Holy Cross Establishes New Office for Assessment and Research

WORCESTER, Mass. – Dr. Denise A. Bell, with more than 20 years of national experience in research, analysis and evaluation in both secondary and post-secondary institutions and community organizations, has been appointed as director of the newly established office for assessment and research at the College of the Holy Cross.

The announcement was made by Frank Vellaccio, senior vice president at Holy Cross.

As the director of the office, Bell will be responsible for the development and implementation of a comprehensive, institutional plan to assess student learning outcomes across the curriculum gathered to effect curricular and pedagogical improvements consistent with the College’s mission and purpose.

“We are delighted to have Denise join Holy Cross,” Vellaccio said. “The search committee was very impressed with her knowledge and breadth of experience as researcher and evaluator in a variety of educational settings. She’ll be a valuable member of our community and will be a great help in assessing the value and effectiveness of a Holy Cross education.”

Bell will also head the newly developed campus assessment committee.

Most recently, Bell has been with the Education Alliance at Brown University, responsible for the evaluation of school reform models and technical assistance strategies across the nation. Her career has included leadership roles in many research and evaluation projects, including a federally-sponsored project on the evaluation of college outreach programs, HUD-sponsored adult learning centers, various Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) K-12/higher education partnership projects, and policy analyses in such areas as the impact of the Workforce Investment Act on adult education, welfare-to-work and the development of One-Stop Career Centers, and performance-based funding and budgeting in Florida’s community colleges. She has also worked with various post-secondary institutions and programs to develop accountability systems and performance measures to align with accreditation standards and taught graduate courses in policy analysis and program evaluation.

She received her Ph.D. from the School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley; a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska. She also pursued graduate study in higher education administration at the University of Maine at Orono.