Meet the Team

Dr. Nancy Staton Barbour returned to Oregon State in 2024 after serving as Director of Evaluation and Assessment for the School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.

Nancy was formerly an instructor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Coordinator for Assessment and Writing in the School of Language, Culture, and Society at Oregon State University. She also served as interim Program Manager for Oregon State ADVANCE, a National Science Foundation grant-funded program to
promote equity for STEM faculty in academic professions.

Nancy received her PhD in Education from Oregon State University.

Heath Henry has served as the University Assessment Coordinator for over eight years. He works with programs and faculty to facilitate the assessment of OSU’s Baccalaureate Core (Core Education). He is a resource for any faculty that teach courses in the Core Education, as well as providing support for course review processes within general education. He provides coordination and assistance for the assessment of academic and non-academic units as part of the annual review process. Heath works with university leadership in the development of materials required for regional accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

His past work has included working on K-12 state assessments in Texas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Rhode Island. Heath’s previous work has also focused on learning outcome creation, high impact assessment practices, and tying curriculum to assessment.

Heath holds a MS in Education from Walden University, an Advanced Graduate Teaching Certificate from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a BS in education from Texas A&M University

As the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence & Executive Director of the Center for Teaching & Learning, Dr. Holmes is a university leader who drives teaching innovation and faculty development at Oregon State University. This role oversees programs that help faculty excel in teaching, research, and leadership, and guides the Center for Teaching and Learning to promote inclusive, evidence-based teaching practices—including the ethical use of AI. By collaborating across campus and leading strategic initiatives, this position ensures faculty are empowered to support student success and advance the university’s mission.

Ashley's background and Ph.D. are in the areas of rhetoric, composition, and the teaching of English. Her research centers around high-impact practices, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and student success. Her passion for faculty development and pedagogy is evident in her body of work and service, and her research-driven approach is central to her leadership. Her recent book, Learning on Location: Place-Based Approaches for Diverse Learners in Higher Education (Routledge, Nov. 2023) draws on her own teaching as well as interviews with faculty across many disciplines in the U.S. and Canada. She brings a depth of experience teaching and mentoring in both undergraduate and graduate courses.

Kendon Kurzer, PhD, has established his career at the nexus of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) and multilingual writing. He was the WAC director at the University of California, Davis, for four years and taught upper division writing classes in a variety of disciplines (engineering, business, food science, education, and health sciences), developmental/first year writing (primarily for multilingual students), and language support courses for international graduate students, as well as tutor support/teacher credential classes on English grammar and second language acquisition theories and pedagogies. Kendon has taught for 17 years across the higher education landscape (including at public and private research/teaching universities and community colleges). His research interests include best practices for supporting diverse student writers in their disciplines, generative AI use, technical writing, and supporting language acquisition in anti-racist manners. His work has appeared in The WAC Journal, TESOL Quarterly, Assessing Writing, and elsewhere.

Kendon is originally from Western Michigan and is a big fan of sustainable/local farming (you can take the boy out of the farm....). He looks forward to seeing what the Willamette Valley can produce! 

As the Director of Assessment, Kristin builds and maintains strong networks with university faculty and partners working on assessment and accreditation. Kristin manages the plannings, coordination, execution, and maintenance of activities assessing the University's effectiveness in serving its various constituents including the NWCCU.

Kristin has a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University in Molecular Biology, a master's degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Cincinnati, and a PhD from Vanderbilt University in Science Education. She joined OSU in 2022 from Southern Oregon University where she was the Director of University Assessment. Kristin also served as the Assessment Specialist at the Research Group at University of California, Berkeley. Kristin currently chairs the statewide Learning Outcomes and Assessment group and is co-chair of the Common Course Number System Outcomes Assessment Subcommittee.