My Interest in ASCN: Karen Paulson

Penn State University
Higher Education
Associate Professor and Coordinator of Online Programs

Prior Organizational Change Work

My work has included involvement with or evaluation of many large scale, multi-level (department, institution, state) change efforts including the evaluation of the ECSEL engineering education coalition, initial development of the academic competency structure of Western Governors University, many FIPSE, Title III, Lumina Foundation, Gates Foundation, and NSF-funded projects. Most recently I have been working with the AAU STEM Initiative on measures of change.

How ASCN Can Contribute to my Work

My interests include in how change research and evaluation are integrated including how change research emerged as a result of project evaluations. My interest also lies in how policies at the department, institution, and system/state level can influence both individual and institutional behaviors.

How I Can Contribute to ASCN

My view tends to be broader when it comes to STEM reform, focused on how policies and environments influence STEM reform either negatively or positively. I am particularly interested in supporting STEM reform beyond "the usual suspects" of major research universities and private liberal arts colleges.