Meet the UAS Staff

Ryan Smith, Ph.D.

Director

Ryan joined UAS in July 2011 and has spent the last 15 years working in a variety of fields in higher education, including student affairs, planning and budgeting, assessment, and institutional research. Ryan received his bachelor’s degree in art history and archaeology from the University of Missouri at Columbia, master’s degree in higher education from Drake University, and PhD in higher education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where his dissertation examined the economic impact of college student migration. Ryan’s research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Education Finance and New Directions for Community Colleges. He has also published several policy studies through the Illinois State University Center for the Study of Education Policy and the Southern Illinois University Illinois Education Research Council. He has presented at several national and regional conferences, including the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), and the University of Illinois O’Leary Symposium on Education Finance. His research and professional interests include program evaluation, assessment, and learning theory. Ryan lives in Bloomington with his wife, Angie (a staff pharmacist at ISU), and two children, Jenna and Jake.

Derek Herrmann

Coordinator

Derek has been the Coordinator for UAS since November of 2010. He is currently collecting data for his Master's thesis, working towards a Master's degree in psychology (specializing in both developmental psychology and quantitative psychology). Prior to becoming Coordinator, Derek was a graduate assistant for UAS, as well as a graduate assistant for the Department of Psychology. In psychology, Derek taught lab sections of undergraduate statistics (PSY 138) and research methods (PSY 231) courses, as well as assisted with an undergraduate personality course (PSY 233). In addition, he has taught an undergraduate course in adult development and aging (PSY 303) twice.  Derek also is an Illinois State alum, earning a Bachelor's degree in Psychology with Departmental Honors in May of 2008.

Emmalie Shuck

Office Manager

Kelly Whalen

Graduate Assistant

Kelly is a second-year graduate student working towards her master’s degree in psychology, specializing in industrial-organizational and quantitative psychology. She graduated with Honors from Augustana College in May 2009, where she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and communication studies. In addition to working with UAS, Kelly is a graduate assistant in the psychology department, where she assists with an undergraduate statistics lab (PSY 340). After receiving her master’s degree, Kelly plans to pursue a career in the area of employee training and development. Her research interests include perceptions of qualification in the workplace (specifically in employee attitudes and outcomes related to perceived over-qualification) as well as an interest in program evaluation.

Justin Martin

Office Aide

Justin is a junior and is set to graduate in 2013. He currently is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. Previously, he has worked at Caterpillar Inc. in Peoria, IL as a Student Trainee in the Service Training division. While at Caterpillar Inc., he helped develop training manuals and other media used for instructing Caterpillar dealers. After graduating from Illinois State University, he plans to continue his education and pursue a career in sports marketing.