5:50-7 am). I’m hoping to try some racing next summer.
In April, I signed my husband and myself up for a bike trip on the Katy Trail in Missouri. He had done other rides but I was sort of starting from scratch. The trip was mid-October and I biked 199 miles in four days, including 65 miles in the rain the last day. Keep in mind that while it was a challenge, I was biking on a very flat trail at a much lower altitude than where I trained. I will probably try for something more challenging next year but this year I wanted to be pretty confident I could bike the whole thing.
I also enjoy reading and am happy to live within walking distance of a library.
E-AIR: Finally, why did you offer up your oldest child to the IR profession? Seriously, how did your daughter come to follow in your footsteps?
Jacki: You mean everyone doesn’t have to give their first-born to the profession? My daughter's husband is in the U.S. Air Force and was transferred to Virginia. She had separated from the Air Force and was considering law school when he was transferred. There was an opening for a Research Analyst & Reporting Coordinator at the University of Richmond; I suggested she apply for the position and she got it. She’s organized and had research methods classes as part of her bachelor’s and master’s programs.
If I had wanted to grow my business, I would have hired her myself. It has been surprising to both of us how much of the information she heard growing up seemed to stick. I doubt it had much of an impact but she did go to Take Your Child to Work Day when I was at the University of Colorado and at the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
It’s been great to be able to see her at conferences and introduce her to colleagues. She is likely to be the only one following me. My older son is a ski instructor and bicycle mechanic/designer. My younger son is in the career angst known only to college seniors but seems to be headed toward something in marketing.
E-AIR: Last thoughts?
Jacki: I had no idea where I was headed when I took a one-year term position in institutional research at Penn State. I had an MPA and just under two years experience with the Federal government. I was at Penn State for eight years and left with a great foundation in IR. It’s been a good career choice.
E-AIR: Jacki, thank you so much for the interview!
We welcome your feedback on this feature, including suggestions for individuals to be interviewed and questions you would like to have posed in future interviews. Please e-mail your comments and suggestions to Marne Einarson (mke3@cornell.edu).