University of Puget Sound will welcome Kristen Handley as director for institutional research and assessment effective today, Aug. 20, 2026. Handley brings 15 years of higher education experience to Puget Sound, specializing in institutional effectiveness, accreditation support, strategic planning, external reporting, and data governance.
“I am thrilled to have Kristen join our leadership team,” Provost Drew Kerkoff said. “She brings a wealth of knowledge and technical expertise that will be instrumental in helping the university reach its strategic goals and mission. Institutional research and assessment are at the heart of how we evaluate, adapt, and grow, and I am excited to see the impact she will have on our institutional success and student outcomes.”
Handley joins Puget Sound from the University of Alaska Southeast, where she served as director of institutional effectiveness. In this role, she provided leadership for strategic planning and administrative decision-making, co-led the university's accreditation committee, and spearheaded a system-wide data warehouse modernization and data governance initiative. Prior to her time at the UAS, Handley held positions in institutional research and enterprise technology at Whitman College, as well as research roles at Walden University and the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Handley holds an M.S. in Applied Psychology with a concentration in Evaluation Research and Health Promotion from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, a B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento, and an A.A. in Social Sciences from Butte Community College. She has presented extensively at regional and national conferences on data governance, data warehouse automation, and student success metrics. Additionally, she served as president of the Pacific Northwest Association of Institutional Research and Planning (PNAIRP) from 2018 to 2019.
In her new role, Handley will focus on leading institutional data strategy, supporting university accreditation efforts, overseeing external compliance and benchmark reporting, and fostering collaborative data governance across campus.
“I am honored and excited to step into this role and begin working with the talented faculty, staff, and leadership at the University of Puget Sound,” Handley said. “Institutional research and assessment serve as crucial partners in helping a university realize its strategic vision and better support its students. I look forward to collaborating across departments and contributing to Puget Sound's commitment to academic excellence and student success.”
Handley was selected after a highly competitive national search. The search committee includes:
- Gareth Barkin, sociology and anthropology professor, and dean of Operations & Technology — chair
- Michael Pastore, registrar
- Francisco Chavez, chief information officer
- Debbie Chee, senior associate dean of students
- Rianna Miramontez, institutional research analyst
Handley is relocating to the region with her husband, Greg, and their two young children, Hunter and Henry. They are excited to put down roots in Tacoma, explore the area, and discover new local hiking trails.
The Office of Institutional Research supports institutional management, planning, and decision-making by providing reports about Puget Sound’s students, faculty and staff, instructional activities, and finances. The office’s responsibilities include developing and reporting assessment studies on students’ college experiences and educational outcomes, producing strategic indicators for Puget Sound and its comparison institutions, maintaining Sound Reports, providing internal reporting on admission, financial aid, and tracking student demographics, instructional workload, retention, and graduation statistics.
