April Aultman Becker has been promoted to Assistant Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness, effective Nov. 1.
Aultman Becker has served in her current position as Dean of Educational and Cultural Resources at Sul Ross State University since September of 2020. Before that, she was the Dean of Library and Research Technologies, the position that brought her to SRSU in 2015.
She is replacing Dr. Jeanne Qvarnstrom, who has resigned but will continue as a professor of education.
“Since I arrived in January, Dr. Qvarnstrom has been a strong leader in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. She led Sul Ross successfully through the 2018 accreditation process and has introduced innovative and advanced programs and course navigation systems such as Acalog and Curriculog. Her expertise in curriculum development and assessment will be missed,” said Bernie Cantens, executive vice president and provost.
“I’d like to thank Dr. Jeanne Qvarnstrom for her steady leadership of Institutional Effectiveness over the years. Without Jeanne’s leadership expertise and support, Sul Ross would not be as successful as it is today,” said Aultman Becker. “Folks talk about having ‘big shoes to fill’ when they walk into a job, but with this particular position, and with Jeanne, I’d like to say there will be ‘fabulous shoes to fill.’ I have learned so much working with her and the staff in the Institutional Effectiveness office over the years that I feel prepared for this role. I’m very excited for the opportunity to work to promote, facilitate and assess continuous improvement with every member of the faculty and staff across the campuses.”
Aultman Becker holds a master’s degree in Library Science from the University of North Texas and a bachelor’s degree in English and history from Stephen F. Austin State University.
April Aultman Becker
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness coordinates the development of university assessment plans for non-academic programs, administrative units, academic and student support offices, as well as research and public service programs; coordinates the development of university assessment plans for academic programs; and implements an annual schedule of assessments, activities, trainings and reviews to promote continuous improvement that addressed the SRSU mission and Strategic Plan, including the accreditation criteria of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
“We welcome Ms. Aultman Becker as the new leader for Institutional Effectiveness. Her involvement and experience with SACSCOC over the past several years will allow her to hit the ground running. I am confident she will be an extraordinary leader in institutional effectiveness and research, a skillful facilitator of faculty assessment, and an excellent monitor of our compliance and accreditation criteria,” said Dr. Cantens.
Aultman Becker has been the Alpine coordinator for the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), which is a requirement of SACSCOC, since 2016. She has also served as an Administrative Assessment Coordinator evaluating the effectiveness of each of the university’s divisions since 2018. She worked on compliance and accreditation in previous roles as a librarian and at MD Anderson Cancer Center and San Jacinto Community College.
The SRSU QEP Executive Summary can be found at https://d1zyo2o8kyjaow.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/executive_summary_2019.docx.
For more information about the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, visit https://www.sulross.edu/institutional-effectiveness-institutional-research/.